Scleroderma Fear

[liah]

hello, everyone.
First of all I'd like to say I'm from Brazil, so excuse me for my english.

I'm 20 years old, female, "healthy". I was diagnosged with OCD in 2014, and have been suffering from it since I was 12.
Health anxiety is my major obssesion, I already "had" ALS, MS, brain tumor, Lyme and the list goes on.
But in the last month things started to get really weird.

One day, after eating I desenvolved a massive heartburn that lasted for 15 days.
I never had a heartburn, alone lasting 15 days!
So I started searching from causes and Scleroderma (Systemic Sclerosis) came up.
After the heartburn was cured, I started getting red spots on my hands. Another symptom of Scleroderma, telangiectasia.
And 3 days ago, my hands started burning from inside out and it won't stop.

I have to say, that my grandmother died from scleroderma, that's why I'm so worried!
I'm waiting the ANA's results but I'm waiting the worst :(

Did anyone ever had this fear or symptons?

And again, sorry for my english!

[Arukaia]

Well, I get heartburn when i'm stressed. I don't experience the pain, however i can feel the acids push up and I feel like puking, once I felt like that for whole two months.

I've googled pictures of the red rash that comes along with it. I've had an illness called Hand mouth feet or something, it first appears like this, then it starts burning insanely (i had to hold ice packets to ease the pain) and then it turned into dead skin.

Thought there is of course a posibility that you may have developed this kind of illness due to genetical reasons, it for sure doesn't mean that you have it.

"Treatments for SS have drastically improved in the past 30 years. Although there’s still no cure for SS, there are many different treatments that can help you manage your symptoms. Talk to your doctor if any of your symptoms is getting in the way of your daily life. They can work with you to adjust your treatment plan."

I think that you should not give up hope even if you are diagnosed with it, but I hope that you will get your results clear. It really might be just something similar. :)

Positive thoughts

[worriermama]

You probably don't have it. Scleroderma is quite rare. But, FYI, my mom had it and is in remission thanks to the antibiotic protocol for rheumatic diseases. You can look into the Road Back Foundation. BUT I sincerely doubt you will need to! I only give you this information for peace of mind. My mom has been in remission for over 15 years. Best wishes.

[liah]

Arukaia, thank you so much for replying!

Like yours, my heartburn get worse when I'm stressed! And my hands only stops burning when I hold ice, just like you said! But I don't have a sore throat, and this Hand mouth feet disease looks like it causes sore throat.

I hope you're right, I'm so worried I can't even eat well.
Thank you!

---------- Post added at 14:19 ---------- Previous post was at 14:15 ----------


You probably don't have it. Scleroderma is quite rare. But, FYI, my mom had it and is in remission thanks to the antibiotic protocol for rheumatic diseases. You can look into the Road Back Foundation. BUT I sincerely doubt you will need to! I only give you this information for peace of mind. My mom has been in remission for over 15 years. Best wishes.

Thank you for replying! I'm so sorry ( but yet happy for her remission) for your mom. Only the thought of having it at such young age, make me shiver! My GI doctor said I probably don't have it too, but since there is a case in my family and now I'm having this weird symptons makes me worried.

[worriermama]

liah, Hand Foot and Mouth doesn't always cause all symptoms in adults. It's a very weird virus. We just had it in our family (thanks to son's preschool class). Are you around small children? It's highly contagious and can last for a few weeks. It can cause itching and burning skin and hands/feet.

I did have the sore throat, but very mildly. My main symptoms were aches/joint pains, fatigue, malaise, and itching and burning hands and feet.

[liah]

No, I don't have contact with small children.
What worries the most is that I can see that the red spot are very small veins, just like the description of telangiectasia in Scleroderma patients.
The burning sensantion in my hands come and go along the day, and the hand is really hot (is not just sensation). I googled and some Scleroderma patients have this kind of burning sensation, just like Raynaud's phenomenon but reverse.

[Arukaia]

Exactly, I didn't have problems with throat or mouth in general, if I recall correctly. I was 17 probably or 16 and the doctor said that its a childrens illness, so it applies a bit differently to adults. I haven't been in contact with small kiddos either, but my classmate got it somewhere too. It really can be even water in pool probably, or public transport.

I think your hands might be completely different cause than sclerosis, but it's such a good thing that you have done tests needed to diagnose yourself properly. Don't forget that when you google your symptoms, often the worst illnesses come up, such as cancer when your left side of tummy hurts while in reality, it's probably just gas or colitis. :)

[liah]

Yeah, I know Google is not a hypochondriac best friend but I can't help but searching! :(
I'm so worried I can't eat and sleep well.
Before the scleroderma fear, I had fear of having ALS cause I started having several muscle twitching! Now that I'm worried about scleroderma I don't twitch at all!
Anxiety can be such a pain sometimes.

[Arukaia]

You have basically answered yourself. Our brain can often make us believe that we suffer from things and project it into REAL feelings - such as pain, twitches, vomiting, diarrhoea... I haven't found if that those red spots are caused by stress, but the heart burn probably is.

Btw, I have thought of sclerosis too (different kind) because my hands and feet are freezing a lot and sometimes i don't feel them much + my nerves aren't behaving the way they should be. And also, I have thought I have cancer of that, that and that... I am such an hypochondriac and I know that these fears can transform into false beliefs and those can actually make you feel like you have it when the body starts to mirror it. And the more you read about illness, the more your brain can mirror so it only gets worse with more knowledge.

Of course, you should know about illnesses running in your family and it's crucial to know. WHat I meant was, that your brain can really trick you sometimes, so ease up a little while you wait for most likely good results.

[liah]

But anxiety can't make red spots appear in my hands and skin. Of all my health worries, this have been the worst.

[Arukaia]

Yes I said so, but lets keep in mind that the spots have various origins, not only Scleroderma! :)