Poor Circulation

[AngelsSix]

Gents,

If this is in the wrong forum, I do apologise.

I wanted to know if there is a solution for poor circulation in the extremeties. I can't handle temps below 70 most days (usually have a sweatshirt on), and being outside in temps below 50 leaves my hands numb. If it is below 40, the tips of my fingers hurt so bad, I would think I had frostbite, even though I know that isn't possible in 30 min. My feet are cold no matter what temp it is.
The doctors I have seen don't seem to have an interest in investigating.
Thanks!!

[Penn]

Angle 6, I am going for a MRI for the same condition this friday. One of the vains in my leg is closed or closing. That's the deal. You may not have that condition but if the doctors you are seeing are disinterested, GET NEW DOCTORS ASAP. I'm told they will blow it out or do a bypass.

[clapdoc]

Angel 6,
I too have some of your problems, I am having a MRI next
thursday to help find the problem. My Dr. thinks I may have nerve damage in my neck that makes my fingers feel so cold. I wear gloves if the temp is below 65. Get some new doctors. ASAP


clapdoc sends.

[Red Flag 1]

if it worth saying, it will be quoted.

[AngelsSix]

Thanks for your concern and replies. I am going to try and get an appointment with my civilian provider next week. I have been having some other problems lately, my blood pressure is low, and I keep getting lights flashing in my vision after I bend over.

Thanks!!

[swatsurgeon]

The difficulty lies in deciding which part of the circulatory system is out of wack....arterial, venous, lymphatic, or organ system that can be manifest by 'circulatory' issues: cardiac, hepatic, endocrine. Some connective tissue problems as mentioned can be related to circ problems...again the exact part needs to be defined.
Are pulses present, is there capillary refill and venous flow, are the nodes palpable. A vascular surgeon is not a bad way to start if the primary doc has no clue.
ss

[Team Sergeant]

Originally Posted by swatsurgeon

The difficulty lies in deciding which part of the circulatory system is out of wack....arterial, venous, lymphatic, or organ system that can be manifest by 'circulatory' issues: cardiac, hepatic, endocrine. Some connective tissue problems as mentioned can be related to circ problems...again the exact part needs to be defined.
Are pulses present, is there capillary refill and venous flow, are the nodes palpable. A vascular surgeon is not a bad way to start if the primary doc has no clue.
ss

AngelsSix,

Read Swatsurgeons post and heed his advice.

Team Sergeant

[AngelsSix]

Yes, sir!! When we going to do some shooting?? You might need to head to Bragg for a conference or something!!

[AngelsSix]

Went to Clark clinic, apparently they didn't feel concerned enough to do anything. Guess I lived this long, I will just press on!!

[Penn]

Angle Six, I just returned from Columbia-Presbyterian Cornell Weil medical center here in NYC.
I have the exact same situation. Here is what my doctors did
1. Meet with my cardiologist
2. Meet with the head of vascular surgery
3. Complete body blood pressure test
4. Echo cardiogram
5. Nuclear Heart scan
6. Chemical stress test.
7. Will meet with vascular surgery Head who will speak with my cardiologist and the Doc that set all this in motion. I expect them to go into my left leg within the month of May to correct me to 100% full running ability. ( My goal 2miles in 15 mikes)
Get new DOCTORS. If you want the medical definitions I ask my doc to copy the T & P for you. You can present them to your doctors and tell them to run the same firkin test. There is no excuse for not being able to address this minor problem. Even if they have to cut you and do a bypass on your leg. This is the correct set of steps they should take to help you.

Forgot to add they did a full cat scan on both legs

[Semper gumby]

At the very least it IMHO it sounds like at least you need to get some vascular testing done. (segmental pressures, with waveforms and ABI, or arterial brachial index) They can also do some testing with and without cold stimulus to see if it is an arterial spasm due to cold conditions. That is the LEAST they could do for your symptoms...

I agree, not having your doctors do anything might be a really, really bad idea. You may need to look elsewhere...If you have any questions about the test(s) I mentioned above, PM me, and I'll give you the particulars. (I'm a RVT/ Vascular sonographer, and perform these tests...)

Respectfully,
SG

[kgoerz]

I wanted to know if there is a solution for poor circulation in the extremities.

VIAGRA

[AngelsSix]

He said VIAGRA, LMAO!!!

[Doczilla]

I concur with the recommendation for a vascular surgeon. There could be a number of issues here:
Poor flow/obstruction through the arterial system
- obstruction, such as cholesterol plaques in the arteries, which is treatable with statins like Lipitor or Zocor.
- vasospasm, where the arteries close down with various stimuli (like cold weather), which is treatable with vasodilators.
Poor flow/obstruction of venous system for a variety of reasons, treated with TED hose, PT, and possibly surgery.
Poor flow through the lymphatics, caused by lots of things.

I agree that a vascular surgeon would be able to tease these out and order appropriate testing.

'zilla

[Penn]

16 yrs ago a script was written for Lipitor to address my condition. At the time I was enroll in grad school, and the med immediately affected my ability to remember what I had just read, this went on for a few days and I stopped taking the Lipitor, telling my doctor not to prescribe that for me, telling him that I believed it causes memory loss.
Since then we have had the same discussion every 6/9months monitoring my heart and cardiovascular system. He argues for the drug and I argue it cause alizmers, which he states there is no proof or research to confirm that side effect, till now.

Lipitor thief of memory is a book written by Dr. Duane Graveline who was also an Astronaut who had high cholesterol and was put on Lipitor.
The most common Statin drugs for cholesterol lowering medication is Lipitor and Crestor. Dr. Graveline was told he had high cholesterol and shortly after Statin, Lipitor drug was started by doctors at Johnson Space Center he temporarily loses his short-term memory, so he stopped the Lipitor and after a couple of weeks his mind was clear again. At his yearly testing his doctor tells him his cholesterol level is still a bit high and urge him to get back on Statin, Lipitor at half the previous dose saying that his first 6-hour episode of TGA was only a coincidence. Two months later he again lost both short-term and retrograde memory and was finally diagnosed in a hospital ER as having transient global amnesia (TGA) for twelve hours where he was a thirteen-year-old high school student who knew his subjects, teachers and every kid in his class (according to his worried wife) but with no memory of his entire adult life, so he stopped the drug immediately.

After his recovery and after several years of research on statin drug side effects, he considered himself to be lucky to have had only TGA, for when it is over, you are back to normal. Not so for most of the other statin victims in his bulging repository with their persistent neuromuscular problems, short term memory loss and ALS and Parkinsonism-like reactions. He decided to put his story up on the internet and within hours thousands responded with people saying that the same thing happened to them.

What the cholesterol lowering medication does is it blocks the pathway in the liver that the liver uses to make cholesterol, but the same pathway that the liver uses to make cholesterol is used to make coenzyme Q10. Coenzyme Q10 is your heart protected enzyme. So anyone who goes on Statin drug has lost their heart protective enzyme on top of the side effects of statin drugs which are Dementia, Alzheimer’s, memory loss, muscle wasting and breast cancer because our sex hormone are made from cholesterol. There is No proof whatsoever that Cholesterol and saturated fat cause Heart Disease, but there are plenty of proof that Cholesterol Medication is linked to both Alzheimer and Dementia.