Hello!
My name is Tascha, and I just wanted to introduce myself since I’m new. I am German, living here in the USA. I first started having red toes when I was a teen. My mom (a doctor at the time, now a medical director) brought it up to me one day that they were kind of pink, but it was a hot summer day and didn’t think much of it. But as the cooler months set in, they remained pink. Because I didn’t have any pain associated with it, and it wasn’t spreading (has always been just the toes) she didn’t think anything of it. But over the years, my feet started becoming really sweaty, and wearing close toed shoes was really uncomfortably hot. Along the way, the very tips of my fingers (where the nails are) also turned pink/red.
I ended up moving to Florida to get my Bachelors degree in Computer Animation, and while living there the redness cleared up (or at least was not so noticeable that anyone said anything about it). But after university I moved to Austin, TX and suddenly my symptoms became so bad after only a year here I ended up going to a Podiatrist because I was really worried something was seriously wrong. He suspected it was Raynauds, which I was highly doubtful as my toes and fingers never turned white with lack of blood flow. He assured me the blood flow to my feet did seem fine, so he referred me to a Rheumatologist last month.
Talking with the Rheumatologist, he agreed my symptoms did not sound like Raynauds, and introduced me to Erythromelalgia. After my visit I called me mom to ask her about EM, and she admitted she had never heard of it. The Rheumatologist told me in the 20 years he’s been doing this, he’s only seen about 5 people with it. He had me do some extensive bloodwork to rule if it was primary or secondary.
Bloodwork came back about 2 week later, showing that I was healthy and stable so he concluded it was primary. He found it odd that I don’t seem to have pain associated with it (at least I don’t seem to, but I’ve had it so long I could have learned to ignore it like the pain from an old hip injury I received), especially as it is on both of my hands and feet.
Doing my own research into it is what lead me to this site, and I’ve found looking through the topics (even before I joined) that the symptoms seem to vary in type and intensity from person to person. Since there are no tests that can conclusively say this is what I have, I’m left guessing. But, looking at some of the photos of Erythromelalgia they looks strikingly a lot like my own hands and feet (though much worse, my case seems very mild). I wish I got the answers I was looking for, like will this get worse, or will it go away, but I am thankful to finally have a name for it now.
But, this is only a part of who I am. I am a character artist by trade, and have worked many different assignments: from book covers, to individual D&D character designs, even working with a physical therapy firm creating stylised exercise cards! I also love animals, and have a cat of my own. His name is Zelig and he is a tiny terror of 3 months. I got him from a friend who fosters and had (unknowingly!) taken in his pregnant mom. Here is a photo of my wee liebling:
I love the ocean, and want to move back to Florida for it and because my symptoms were so diminished there. I grew up in Northern Germany right off the Baltic, so if I am too far from the water (like I am here in Austin) its almost like when you get grumpy without sunshine. I need it to live!
I also love dying my hair, which is currently rainbow. My mom really hated it because she thought it was unprofessional, but I was just meant for a different profession than she, one that does not care about frivolous things like that!
I think thats it, would like to hear everyone elses story!
I have 2 cats who probably understand me better than anyone haha. If I am burning at night, one of them in particular thinks it would be the perfect time to curl up on my lap and get as close as possible. Like all I need to feel better is a little cat heater 