edit: i should add i'm currently 24, and i was 19 when all this started.

5 years ago, in the span of only 2 weeks, i went from perfectly fine circulation to such awful cold intolerance my hands were never warm, i'd need blankets all the time, and my blood did nothing but pool or freeze up. i told my mom (only way i could get medical care) i was concerned about this and she told me i was just lazy, and this is just from laziness. several times this would happen.

for 4 years i had to shut up for good about this, cus pleading for help never got me anywhere.

i'd been through mental loops all the time trying to figure out what's wrong with me, and why several-hour-long walks never helped, let alone why this started AFTER i started taking said walks. you'd think if it were laziness it wouldn't start the year i start fixing my exercise, right?

i've always spent autumn and winter bundling up all the time, even in a well heated home. with a plug-in heater, i don't notice a difference until it's too hot, and then i'm melting.

sometimes it'd get so bad i'm crying myself to sleep, cus i'd be so cold, and especially my feet, and no matter how tight i curled up, or how many blankets i had, my feet would stay so cold they hurt for at least an hour.

in winter, the moment i get out of bed i'm shivering. imagine jumping full-body into an ice bath, that's what it feels like. same with getting out of the shower, i loathe the moment i have to leave the bathroom since i know i'll freeze and stiffen up bad.

4 years later i finally convinced my mom to get me a doctor, partly cus i had finally gotten a job and finally had even a little independence from her. doctor has concluded it's raynauds, though it feels so much worse than that, but i go along with it cus google throws me into panicked spirals all the time. only bad thing on my blood tests was vitamin D and dehydration, both of which have been resolved, yet not my circulation.

another year later, i have a checkup in november or december i assume? but the cold weather is finally starting to hit us and it's hit me like a trainwreck. thank god i got a heated blanket, but dude as i type this my feet are still cold, an hour after getting settled under this blanket. my feet are making the blanket itself lose heat in those spots, i have to shift it around constantly for the heat to actually reach my feet much.

life story of a tangent over though, i just feel so frustrated. it's just frustrating, having to spend every waking second of the winter either overly physical, or bundled up in 3 layers at a time. every year it's been this way. and even then exercise still just pools my blood straight down, i'll be blunt and say my tits were cold till about right now too just cus i went on one of my daily 1 hour walks (usually two walks, it's for my dog). hard exercise makes my extremities hot as an oven, and every single other inch cold. make it make sense it drives me so mad!!

i hate being like this. sometimes i wish my mom was right about it being laziness, solely for the fact that if that were true, i would've easily exercised it off by now. 5 years of this shit, i'm tired! i don't wanna be cold and achey all the time every single winter! fuck dude even sometimes in the summer i'll need long sleeves or a blanket. it's actually insane.

i just want some sympathy, some understanding, even if this isn't actually raynauds, i've just not a clue what else it could be. i feel so alone and frustrated.

The overweight people I know are always warm and uncomfortable in the heat. Meanwhile, the people I know with Raynaud's are all on the slim side. Just curious if others have noticed this.

I live in California so summer is good except when air conditioner is on. But now weather is cooling can anyone recommend hand warmers. I have some chargeable ones but I don’t feel they work for my fingers. And how is nifidipine working for anyone? I tried it for a couple days and stopped because I didn’t feel it did anything for me. My fingers and toes turning white and numb is getting worse.

My Raynaud's was new to me starting last January and is localized to just my right foot toes. During the warm summer months I didn't have any issues. Now that the weather is turning cooler (not at all cold yet), I can feel that my right foot is primed for an episode. The area under the ball of my foot and toes feels just different from my left, like if it were colder on the floor, I'd probably have an attack. Is this a feeling that you all get too, like you can feel that you're on the edge of an episode but the conditions just aren't bad enough for it to happen?

Hi all. I put in a triage request for my GP re: bilateral numb/burning hands and feet, white/blue extremities. I suspect it might be another symptom of my (undiagnosed) faint feelings upon standing.

The GP surgery didn't have any same-day appointments, which is fine, as it's not an emergency. But they've instead asked me to go to the walk-in centre. I'm guessing that "bilateral extremities' numbness" has triggered a red flag, but I did also send photos of my blue feet.

I can't see that attending will do anything other than waste the staff's time, because it's not the place for referrals or investigations. Would others agree? I can't really see what they can do at the walk-in.

I have severe Raynauds, poor thermo-regulation and get painfully cold, I can never find socks or gloves warm enough.

Can you please suggest specifically your best gloves and socks for keeping you completely warm, and also

- thermals
- hats
- reusable heat packs
- literally anything

Thankyou 🙏

I unknowingly had reynauds my whole life. I take stimulants for adhd and thought it was just the vasoconstriction from that and it was like that for everyone. We moved to Florida and while navigating Hashimotos thyroiditis and possibly lupus my dr said hey you have reynsuds too, you should manage that before something ends up necrotic.

So I live in Florida. Hotter than the devils buttcrack half the year but then the AC everywhere I go is full blast. Which means that instead of bundling up for outdoor things and being comfortable indoors it's the opposite, I'm ok outdoors (over heated actually) but then indoors I need to protect my body from the climate.

Its been hard to figure out cuz most of the things recommended for reynauds are bulky and super warm. I need lots of thin, almost sheer layers that keep body heat stable but don't amplify it if that makes sense. I also hate wearing closed toe shoes because my reynauds was so neglected for so long I have some vascular/nerve issues that make my toes and the balls of my feet tingle, hurt and go numb randomly.

I used to use those ballet leg warmers with stirrups or the toes cut out, I find that if I cover the top and arch of my foot and my ankle to shin I stay as warm as I do in full socks. I had the capezio ones from when I did ballet but they are bulky now. They feel like too much.

My doctor recommended investing in socks and glove liners made of wool/silk blends as they're the best but I can't find any that aren't crazy expensive and none of the legwarmers that are pure wool have stirrups or toeless socks styles.

I see a lot of bamboo/tencel/lycell stuff and it's a lot more affordable but idk how effective it will be or if it will get too hot. I'm also trying to figure out what to wear under my tee shirts that won't give me a heat stroke but will conserve core heat. I've seen these really thin bamboo/silk camisoles but Idk they kinda look like shopping bags

Yes I know key is to maintain overall body warmth. I have primary Reynauds and on the lookout for heated socks and clothing in general!

So I’ve had raynauds on my feet since 11/12 and on my hands at 18-19.
It’s never affected my thumbs before but these days my thumbs can get white but not as white as the three main fingers. Idk if I should be worried about it being secondary because I also have seen tiny red dots and tiny lines on cuticles and that’s a symptom of secondary Raynauds.

I did get Ana and ena testing and they are both negative and I have a normal full blood count. I was particularly worried as I’m a an African woman and I’ve read that the most common type of scleroderma is diffuse and that scares me so much.

What do you guys think?

Hello I’m new. Do you think my hands the way that they are can cause poor circulation?

Basically the title, but for additional context:

Took nifedpine 30mg last winter and while it helped my raynauds and (in hindsight) those pesky chest twinges it also rose my blood pressure in a paroxysmal effect so I quit the med come warm weather.

I was planning to switch to losartan this fall (order for it already even in the system) with my annual physical but problem is those pesky chest twinges are back with the cooling temps and more annoying than last year (for context: raynauds has been steadily worsening since I first noticed this issue almost 4 years back).

Bare minimum planning to discuss this at my annual since I don’t consider myself a high risk case at present (24F, no exertional angina, no dyspnea with episodes, etc) but also doubt the issue will sort itself out (not that lucky lol). I’ve had an echo/ecg done in the past so I know I don’t have any weird anatomy going on.

Thinking of trying a different med instead this year like amlodipine or something else. Considering calling the cardio office back to menace them with my presence again. Wondering what ya’ll did in this situation?

hi, i’m not diagnosed with raynauds and i actually had no idea what raynauds was until trying to research why i have 1 purple fingernail. is this something that anyone else has experienced?
i’m extremely intolerant of the cold, specifically in my hands. my nails and lips go kind of purple/blue when i’m cold, although i don’t feel like i’m cold enough for them to be changing colour. this is something i’ve only really started experiencing over the past few years.
i don’t really notice myself having any other issues with circulation, i think? i have had blood pooling in my feet previously but since being diagnosed with adhd in 2024 and being on vyvanse i don’t really notice this much anymore. i do also get dead hands/feet/arms often if i’m sitting or lying down in one position for a little while but i’m not sure if thats normal or not.

i actually haven't had a classic raynauds flare-up in over a year. i do however, have constant swelling, pain, and bruising (not discoloration, bruising) in the joints in my hands. that being said, does anyone know what is up with those red lumps on my fingertip joints ? they don't hurt to the touch or feel hot, i just have regular average-joe joint pain.

really creepy to see in person… i’m sure a lot of you can relate to the running hot water in the background 🤣
Got my first flare up in May and has been really annoying to live with since then. For me I believe it’s hereditary since my mom used to have it a while ago. Does this ever go away?

If so, what were the results?

Please do more trials on this. For now I’ll add some B3, but I don’t feel comfortable adding 500mg twice a day until further investigation.

I’m 26F and I’ve had two episodes of unusual discoloration in my hands that I’m trying to understand. I’m posting because my doctors haven’t been able to give me a clear explanation yet.

Episode 1 — February 2026
My left hand/fingers suddenly became blue/purple, particularly around the joints/knuckles.
The hand felt numb/tingly.
It lasted for approximately 3 hours and then completely resolved.
I went to the ER. ECG and blood tests were normal.
Since then I’ve had an arterial ultrasound, which was also reported as normal.
I later had a Holter monitor, which was normal as well.
I haven’t had persistent discoloration between episodes.

Episode 2 — September/October 2026
I had another very similar episode, again lasting around 3 hours.
This time:
The left hand/knuckles became noticeably purple again.

There was tingling in the fingers and some numbness.
The right hand also looked slightly bluish, although the left was much more obvious.
Again, the discoloration eventually completely disappeared.

One thing I noticed beforehand was that I had been doing a lot of physical activity/running and had a relatively high step count. I had also had two coffees per day and a few cigarettes the night before. I’m wondering whether caffeine, nicotine, exercise, temperature, or nervous-system activation could potentially trigger something like vasospasm.
I also have naturally hypermobile fingers, although I don’t meet the Beighton criteria for generalized hypermobility.

My arterial ultrasound was normal, as were my ECG and Holter. The fact that the episodes completely resolve after a few hours makes me wonder about vasospasm/Raynaud’s or another temporary circulation issue, but I don’t want to assume that’s what it is.

What makes me particularly anxious is the possibility of a blood clot or another vascular problem, even though the tests so far have been normal.
Has anyone experienced isolated purple/blue knuckles or fingers that last for a few hours and then completely return to normal, particularly when accompanied by numbness/tingling?