Raynaud's Syndrome? Treatment?

[Williethump]

Dr appointment Monday for Raynaud's disease, right index finger. Finger turns dead white in cold temperatures, and lately spasms intermittently and randomly side to side.
I hit all the marks- history of arthritis, new right hip 2007, repetitive stress injuries, vibrating power tool use, previous successful surgeries for: carpal tunnel, trigger finger, hammer toe.
Big PT believer but this is affecting my playing so it's bumming me out.
Tell me some jolly good medical news on treatment, cures, prevention, adaptation etc. Does drinking coffee worsen it?
Could never grip a pick so I'm finger style only and I use a stylus on phone, tablet and PC mouse using left hand and index finger too, to rest the right one. But still, finger spasms. Not getting better.

Thanks.

 

[Williethump]

Well, cyber friends, gotta cut this thread short due to overwhelming response, just don't have time in my busy day to respond.
But if, in some bizzaro alt TB where my posts ever get response(es), and someone in cyber world ever reads this, the doctor said:
Raynaud's disease or syndrome, unknown cause vascular capillary constriction in cold weather, and under stress, in digits.
Keep digit(s) warm.
Double my existing BP med, a calcium channel blocker, from 5 mg to 10 mg daily. Per the doc coffee does not aggravate it (big 4-cup addict addict here).
I already kept my fingers as warm as possible which is impossible in my lovable but deprepit house in NorCal in winter.
I always tried to spare the index and middle fingers- stylus, dishwashing rubber gloves, bike gloves etc.
So I don't need to change much and have not felt the finger twitching lately so I have hope.
My stress level is also lower. Have not played much either so here goes nothing.
Goodbye cruel TB, neglectful bitch. There, a mod will notice now, I wrote a mild cuss.
[Thus dies the never read thread by the never read poster, RIP.]

 

[two fingers]

I'm guessing the lack of response came from nobody else here having experienced what you are going through.

My only suggestion would be to look into an anti-inflammatory diet.

Best of luck with this.

 

[Killing Floor]

No medical advice but best wishes and prayers from here. Good luck.

 

[gscroggin]

@Williethump While I'm sure your situation is no doubt frustrating, you may want to re-calibrate your expectations for people responding to anything on any forum, especially on short notice. IME on any forum, not getting a response for a while on an odd/specialized topic is pretty much the norm. I really don't think it's you, and I even experienced the same many years ago when I posted about an odd medical issue I was experiencing.

I just happened to be looking at the "Recent Posts" list and saw a phrase I'd never seen (Raynaud's Syndrome), which piqued my interest based on my past experience (potentially dealing with Ménière's disease). What's really interesting is that I deal with something similar in my hands every year when it gets cold here in the northeast, and was discussing it with someone the other day when it finally started to be winter here. I thankfully don't have the intermittent spasms or involuntary movements, just loss of sensation, partial loss of function, turning ice cold to the touch, and a significant change in color no matter how much my hands are protected in the cold. It's always been a real PITA for winter gigs, but I've thought it was just a weird thing and dealt with it. You're obviously dealing with something more involved, so I wish you the best of luck! In the meantime I'm going to do a bit of reading about Raynaud's, perhaps there are varying degrees of it and there's something I could be doing different myself. I'm a relatively healthy person (reasonable diet, exercise, don't smoke, etc.) but always interested in making changes if it's sensible.

Out of curiosity, what does that x-ray show with the metal (?) reference points? It actually looks like a foot, not a hand?

 

[WG Plum]

Here are a couple of resources I found, if you haven't seen these already:

Raynaud’s Phenomenon

Raynaud's Disease | Raynaud's Syndrome | MedlinePlus

All the best to you.

 

[smperry]

Wish I had advice. I have it too, and I'm getting pretty frustrated with it. I show up at my piano player's house to play, and I'm at like 50% for the first 15 minutes. I'm a Black man and some of my fingers go white. I've taken to wearing gloves a lot of the time.

 

[Williethump]

I'm guessing the lack of response came from nobody else here having experienced what you are going through.

My only suggestion would be to look into an anti-inflammatory diet.

Best of luck with this.

Looks promising, raised dose of my BP med seems to have calmed the twitches, hope it continues. Will play more soon. Still dealing with arthritis etc but that's nothing new.
Always good to think about diet, mine's on the paleo, ancestral style, marred by chocolate addiction.

 

[bolophonic]

I suffered from this when I was in prosthetic fabrication. We used cast saws that caused vibration injuries to my right hand. I was told to expect my fingers to go dead for the rest of my life, but I noticed that the symptoms abated within a couple of years after leaving that industry. I have very little information to offer, except that massaging my fingers as soon as they shut down would bring them back to life when I was experiencing the worst of my symptoms. Good luck!!

 

[Williethump]

@Williethump While I'm sure your situation is no doubt frustrating, you may want to re-calibrate your expectations for people responding to anything on any forum, especially on short notice. IME on any forum, not getting a response for a while on an odd/specialized topic is pretty much the norm. I really don't think it's you, and I even experienced the same many years ago when I posted about an odd medical issue I was experiencing.

I just happened to be looking at the "Recent Posts" list and saw a phrase I'd never seen (Raynaud's Syndrome), which piqued my interest based on my past experience (potentially dealing with Ménière's disease). What's really interesting is that I deal with something similar in my hands every year when it gets cold here in the northeast, and was discussing it with someone the other day when it finally started to be winter here. I thankfully don't have the intermittent spasms or involuntary movements, just loss of sensation, partial loss of function, turning ice cold to the touch, and a significant change in color no matter how much my hands are protected in the cold. It's always been a real PITA for winter gigs, but I've thought it was just a weird thing and dealt with it. You're obviously dealing with something more involved, so I wish you the best of luck! In the meantime I'm going to do a bit of reading about Raynaud's, perhaps there are varying degrees of it and there's something I could be doing different myself. I'm a relatively healthy person (reasonable diet, exercise, don't smoke, etc.) but always interested in making changes if it's sensible.

Out of curiosity, what does that x-ray show with the metal (?) reference points? It actually looks like a foot, not a hand?

Some people have it lots worse than me I understand. Then too, I'm a quarantining bedroom bassist, playing for therapy and joy and sanity (sure, some vanity- tiktok bass solos, ha, ha). But never my income involved. But no twitches for days now so hope springs. My BP probably needed the higher dose anyway so it's all good.
Pic- 'Hammer Toe' stabilizing pins, worn 6 wks post surgery in a 'boot'). Scary looking but successful. Thanks.

 

[Williethump]

Here are a couple of resources I found, if you haven't seen these already:

Raynaud’s Phenomenon

Raynaud's Disease | Raynaud's Syndrome | MedlinePlus

All the best to you.

The treatment seems to be calcium channel blockers like my doc: and alpha blockers. It's working so far and chances are I should already have been on 10 mg anyhow with my BP still hovering borderline. Great links, thanks.

 

[Williethump]

Wish I had advice. I have it too, and I'm getting pretty frustrated with it. I show up at my piano player's house to play, and I'm at like 50% for the first 15 minutes. I'm a Black man and some of my fingers go white. I've taken to wearing gloves a lot of the time.

That's a severe case. Yes, I use gloves a lot. I tried playing in nitrile gloves like that online bassist once, and that helped in my chilly room but gave a muffled tone.
I have not had any twitches or spasms since my doc raised my BP med, a calcium channel blocker. Which I no doubt needed anyhow for BP reasons and stress- 95 yo daddy died in mid December.
I have not let it get cold lately but I'm curious to see if the cold still turns it dead white and numb like someone else's finger. Hope not. Good luck to you.

 

[smperry]

That's a severe case. Yes, I use gloves a lot. I tried playing in nitrile gloves like that online bassist once, and that helped in my chilly room but gave a muffled tone.
I have not had any twitches or spasms since my doc raised my BP med, a calcium channel blocker. Which I no doubt needed anyhow for BP reasons and stress- 95 yo daddy died in mid December.
I have not let it get cold lately but I'm curious to see if the cold still turns it dead white and numb like someone else's finger. Hope not. Good luck to you.

Thanks. They don't go pure white, but it's pretty striking in my middle and index fingers compared to the rest of the palm of my hand, which is more pink/tan. I don't get twitches or spasms, just numbness, stiffness, and some pain. My bp tends to be low, but I do love coffee.

A doctor/friend diagnosed it immediately upon seeing my hand, but I haven't seen anyone about it. Not the most pressing thing right now, but *so* annoying.

 

[EASonBass]

My wife (no pix) has suffered from this for years. Not to freak you out but You might want to get checked out right away as it can be a symptom of a super fun auto-immune scleroderma, which the Mrs was diagnosed with after the raynauds diagnosis. PM me if you want more info.

in the mean time keep your hands warm

 

[6thplanet]

Have any of you had your thyroid function checked? I had similar symptoms and eventually found mine was failing. After medication, no more numb whitish finger tips. Also changed diet to a low salt, heavily plant based one. Also a tremendous help for blood flow for me.

 

[smperry]

I think I had mine checked about a year ago, and it was ok. I'll look at my records again. Thanks for mentioning. My diet is already vegetarian, but I do like my salt.

 

[Williethump]

I'm happy to say the finger whiteness and numbness are pretty rare now if I keep the finger warmish.
And the 10mg amplodipine calcium channel blocker is controlling the BP, more important than Raynauds really.
Very few finger spasms either though that symptom could be more of arthritis instead. I still can't play yet, from arthritic neck inflammation this time. For which I'm using 500mg acetaminophen and heat. Jonesing to play for my mental therapy, too. Patients gotta be patient or risk further damage.

 

[Spacewoman]

I went to an acupuncturist today for the first of 6 sessions to treat this condition. I'll report back when I'm done.

BTW, she said I could keep playing bass (but I should stay right away from vibrating power tools.)

 

[Williethump]

I went to an acupuncturist today for the first of 6 sessions to treat this condition. I'll report back when I'm done.

BTW, she said I could keep playing bass (but I should stay right away from vibrating power tools.)

I still use power tools but sparingly, forget the gloss finish. My Raynauds has abated for a few years but everything else is wrong: RSI from a youth wasted on carpentry and labor - giant heavy geared Skilsaws, nail guns, Hilti/Ramset powder tools shot into steel beams and ancient WWII concrete - Mare island.
Stretched both wrists in a head-on motorcycle accident in 1971.
Then a tech career with the state involving a million keystrokes in 23 years. Carpel tunnel surgery in the late '80s; trigger finger procedure in the outies. And arthritis too.
So my ax and machete work days may be over too, too much pain and weakness the next few days after. PT and weight lifting helps me hold it together.
I do think the bass playing lead to my left (fretting) elbow getting tendinitis. I'm sure from my primitive bad technique. Again, just more PT needed, heat, massage. I try to play more gently but then something happens and I start digging in, outrunning Roland, my drummer.
Then I add a bunch of gain, chorus and dash of reverb. It makes me want to get up and dance. Easy, boy, the fangers, the fangers. As much therapy for me as music, I need it. So I wear an Ace wrist brace when I'm working and avoid heavy, jarring tools - though I do carefully hoe the dandelions up.
I don't know why the Reynaud went away or if it'll come back. But it's great to play without much pain or numbness. If my doc told me to quit playing bass I'd get another opinion or doctor. Yours sounds simpatico. Good luck with the sessions and do keep us posted.

 

[kesslari]

I'm dealing with this - I've had it all my life but it never interfered with my playing. @smperry @Williethump and others - it's not much fun, y'all are right. It actually hurts to play bass when it starts to act up.
Life goes on.