Just curious but, I have been getting knots, one in my left foot and one in my left hand that hurt and my knuckles are blue. The only thing which I have found usefull is to use a massager and painfully massage them out, has helped, but is this fibro or raynaud's and what is the difference........anyone care to elaborate on this. My feet stay cold all the time ccccc and I have to wear socks. I know someone else has this prob

Raynaud's is a form of vasculitis, in which the blood vessels contract and the blood can't get to your extremities, hence the ciruclatory problems, like cold and numbness. You may also find that, when the feeling does start to come back into your hands, it happens suddenly and they get red and swollen (this happened to me even in childhood and I never knew what it was). The thing about Raynaud's is that it afflicts people who don't have autoimmune diseases, too, although it's most common in people with MS, RA, FMS, etc.

Fibro, on the other hand, doesn't include vasculitis per se, although it can be a secondary condition. A lot of us have it. With fibro, you may get pain in the joints, musclkes, and connective tissues in your hands and feet, but it's a different kind of pain. You may also get numbness, but if you're like me, you've probably found a different quality to the numbness you get from Raynaud's and the numbness you get from fibro - the latter doesn't include the severe cold for me that the former does.

What *does* concern me is that you mentioned "knots." Since you said the mssager helps work them out, then they're probably just knotted muscles. However . . . one of the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis for a lot of people is nodules (lumps ot knots), particularly in the hands, arms, ankles, and feet. This is fibrous tissue, rather than knotted muscles, so it should feel a little different, and massaging it probably won't make it go away. However. if you think there's any chance at all that the knots you're getting are actually these nodules, talk to your doctor about it. S/he can run blood tests, etc. - and if your doctor does think it might be a sign of RA, it's frankly much more treatable than fibro (there are drugs designed specifically for it).

Hope this helps!

Ajijaak

Thanks for the response it was quite informative. I feel I may have an auto-immune disease which is causing many of my probs. Haven't been to a Rheamy yet is this the best move. Been seeing a internal medicine doc, don't think he really acts like he cares to much or maybe this is a long process from which I have heard. I definately need an opinion from someone who deals with this prob or someone who can help pleeease.

I have had Raynaud's syndrome since being a teenager and that is a long time ago. I frostbite my hands and feet which is what I attribute this to. However, it took me many years to tie these two things together. I remember when I went for surgery I told doctor's about this condition and they put a heating blanket on me after surgery in recovery room. I made a special point of this because I told them "Just because I am blue colored this is normal for me and do not think I am dead!" However, since fibro deal if someone put a heating blanket on me I would die of a heat stroke. (TT)

Isn't it interesting how some of these disorders overlap with symptoms, etc.

Is there a blood test for Raynaud's? Does anyone know?

thanks,
Ed