Blue cold fingers

[j2]

I have been having bluish gray, cold fingers lately. I am very worried that this is a sign of either lung cancer or some sort of circulation issue. I do feel short of breath and light headed sometimes, but I have had this for years. The strange thing is that I run 3 or 4 times a week. I am not very fast but I cover about 5 kilometers each time. Part of my brain thinks this is just anxiety. I have been anxious for so long that I don't know what normal feels like anymore. Even when I don't think I am anxious, I still have symptoms. I keep telling myself that if I can run and not have problems then it isn't my lungs or heart. The anxious part of my brain is listening to every bit of my body and hearing every little ache or pain and screaming at me that this is something horrible and I need to race off to the ER. Can someone rationally read this and help me think straight? Thanks

[eva82]

Well I've had cold fingers and feet before with anxiety, and sometimes I've notices the color draining from them but I haven't noticed them being a blue/grey color. I have a darker skin tone though so that may be why. if it's really worrying you can you call your doctor tomorrow and ask him or an advice nurse? Sorry I couldn't be of more help to you! Xx

[lauz_lea]

A friend of mine suffered similarly in one arm - she had many health problems and I suspect that anx was one of them too. She also ran a lot and had lost a lot of weight through diet and excersise before the problem started. If she raised her arm above her head she would pass out - do you get this?

Its worth getting a scan to see if you have a trapped nerve or vein.

[j2]

Thanks for the responses. I don't pass out but I do feel like I might faint but I have felt like that for years. What I could really use is some logic. I am really fearing lung cancer or something wrong with my heart. I try to rationalize that if I had something so wrong with me that I wasn't getting oxygen or blood to my fingers then surely I would not be able to run as much as I do. Is this sound logic or just wishful thinking and I am really ill? Please let me know what you all think and thanks again for putting up with me.

J2

[blingkasa]

Do you run everyday? Could it also be the weather? Depending on if its cool or hot. If it was circulation you would not be able to run, it could be just anxiety as well.

[j2]

I don't run everyday and I usually run inside. I "know" it is just anxiety but the only way I seem to get over fears is to use logic. I am afraid to google so I was hoping I could get your input on whether or not you think I could run without shortness of breath and still have a lack of oxygen in my fingers. I know this sounds both desperate and crazy but I am really needing that logic right now.

Thanks and I so appreciate replies.

[allergyphobia]

hello, i'm not doctor but you could have some form of raynaud's syndrome, it's nothing serious but just an annoyance to live with and can develop in your 20s/30s. if you click on the symptoms tab of this link it mentions the skin turning blue.

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Raynauds-phenomenon/Pages/Symptoms.aspx

i have this in a mild form without the discolouration and have never had any treatment.

hope this helps x

[j2]

After reading the link, this does sound like me. I am curious if it can be more pronounced in one hand or another. My right hand definitely feels colder than my left. I would google it but googling never ends well for me. This is just so scarey for me as I have had mild chest tightness and shortness of breath for years. I also have recurring upper back pain and I know all these could be the big C. I just want to be normal again. Thanks for listening and any other advice is sooooo appreciated.

J2

[mikewales]

My ex always had freezing cold feet, as I found out every time she stuck them on my legs in bed to warm them up ! The docs reckoned it was just poor circulation, and one of those things.

If you have had these problems like the back pain and shortness of breath for years, and it was cancer, you would be dead by now, so I really don't think you have to worry about them.

For your own peace of mind, go and see your doctor and ask to be tested, but also look into help for your health anxiety, as that is what the real problem is

[lauz_lea]

I've emailed my friend and asked her for the name of the condition she had, although she certainly suffers with anx/stress but just doesn't realise it (not that I go around diagnosing all my friends)

[j2]

Thanks for the responses. I wish I could go get some testing done but I simply can't afford it. It would cost me hundreds or thousands of dollars to get this done. I guess I will just hold on to the fact that my fingers don't turn blue when I run and I don't pass out when I run so whatever is causing this problem is not the big C in the lungs. I hope I get a handle on this anxiety.

[lauz_lea]

Hi J2, my friend replied and the name of the condition she had was paget schroetter syndrome or thoraic outlet syndrome. May be worth a little look, BUT please bare in mine that she also showed extreme signs of anxiety too, she was just never aware of it and never diagnosed.

[JMR]

Hi - Not posted for a long while, but still suffer from severe health anxiety periodically. I've spent the past couple of weeks obsessing over my cold hands/fingers which blanch then seem to have bluish tinge before tips return to red (rubor). I have also been experiencing episodes of tight/sore ribs/upper back/chest and of shortness of breath every few weeks since May 2011! I have been very inactive for a long time due to anxiety which slid into severe depression, but I have been much improved over the past year thanks to magnesium supplements. Therefore I do not feel 'consciously' anxious on a general level, but I am very worried about what the cause of my symptoms could be...Lupus? N H Lymphoma (the nemesis I fear and have written about previously). I went to see my GP back in Oct & was referred for physiotherapy as my shoulder was very cracky and tight (long term). The physio doesn't find anything structually amiss, but the past couple of weeks I was so bad with the tightness/soreness/knots I visited a chiropractor who found some twist and misalignment across my back caused by my right pelvis being out of line! He didn't seem too concerned about my intermittent breathing 'difficulty' & picked up on my anxious nature (as did the physio previously). I have returned to exercise by brisk walking and seem to manage this ok, though sometimes I 'gasp' for that elusive deep breath! I have hired a treadmill for a couple of weeks to motivate my return to fitness and seem fine when I run on this (though not very fast) my stamina is not bad and I am not breathless other than the normal expectation of exercise. I am reluctant to visit my GP for tests as I worry so much about the results and don't know whether ignorance is bliss for me in the case of a bad diagnosis, though of course a reassuring one would put an end to my HA..(for now!) and I could get on with my life again. I become 'paralysed' when I google websites and convinced I have sinister illness..but I am also very evasive of going to the Drs???!! Surely I could not manage exercise & treadmill if I had pleurisy/lupus/lung problems etc....? Like you, I've had tension in upper back for a long time but the breathing issue has been relatively recent...May 2011 & previously back in Dec 2008/Jan 2009 (under extreme stress each time). Had chest x ray & FBC Jan 2009 & all seemed normal. Hope I can reassure you with my experience as I have taken some comfort from your post..:huh: