I'm on the Medical Merry-Go-Round

anart said:

A natural vasodilator might help - like niacin or even peppermint. Have you tried DMSO gel on your feet?

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Adding to that, L-arginine and/or Nitric oxid may also help. Nitric Oxid seems to work well as a vasodilator but you would need to read on it as it has its downsides if taken in too much quantity. Magnesium also comes to mind.

Reading Psyche's post where infrared saunas are mentioned reminded me that you may be suffering from some sort of toxic load?

Hi Anart, FOXX linked on my page yesterday about DMSO. Gonna check that out. Truthseeker, I will try the bone broth. The peppermint sounds really interesting too. How much peppermint do you think I should take?

Truthseeker, I'm going to make the bone broth and see what happens. Thanks alot for the suggestion. Anart, the peppermint sounds really interesting, but how much should I have? I'm very anti-pharmaceutical, and I haven't eaten even one of the procardia pills yet - and I have two people nagging and pressuring me to take them ( my mother and one of my friends here). It's beginning to get on my nerves now, this hammering about taking these pills and pressuring me to NOT listen to the advice of my friends on this forum. Because you know,none of us could possibly have a clue since the doctors 'know what they're doing'. BULL. I'll be honest. I'm afraid to take these pills. And, it seems to me, if I had arterial blockages in my legs, I would have experienced some kind of symptoms of this before now. I've been doing so much walking, and I can't imagine I could have done all of it if I had arterial blockages such as are being described to me. Then again, just because I can't imagine it doesn't mean it can't happen. I have no burning in my calves, which is a symptom. I'd like to try the natural vasodilators. Just seems like the safer, more sensible thing to do.

Lisa said:

And, it seems to me, if I had arterial blockages in my legs, I would have experienced some kind of symptoms of this before now

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Did anything change as far as diet intake or life stressors (stupid question?) during the time before you started seeing these symptoms in your feet? Do you notice times when your feet don't have discolouration and then do - maybe in a certain environment or time of day or after eating something?

Inflammatory substances can really make things worse and are tied to the plaque build-up. I have Rayneud's and when I eat something inflammatory within 30 minutes (sometimes immediately) my hands are cold and white and can stay like that all day whether I'm feeling cold or not, so narrowing down what your eating might help. Luckily I don't get the purple discolouration anymore except sometimes on the insides of my palms and toes when taking a cold shower. Streneuous, short exercise that really makes me sweat followed by deep, relaxing stretching helps temporarily along with staying away from any caffeine or tea's that are stimulants. I recently took a steady dosage of Magnesium Taurine and that helped with relaxing, but didn't notice any change in blood flow stimulation, fwiw.

Lisa Guliani said:

No, I haven't had the bone broth yet. Sigh. I have to do that.

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I can't do without bone broth. I'm convinced it would regenerate limbs if drunk long enough. ;)

I've also dealt with blood pressure problems and circulation issues. Bone broth helped with all of them. It is one of those foods that you have to stick to though.

A number of years ago I had severe cold damage to my feet (next to frostbite), which a rheumatologist diagnosed as chilblains. From what you describe it sounds like the same thing (including the hard, purple blisters that itch and burn). The only relief would come when I would soak my feet in hot water. The doctor said it was permanent damage and would never go away. I still need to treat myself to keep my feet warm otherwise it can return. When it is freezing I wear cotton socks and then a layer of wool socks and have to make sure to keep my body is warm too so my feet don't get cold. Wearing a layer of silk, cotton and wool seems to work best.

Hope you find some relief.

Could you have gotten chilblains or frostbite while you were out walking.? My feet got wet in freezing temperatures.

Hiya. I thought the weird sores, which are kind of like little calluses now, or rubbed skin, might have been chillblains. The doctor says no. I didn't change my diet prior to this, so I don't see what I could have done as far as diet to trigger this situation. As far as stress, I deal with the same stressors every day- my job being one of them - but don't you think something like this would have manifested itself alot earlier? It'll be two years in May that I'm working at this job. winter walking can be kind of stressful, depending upon the conditions, but I make sure I prepare for weird weather conditions before I leave the house. So I'm not sure that triggered it either. Maybe I'm a bit run down from walking and working so much? Or maybe some of the genetics is starting to hit me now....This might seem weird, but I think I stress more over the things I see going on in the world and in watching how other people treat one another than I do over what happens in my own home or my life, with the exception of my father's death, which has impacted me deeply over the last couple of years, discussed on another thread. But I've worked very hard to get my head in a better place, a more functional place, and I've been coping alot better with that issue since I posted about it on the forum. It stresses me out to have to talk to my mother, and I disliked having to talk to her about the family medical history, but I needed to know who had what. I don't think I got frostbite, and I asked the doctor if I could have gotten it, but he said no, I don't have it. But I CAN get frostbite very easily now. The color changes on my feet happen in a seemingly random way. Not at a certain time of day, or in any certain position, etc...The color change is unsettling. Warm water does help warm me up, but I can't live in warm water. ( It would be nice, eh?)

One of the things I have feared most for myself personally is something like this happening, something with my health making it difficult or impossible to get to work and make a living. Keeping my job so I can survive. But in these times, I don't think that's an uncommon concern and it hasn't been freaking me out or anything.
I'm going to try to get to the store in the morning to get the ingredients to make bone broth.
Where do I get the peppermint?

Sorry to hear about your health issues, Lisa. I agree with trying DMSO, niacin, perhaps vitamin C and Magnesium Taurate. And definitely bone broth -- it's SO good, full of minerals (fat soluble) and the components of cartilage / connective tissue -- plus it's quite cheap.

Hang in there and big hugs.

Just to go back Lisa to what Laura suggested concerning Reflexology you can have a look here:

Improving Circulation with Reflexology for Raynaud’s

Reflexologists work on body maps located on the feet, hands and ears – areas most often affected by Raynaud’s syndrome. Sessions work to create body-wide homeostasis, or balance, and have an effect on the circulatory system. At the 2005 International Council of Reflexologists’ International Conference Dr Mark Piquemal, MD, EE, shared his research on blood flow after a reflexology treatment. In his study he was able to observe changes in the skin using thermographic imagery before and after a 20-minute session.

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_http://suite101.com/article/can-reflexology-benefit-persons-with-raynauds-phenomenon-a318257

My partner does this work, often for Plantar Fasciitis with good results. Whenever i've had treatments, the immediate effects was to feel enveloping heat. Finding a good practitioner can result in pinpointing; and you will feel it, possible interrelated issues.

Hope you can find some resolve with many of the good suggestions here.

I also just thought about trying Boswellia for inflammation (and any pain). It really works fast. What do others think?

You could make yourself a nice footbath and relax your feet while you are sitting at your computer for instance. Add a few drops of essential oil (peppermint as Psyche suggested) and a bit of salt or vinegar, so that emulsion can take place.

Hi Lisa. I know you said your Dr.said no to chilblains.

After my toes would get the purple blisters, a hard callus would form. The silk or cotton liners to the wool socks helped and solved the problem for me. For me it was about keeping my feet and body warm.

When you touch your feet do they feel cold?

Hi Lisa, sorry to hear about all the health problems your having. I know how frustrating it is dealing with the health mafia. You have been given excellent advice so far. But if you don’t like Nifedipine as it is a pharmaceutical, why don't you research Ginkgo biloba

From Wiki:

Ginkgo also known as the maidenhair tree, is a unique species of tree with no close living relatives. The ginkgo is a living fossil, recognisably similar to fossils dating back 270 million years. Native to China, the tree is widely cultivated and introduced early in human history, and has various uses as a food and in traditional medicine.

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Here is a comparative study on it i found.

From Study:

...

The trial concluded that that nifedipine SR was pharmacologically more effective than ginkgo biloba, although both had a positive effect on disease symptoms. The poster's lead author was Whan-Seok Choi of the Catholic University School of Medicine in Seoul.

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Just check it out and do your own research.

Fwiw.

Lisa Guliani said:

Warm water does help warm me up, but I can't live in warm water. ( It would be nice, eh?)

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Unfortunately not, but you can soak just your feet if you don't have time/space for a full bath.

Lisa Guliani said:

One of the things I have feared most for myself personally is something like this happening, something with my health making it difficult or impossible to get to work and make a living. Keeping my job so I can survive. But in these times, I don't think that's an uncommon concern and it hasn't been freaking me out or anything.
I'm going to try to get to the store in the morning to get the ingredients to make bone broth.
Where do I get the peppermint?

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One of the good things about natural remedies is that they become far more cost effective than visits to the doctor. When done regularly, they can even prevent or at least greatly cut down such visits.

I can't/won't speak for anart, but in addition to the already suggested peppermint oil (which can be found at most health food stores), I'd suggest peppermint tea. My current understanding is that most peppermint oils (and other oils in general) aren't food grade and therefore are not recommended for ingestion. You can get the teas at health food stores as well. Sometimes you can get them in bulk.