For you medical folks..... ?

**Beautiful Disaster** · 01-10-2011 01:33 PM

So I'm going to abbreviate the medical term so that he doesn't come across my thread if he googles it or something.

The guy I'm dating told me when we first started dating that he has some issues because he has Sympath. Nerve Dis. (note abbreviations..I'm sure you can figure it out.

) as a result of some sport he used to play and and injury. I never thought anything of it. But he's constantly complaining of his cold hands and cold feet. Sometimes his toes turn white and are icy cold, and fingers too. It won't be all his toes, just a few. To me, this sounds like either a. Heart Disease or B. Raynauds Syndrome (sp?). With all else considered, I lean more towards B as what he complains of is very similar to what I've read about B.

Something always seems to be physical wrong with him, never anything major but just lots of "Ouch!"'s and "OW's" and aches and pains and stuff. I've gotten to the point I tease him about it because it's so frequent. When we're together I find myself regularly saying "whats wrong??" because of his oooh's and owww's. One of these things is the fingers and toes. I have physically felt his hands when he's complaining about it, and they are indeed icy. And I've witnessed the whiteness. Anyway, today he mentioned it again, just by text "Now I can't feel my toes!". This is something fairly common so I wasn't too alarmed. I made the comment he needed to talk with his doctor about it and then emailed him an article about the causes of it. He responded "That list doesn't list sympath. nerve disorder". I responded "That's because there is no such thing as sympath. nerve disorder, it is called sympath. nerve disorderS and is an umbrella for the actual disorders (i.e. Parkinsons, Reflex Sympath. Dystrophy etc". His response "OK, I guess my heart doctor lied to me" (being a smart A of course).

I'm bumfuzzled. Please tell me if I'm wrong. I was under the impression that if you told any doctor "I have sympath. nerve disorder", he or she is going to say "which disorder?" wanting something more specific. And I was also under the impression that icy extremeties were not a typical symptom of that.

**ItsASecret** · 01-10-2011 02:15 PM

I'm bumfuzzled. Please tell me if I'm wrong. I was under the impression that if you told any doctor "I have sympath. nerve disorder", he or she is going to say "which disorder?" wanting something more specific. And I was also under the impression that icy extremeties were not a typical symptom of that.

A doctor would ask "which disorder" as saying a symp. nerve disorder is like saying "I was diagnosed with a thing involving my brain " which could be anything under the sun of central nerve disorders (involves the brain and spinal cord) . As for icy extremeties it is possible depending on the type of "symp. nerve disorder" lol. Icy means the circulation is not allowing enough blood flow to that area, and the blood flow is coordinated mostly by the sympathetic nervous system "fight or flight" response. Raynaud's disease is possible as finger tips usually go blue and icy but only a doctor could diagnose that, which a patient should remember if they did go to the doctor to talk about it.

**Beautiful Disaster** · 01-10-2011 02:27 PM

A doctor would ask "which disorder" as saying a symp. nerve disorder is like saying "I was diagnosed with a thing involving my brain " which could be anything under the sun of central nerve disorders (involves the brain and spinal cord)

Ugh. THANK YOU!! Every time he has brought this up he says "I have sympath. nerve dis". And I've never questioned him or anything. He said it's a result of an injury he sustained in some sport. But the only sympath. nerve disorder I could find that had anything to do with sustaining an injury was "Reflex Sympath. Dystrophy" which does not match his symptoms at all. I couldn't find icy white extremeties as a common symptom of any of the common sympath. nerve disorders. I ended up getting peeved at his Smart A response and just didn't say anything else. But I mean, come on.....I'm constantly hearing about this, so its obviously an issue for him. But it's frustrating to me, for it is truly a sympath. nerve dis then it has a name. He insists that is the name. :\

**ItsASecret** · 01-10-2011 03:00 PM

Personally, and I do not mean any offense, but I think your friend may literally have no idea what your doctor was talking about in the office when he went in for a visit....hence him saying "its called symp. nerve disorder" because that is all he remembers. There will be a name, or at least a narrowing in of what the disease or condition is by the doctor. And if they have not been able to pin point exactly what is causing his cold spurts then they will say "I believe it is a symp. nerve disorder"...implying that it is a branched area which needs to be explored.

But Raynauds disease involves circulation issues but again only a doctor can diagnose that. Symp. nerve disorders involve the autonomic nervous system (ANS) which involves everything that is under unconscious control...so things like heart rate, breathing, digestion, muscle relaxation and contraction, organ function etc. It is so broad that a doctor would not just say "symp. nerve disorder" unless they literally had zero idea, and I mean trying out many many many other diagnoses all without results.

**Beautiful Disaster** · 01-10-2011 06:56 PM

No offense taken. I think you're totally right. Which makes it frustrating for me...because I can't imagine being told I have "something" and not going home to look into it and figure it out. He said it was his heart doctor (and though I couldn't help but wonder "Why does he have a heart doctor at age 30?", I didn't ask. ). But I can't imagine a heart doctor telling him that's what he has and giving him no more info than that. So it makes me wonder if the doctor didn't mention that in conversation like as a possibility, and my bf just ran with it. I expect this doctors visit was at least 3-5 years ago. It's just concerning to me that he knows no more about his own health than that. I'm quite put off at his smart A response to me over it "OK I guess my heart doctor lied to me". Umm, so your heart doctor told you you have sympath. nerve dis? Really? I'd change doctors. lol. Ugh...

I'm one of those people that looks for solutions. I'm compassionate and nurturing but only to an extent. And if you complain and complain and complain but do nothing about what you're complaining about, eventually I will start asking questions, giving advice, etc. And if you continue to do nothing about it, I will eventually get tired of hearing it.

**ItsASecret** · 01-10-2011 07:20 PM

So it makes me wonder if the doctor didn't mention that in conversation like as a possibility, and my bf just ran with it.

It is very possible. I mean people who talk to their docs may go home and google "cyst" because doc said it is a possibility and they find out on wiki or a blog that cyst could be cancer so they freak out and rule out any other possibility. The patients also hear one thing and only consider that one thing so the heart doc in his case could very well have said considering you have circulation issues you could have something related to a symp. nerve disorder (again the wording implies that it is branched and not absolute)...and off your friend goes with the 'absolute' answer with nothing more than extremely basic words by a doctor trying to explain things in the most basic of forms.

But yeah if he has consistent issues with being cold or numb it would be best to see a doc. I mean I am cold all the time, but it is not debilitating so I do not go on venture quests at the doctor for answers. The worst that can happen with him going in for a simple visit is a scan to check his blood flow.

**TigersPrettyBunny** · 01-10-2011 10:21 PM

It's not called symp.nerve. dys. ... it's a symp. nerve dys.
He needs to ask more questions and get more proactive about treatment and prevention of episodes (whatever the case may be). Maybe go in with him to the dr so you can ask questions? o_O

**Beautiful Disaster** · 01-11-2011 06:36 AM

ItsASecret - yep, that's pretty much what I'd guess happened. Lots of people are "cold natured", but his hands and feet get colder than what I consider normal and he mentions it quite regularly. And like I said, sometimes some of his toes turn white which is not a common symptom (from what I've read) of sympath. nerve dis.

Tiger - I totally agree. This visit to this heart doctor he mentions must have been quite some time ago. I'm guessing 3-5 years ago (I've only been dating him for 4 months). I still don't really know WHY someone in their 20's would've been visiting a heart doctor, and he's never really explained.

Thank you both for clarifying (at least to me) that I was correct in what I said to him. When I told him to look it up himself, he responded with "I did" and a link to an article talking about sympath. nerve disorderS. But see, all he saw was sympath. nerve dis because that's what he was looking for. If he had read any of the article he sent me, he'd have known I was right.

People can be so frustrating.

**pretzel** · 01-11-2011 07:56 AM

Ya know the term "sympath" could quite possibly have a dual meaning, if you know what I mean

But seriously, I don't doubt that he has something. yeah, he could, if he really wanted to, have done alot more research into what the dr.s have told him. Whether it's Raynauds or not, he's going to have to live with it. The specific diagnosis may not be as relevant as the symptoms as there are more than likely several different diagnosis that have overlapping symptoms but for the most part, the treatment is usually the same.

Sounds like he's a bit of a baby when it comes to how he feels. Bet you ten to one that a cold or fever is a major illness.

**Beautiful Disaster** · 01-11-2011 08:10 AM

The specific diagnosis may not be as relevant as the symptoms as there are more than likely several different diagnosis that have overlapping symptoms but for the most part, the treatment is usually the same.

My thing is if it were me, I'd want to know what is was so I could research and learn how to best deal with it. I'd want to know what I was dealing with. Rather than walking around saying " i have sympath. nerve dis." and having no clue what I was talking about.

Sounds like he's a bit of a baby when it comes to how he feels. Bet you ten to one that a cold or fever is a major illness.

Why yes, how'd you know?

lol. But in all fairness to him, it HAS been a major illness with almost every guy I've ever dated. They just don't seem to handle illness like I do. He did better with his last cold. The first one, he had cold/flu and he missed almost the entire week of work. This last one was less intense and he was a bit more of a trooper. One night I got aggravated because he had a stopped up nostril and it was literally consuming him (therefore, consuming our time together).....he saw that I got aggravated over it so I think he tried to handle this last time I bit better.