posted
Does anyone else's feet go a purple type colour when they sit or stand for a while? I have just been sitting here on the computer for about 45 mins and I just went to get up, looked down and my feet are a horrible purple colour and when I touch them with my finger, they leave a white patch there for a few seconds, but as soon as I elevate my feet they go back to a normal colour literally within 10 seconds.
What could cause this?
It's been like it for a while now. My veins in my feet also bulge out when I get out the shower, and my feet go very red, but as soon as I lay down, they are normal again.
Posts: 263 | From UK | Registered: Mar 2006
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lymednva
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9098
posted
It sounds like orthostatic intolerance to me. That is usually caused by dysautonomia in Lymies.
What is probably happening is when you are upright the blood goes to your lowest extremities. Your blood pressure also probably drops. Do you feel light headed, or have an overwhelming urge to lie down?
Some simple ways to help this are to increase salt in your diet (assuming you don't have high BP) and keep your knees higher than your hips when sitting.
I use a shower chair and also do as much as possible when sitting down, rather than standing. I get dressed sitting on my bed with my feet up.
I have also used a stool, which allows me to be higher up, yet have a place to prop my feet. This can be helpful in the kitchen, bathroom.
I even used one to to teach school, which along with other accommodations I was making, unknowingly, allowed me to remain on the job much longer than I other wise could have.
There are meds to help control this until your Lyme treatment is able to reduce the symptoms.
-------------------- Lymednva Posts: 2407 | From over the river and through the woods | Registered: Apr 2006
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Cobweb
Unregistered
posted
quote:Originally posted by lymednva: It sounds like orthostatic intolerance to me. That is usually caused by dysautonomia in Lymies.
What is probably happening is when you are upright the blood goes to your lowest extremities. Your blood pressure also probably drops. Do you feel light headed, or have an overwhelming urge to lie down?
Some simple ways to help this are to increase salt in your diet (assuming you don't have high BP) and keep your knees higher than your hips when sitting.
I use a shower chair and also do as much as possible when sitting down, rather than standing. I get dressed sitting on my bed with my feet up.
I have also used a stool, which allows me to be higher up, yet have a place to prop my feet. This can be helpful in the kitchen, bathroom.
I even used one to to teach school, which along with other accommodations I was making, unknowingly, allowed me to remain on the job much longer than I other wise could have.
There are meds to help control this until your Lyme treatment is able to reduce the symptoms.
WOW- you just helped me feel more normal in a lymie sort of way.
That's why when I'm sitting on the bathroom throne I notice my purple toes, and when I stand up I lerch to the side and have to reach a hand out before my head makes contact with the door frame.
I suppose this is why my fingers also turn purple when resting on my lap. But why the purple nose ?
It also explains why I am not so "quick on my feet" metaphorically speaking, when I am standing-because in fact I am experienceing a brain drain.
Whenever I go through a checkout line at the grocery store I always wonder "How do they do that?" (stand on their feet all day) In fact I have even remarked to cashiers "I couldn't do your job unless I had a stool."
I always had this - never really knew exactly why, but it has gotten about 90% better since adding Gota Kola & Ginsing.
Also have heard some people remark that they think it's toxin related & that detox helps.
I just know mine went away as soon as I added these. Not sure which 1 did it exactly,(or if it was the combination of the 2) as the bottle I had was a combo of the 2, but i noticed it w/in a day or 2 of starting. Try it & let us know if it works for you. Also - my feet were not always the same color - now they are a matching pair, lol...
Oh yeah - and SO WARM!!!
Posts: 176 | From Tenn | Registered: Jul 2004
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I have always had low blood pressure since becoming ill and I do feel dizzy when standing for a while.
I read somewhere about neurally mediated hypotension - could this cause it too?
Do you think I should see a cardiologist to have a tilt table test done?
Posts: 263 | From UK | Registered: Mar 2006
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Aniek
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5374
posted
Do a search on Raynaud's. And definitely talk to a doctor about this.
Lyme can cause blood pressure issues because of the autonomic nervous system impact and it also thickens the blood. A lot of Lymies will have a red pattern right under the skin which is caused by the thick blood.
-------------------- "When there is pain, there are no words." - Toni Morrison Posts: 4711 | From Washington, DC | Registered: Mar 2004
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posted
I too have the purple feet after sitting at the computer. My feet are also beet red after sitting in a tub.
I've noticed it since April of this year and have been treated now for lyme for 14 months.
Not sure what started all this but it helps to know it might be lyme related. I just don't want to assume that every thing that ails me is lyme related.
Barb
Posts: 281 | From san francisco | Registered: Jun 2006
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posted
My NP told me this is vasculitis, but I don't know for sure if that's what it is. She always looks at my feet and legs and comments on it.
Posts: 72 | From SW Texas | Registered: Dec 2006
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posted
I've had a form of this since I was a child. I always took baths instead of showers because I didn't want to stand in one place for so long. I also hate to bend down and pick things uup.
It has gotten so much worse since Lyme. When I drive I fold my left leg up on the seat, under my right leg. This helps keep the blood from pooling in both legs.
My feet were turning really blue which seemed to then cause spider veins in those areas. Heparin has helped with the blood flow.
Drinking A LOT of water helps. There is a drug called Proamatine that is prescribed for neurally mediated hypotension. I take it sometimes if my blood pressure drops too low.
I also have my feet up all the time, or legs crossed all the time. I shudder when I go to the post office and see a long line. At least in the grocery store you can lean on the cart!
-------------------- sunnymalibu Posts: 192 | From california | Registered: Jul 2006
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lymednva
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9098
posted
ChrisBtheLymie said:
quote:I read somewhere about neurally mediated hypotension - could this cause it too?
NMH is a form of dysautonomia.
quote:Do you think I should see a cardiologist to have a tilt table test done?
Only if you can't get help for it without the test.
My LLMD treats me for it and I only got a tilt table test for evidence for one of my disability cases, can't recall which one now.
I take midodrine (generic ProAmatine), fludrocortisone (generic Florinef), and Inderal to keep my BP in a more stable range. I still can't stand long and always shop with an electric cart.
Don't be afraid to use them. You can actually come home from a shopping trip without being totally exhausted!
-------------------- Lymednva Posts: 2407 | From over the river and through the woods | Registered: Apr 2006
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posted
I have been on Levaq for Bart about 2-3 mos I have purple feet when I get up during the night to ......
But when I get up and get moving, in the AM, they go back to normal color during the day. I also have vasculitis. Is it Vasculitis from the Bart maybe Posts: 315 | From USA | Registered: May 2005
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Jellybelly
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7142
posted
I also agree with NMH and or dyautonomia, but it may be only part of the problem. For me this very situation was also related to my hypercoagulation. It is extremely common for with chronic infection.
Hypercoagulation in this case is when an excess build up of fibrin causes the blood to become thick and sludgy. You can imagine what it is like to pump thick, sludgy blood out of the extremeties, particularly the legs and when sitting with low bp and spasaming blood vessels.
I still have low bp and at times the dysautomia, but my feet no longer turn black when sitting since I have been treated for the hypercoagulation. My blood now runs like it should instead of cold oil.
There are numerous excellent reasons to deal with this if it is a problem for you. Just do a search, there have been several topics on hypercoagulation and I have posted some really good research here and there.
Posts: 1251 | From california | Registered: Apr 2005
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bettyg
Unregistered
posted
dad had this too, but his purple feet/legs were from congestive heart failure.
i'd have the baseline heart xrays done just as a precaution and to use for any future heart problems occurring. good luck.
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posted
I'm happy to find this post. I have asked this question before and didn't get any replies.
My son, age 17, has had purple legs when standing for 2-3 years. No doctor has been able to tell us what it is.
We will have a phone consult with his LLMD soon and I'm asking to ask him about this.
Thanks!
Peggy
-------------------- Peggy
~ ~ Hope is a powerful medicine. ~ ~ Posts: 2775 | From MN | Registered: Apr 2001
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randibear
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 11290
posted
hey, me too!!!
when i was working and had to sit for a long period of time, i would look down and my legs and feet would be dark red and often my feet would get really dark purple, just like you described.
even taking a bath would turn my feet bright red.
that's when i was misdiagnosed with RSD....now i realize it was lyme all along.
-------------------- do not look back when the only course is forward Posts: 12262 | From texas | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
As a registered nurse, I can give a very simple explanation for drop in blood pressure when changing position (AKA Orthostatic hypotention)...make sure you are drinking enough fluids...specifically water. When you dont feel well, you tend not to drink what the body needs and being dehydrated can add to this problem. (and I am not saying this is the only problem at all...I am only advocating for making sure you stay hydrated...it's the nurse in me
I have also noticed my toes tend to turn purple frequently, but for me, it tends to correlate for when my body temperature is running very low (in the 95's) which makes sense...my body is trying to protect itself by keeping it's core warm and not worrying about the limbs so much.
Just some random thoughts...
Becky
Posts: 68 | From Massachusetts | Registered: Nov 2007
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