It’s been a long time since I’ve posted here. I was diagnosed with Sjogren’s Syndrome in September, 2014. The worst problem I’ve always had to deal with is horrible fatigue, although medicine does help somewhat. Recently, I’ve been getting this really weird stinging feeling and redness on my fingertips. It feels like some kind of chemical irritation, like what you might get if you got paint thinner or something like that on your hands, but of course I haven’t been using any chemicals! This is the 3rd time I’ve seen it. I just kind of ignored it before and figured maybe it was just from playing on the computer and typing too much. But this time it isn’t going away. Right now my fingers are still tingling and I can still see a patchy redness on my fingertips. I do have Raynaud’s, but so far it has only affected my feet. (My feet get freezing cold and sometimes my toenails turn blue). I’ve never noticed anything unusual on my hands until now. Has anyone else here noticed anything like this with your fingers? My fingers don’t feel cold, they just have a slight burning or stinging sensation and redness. I’m wondering if maybe the Raynaud’s could be starting to affect my hands now? Or maybe some kind of vasculitis? I really don’t know what it is, but it’s definitely not normal and I never had this before the Sjogren’s hit me.
Have you been checked for neuropathy? I get that nasty stinging nearly everywhere these days but it started out in my hands and feet. Sometimes its as light as the sensation of a stray hair on my skin, other times its so painful and intense I almost want to scratch the skin off trying to get it to stop. Stinging is a good description… It may be worth mentioning to the doc.
I had a nerve conduction test a while back, maybe a few months ago, and it didn’t seem to show anything conclusive. I’ve been getting a qeird “twitching” problem for a long time now, where different parts of my body will randomly jerk involuntarily. So I do think there is something going on with my nervous system. I am seeing a neurologist…I don’t really like her, and she had always said before that she didn’t think the Sjogren’s was affecting my nerves, but the last time I saw her she seemed to take it more seriously and admitted it is a possibility. But I’m still wondering if neuropathy would cause my fingertips to have this redness? It’s like a patchy redness, almost like a slight rash.
I came to see my primary doctor about it. I’m actually waiting in the office right now. I hope she can find out something. I’m sure it has to be related to the Sjogren’s.
If the neurologist is saying that your Sjögren’s is not impacting your nerves, why? It is known that there can be nerve involvement. It may be time to find a new neurologist. I found one that I’ve only seen a few times, but I really like him. It helps that he understands about autoimmune disease. He encourages testing only as it might be used to change treatment decisions,
Oh yes. I have a lot of issues with Raynaud's in my hands. I actually prefer the cold blue to the red hot. It's gotten to the point when my hands are red, hot and swollen I also have a feeling of being shocked. I was at work trying to type and every so often one finger would jump off the key. It was so weird. My aunt has RA and said she had the same issue at times. For me it seems to be the worst during the winter.