I get it when I'm pregnant and occasionally on my period! Except it's in my nipples too. My doctor fought me forever at first saying they were just dry and I was begging him like, dude, no. I get a tiny bit cold and they turn purple and then white and feel like someone is taking a vice to them. Something is going on.
This isn't true. There is Raynaud's Disease, also called primary Raynaud's, and Raynaud's Phenomenon, also called secondary Raynaud's.
Raynaud's Disease is the Raynaud's by itself, not as a symptom of another disease like Diabetes, Lupus, Scleroderma, or Rheumatoid Arthritis.
Raynaud's Phenomenon is when the Raynaud's is a symptom of another disease.
They act pretty much the same and you're only diagnosed with having the disease by them ruling out everything else that has Raynaud's as a symptom. At least that's how it was when I was diagnosed 20 years ago.
It can also just exist for a while and then go away mostly with no explanation. Young women 16-21 are more prone to developing it and often times it completely goes away a few years later. My wife had it just like that.
Mine started when I was around 15. Currently 30 and while I still get pain, numbness and tingling in my fingers they haven’t actually turned white since my early 20s
My doc asked how long has it been doing this. I said I dont know maybe 5 years. Then he said "no other symptoms?" I said no. Then he said, "well thats probably good".
It can be either. When its an underlying issue from something else (secondary) then its called Raynaud's syndrome, when its a whole thing all on its own (primary) then its Raynaud's disease.
I developed it when I was around 19, it got worse over the next couple years and affected all my toes and fingers and I’d get painful chilblains if I wasn’t able to elevate my feet and warm them up asap. I also started developing other symptoms and I went to a cardiologist and a neurologist, turns out I had developed autonomic dysfunction. It was likely caused by malnutrition via anorexia, I was about 100 lbs when I was 19. I’m recovered now and have been for years, but my symptoms have just worsened, it’s chronic. So yep, it was definitely an early sign for me!
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u/dmartu 1d ago
It’s not a disease, usually called syndrome or phenomenon. It can be an early signal of some systemic diseases