Raynaud’s phenomenon – what are the signs and symptoms?

Raynaud’s phenomenon is common and doesn’t usually cause any severe problems. You can often treat the symptoms yourself by keeping warm. Sometimes it can be a sign of a more serious condition.

Check if it’s Raynaud’s

Raynaud’s affects your blood circulation. When you’re cold, anxious or stressed, your fingers and toes may change colour.

Other symptoms can include:

pain

numbness

pins and needles

difficulty moving the affected area

Some people also find their ears, nose, lips or nipples are affected.

The symptoms of Raynaud’s may last from a few minutes to a few hours.

If you’re not sure it’s Raynaud’s

Things you can do yourself

Do

keep your home warm

wear warm clothes during cold weather – especially on your hands and feet

exercise regularly – this helps improve circulation

try breathing exercises or yoga to help you relax

eat a healthy, balanced diet

Don’t

do not smoke – improve your circulation by stopping smoking

do not drink too much tea, coffee or cola – caffeine and other stimulants can stop you relaxing

See a GP if:

your symptoms are very bad or getting worse

Raynaud’s is affecting your daily life

you only have numbness on one side of your body

you also have joint pain, skin rashes or muscle weakness

you’re over 30 and get symptoms of Raynaud’s for the first time

your child is under 12 and has symptoms of Raynaud’s

Treatment from a GP

If your symptoms are very bad or getting worse, your GP may prescribe a medicine called nifedipine to help improve your circulation.

Some people need to take nifedipine every day. Others only use it to prevent Raynaud’s – for example, during cold weather.

Sometimes your GP will examine you and suggest a blood test. In rare cases, Raynaud’s could be a sign of a more serious condition, such as rheumatoid arthritis or lupus.

Information:

Support from SRUK

SRUK is the UK charity for people with scleroderma and Raynaud’s. It offers:

further information and advice about living with Raynaud’s

information on how to find support groups

Serotonin syndrome – Mark’s death should tell you why you need to know about Serotonin syndrome. Please read this it might save a life!

Serotonin syndrome

Serotonin syndrome

 

NB – this was taken from a shared Facebook Post by  Vivian Ray Harris

It is so important we felt it was necessary to share.  Can we ask that you pass it on as well.  It might save a life!

 

MARKS DEATH:
As most of my friends and family know, my son, Mark, died on May 18, 2017. Due to the manner of his death, we were required to have an autopsy to learn just why he died. We recently received the results of the autopsy. We (his wife, Wendy, and I) want to share the result of that with our family and friends for two reasons.

First, many people thought Mark took his own life. While those of us who spent his last day with him knew this was not the case, without having the autopsy, we really couldn’t say that without knowing why he died. We now know that he died from Serotonin syndrome. On that fateful day he took over the counter cough medicine and it had a fatal interaction with Gabapentin, a drug his doctor prescribed for an off-label use to try to help with his sleepless nights due to the challenges he faced from having Bipolar.

The second reason we wanted to share this is to shed light on Serotonin syndrome. I have worked in the mental health field for over 30 years and have never heard of this syndrome until my son died. Turns out that there are probably many people in this country effected by this syndrome and no telling how many other people have died because of it. If we can make just one person think about their symptoms and seek help before it happens to them or if we can get one doctor to think about the medications they prescribe and how those medications might interact with other medications they are prescribing then some small positive thing can come from our indescribable loss.

Our son died within two hours of symptoms appearing, maybe if we had known what we were seeing and gotten help quicker maybe he would still be with us – we will never know. What we do know is that we loved Mark more than we can ever say – the hole in our hearts will never heal and we don’t want another mother, father, wife, husband, child, brother or sister to lose someone for something that is preventable.

PLEASE SHARE OUR POST WITH ALL YOUR FRIENDS AND ASK THEM TO SHARE IT WITH THEIR FRIENDS. WE WANT THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE TO KNOW ABOUT SERATONIN SYNDROME.

If you take different prescribed medications together, you may end up with too much serotonin in your body. Some of the types of medication that could lead to serotonin syndrome include those used to treat depression, migraine headaches, and manage pain. Too much serotonin can cause a variety of mild to severe symptoms. These symptoms can affect the brain, muscles, and other parts of the body. Serotonin syndrome can occur when you start a new medication that interferes with serotonin. It can also occur if you increase the dosage of a medication you’re already taking. The condition is most likely to occur when two or more drugs are taken together. Serotonin syndrome can be fatal if you don’t receive prompt treatment.

You may have symptoms within minutes or hours of taking a new medication or increasing the dose of an existing medication. The symptoms may include: confusion ,disorientation, irritability ,anxiety, muscle spasms, muscle rigidity, tremors, shivering, diarrhea, rapid heartbeat, or tachycardia, high blood pressure, nausea, hallucinations, overactive reflexes, or hyperreflexia, dilated pupils. In severe cases, the symptoms may include: unresponsiveness, coma, seizures, irregular heartbeat and DEATH.

Please, if you use the types of drugs listed above, please educate yourself – a few websites are below:

https://www.healthline.com/health/serotonin-syndrome…

https://www.mayoclinic.org/…/s…/symptoms-causes/syc-20354758

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serotonin_syndrome