The weatherman on the radio this morning let me know that fall is fast approaching. Goodbye long summer nights, hello crisp fall air.
Just like everyone else who needs a change of pace after a few months of the same season, it’s nice to hear that we can look forward to sweaters, bonfires, and changing leaves. Sure, we’ll all miss the warm summer weather, but there’s something about the fall air that wakes up your whole body and really makes you feel good.
For me though, seasons mean a lot more than just a change in wardrobe. Each season brings on a new challenge with Sjögren’s. That crisp, fresh fall air that I love to breathe in also sweeps across my fingertips and toes, leaving no trace of blood behind.
Part of Sjögren’s for me is dealing with Raynaud’s Phenomenon, which is inadequate blood flow that is triggered by cold weather. The fall is particularly tricky because it’s sometimes warm enough that my fingers and toes are fine, but other times they are washed-out white for sometimes an hour before I start to notice the red blood making its way back. I just never know what the fall weather will bring for me, but I do know that it is much easier than winter.
Let’s get ready for fall—a season when my disorder of “invisible” pain becomes a little more transparent, as people start to ask about my ghostly hands.
Good news- ghost fingers are perfect for Halloween! Remember that time that we were dead prom queens? Haha.
ReplyDeleteI have to tell my mom about this. I doubt she has Sjogrens, but she always loses circulation in her fingers and it looks so strange. The weirdest part is that her fingers have very distinct lines between what has colors and what doesn't. Does your's do that?
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For me, I have some fingers that are worse than others. It really depends on the temperature, but sometimes you can see distinct lines. Other times they are all white, then blue and purple and you can watch it spread.
ReplyDeleteIn the fall weather it takes more time to spread and might not go through all of my fingers. In the winter it doesn't take much time at all and there aren't lines because all the blood is gone.
You can have Raynaud's Phenomenon without having Sjogren's, though, so that is always a possibility.