comfortzone Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I had read about raising one arm up above your head for a minute or so after you've been up and about on your feet for some time... Tonight I was cooking ... for about 45 minutes - that was a lot of on my feet time with no sitting -- then went before the bathroom mirror and raised one arm up above my head for maybe one minute - or maybe not quite that long... Any way I brought it down in front of me and next to the other arm... One arm was white as a ghost - the one above my head for a minute or less - and the other one looked normal which was pink to slightly reddish skin.Is that indicative of anything significant? I get a big rush/flush in the mornings when I move out of bed in my chest and abdomen - I guessed it was pooling - and I also have bad leg veins and pool somewhat there - but that's congenital bad valves...Then next question is what diagnostics are done (if any) to determine if you pool a lot - and then who does these tests - at which facility - and then finally - is there a treatment aside from compression sox and an abdominal binder?Thank you :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramakentesh Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 You might find that normal people get the same reaction with the hand thing. I did.I read once that someone can measure their calf before and after standing to measure redistributive blood pooling. Maybe you could do that with the stomach as well? Problem is that probably more patients pool in their stomach area than they do in their hands and feet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comfortzone Posted February 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I see... well I suppose tomorrow morning I could do the calf thing - and the abdomen I'm not sure it would show there ... but I wonder about this labile b/p .... and the sharply rising catecholamines with standing & pooling. The doc said I got flushed with sitting up from laying flat - b/p went high -- that can be normal to a point - but the symptom I'd like to be able to fix - would be the extreme variability of my b/p. Then I got to thinking if it's variable from the catecholamines to a certain extent rising with position change - and the body muscles move pooling blood in waves - I really don't see a reason for this to ever equilibrate no matter what meds I take. Inderal and clonidine keeps things to a dull roar I suppose.... but in addition to hourly variations - I get episodes of hi and lo - now it's low - that began after one single "extra dose" of Inderal. It reset my clock to stay barely 100/60 -- when just days ago I asked to take more meds cuz I was 148/107 for no reason midday. So I will enjoy the low b/p while it's here because it's less 'stressy' than running around too high... I'm trying 30 min. on the eliptical today - want to do this everyday to see if that will help things equal out as well... thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopeSprings Posted February 20, 2012 Report Share Posted February 20, 2012 I think this is also an informal test for thoracic outlet syndrome. If you're curious, try raising both arms up and see if only one goes white. It happens to me - the left goes white, the right stays normal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
comfortzone Posted February 21, 2012 Author Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 Hi & thanks you guys for commenting! Naomi do you have thoracic outlet syndrome? I guess I only raised one arm - my right arm so I could compare it to the non-raised arm...So I will try lifting both of them overhead and see if they both turn whiter than white or just one... If you don't mind me asking - is there a reason yours only happens to be white on the left.......that a doctor told you about? Like is it white on the left because that's a normal physiological thing to happen for any person due to the way our circulation is set up? Or do have an physiological explanation that relates to TOS?Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HopeSprings Posted February 21, 2012 Report Share Posted February 21, 2012 I think I have thoracic outlet syndrome and a few Dr's thought it was possible too. One sent me for an MRA of the aortic arch to look for it and at first the radiologist thought my subclavian artery was blocked, but then thought it might have been artifcact and suggested another test to follow up. I'll probably look at this again. Another Dr. did some informal test where he found my pulse went away in that arm when I turned my neck. So there is Dr. suspicion, but no explanation or confirmation. Look up white hand test. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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