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Wrinkled fingers and autonomic dysfunction...


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So while driving my car today, my fingers randomly got super wrinkly. My hands were not sweaty and had not been in any water... It was quite interesting. I didn't think much of it but out of curiosity looked it up to see what causes wrinkled/pruny fingers aside from water, and much to my surprise, parasympathetic nervous system issues (i.e. autonomic nervous system issues) can be a cause for this! Has anyone else experienced this phenomenon that they've noticed outside of water? I'm curious to know!

Human bodies are weird. 

Lol. 

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Yes, yes, and yes!  I discovered this several years ago. I also have realized that when my fingers are really wrinkled I usually feel much worse. I have wondered if it stems from my low blood volume. Just thoughts. Wish doctors could sit down with our forum members and listen to all the things many of us have in common. Might be some clues in there somewhere. :).

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  • 1 year later...

I notice last Summer that this would happen to me, but I couldn't figure out why. Last summer my symptoms were intense, to say the least. Today, was unseasonably warm where I live, but I relatively symptom free. I noticed, however, my heart rate rate was slightly elevated, nothing extreme resting was around 115bpm. I noticed my hands were wrinkled today around noon, at this point I had eaten and had about 90 oz of water and 20 oz of cokecola (my guilty pleasure). So I wasnt dehydrated. This evening though my kids were playing outside with the neighbor kids. I'm out there watching them with another neighborhood father. I was walking when BOOM vertigo and I fell over, despite having my cane with me for balance. The neighbor had to walk me home. It was pretty embarrassing.

This started my query into pruney finger tips and dysautonomia symptoms, which led me here. 

Thank you for your post and linking the two. 

Joelle

20180227_124529.jpg

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I'll have to pay attention and see if this coincides with bad days. I noticed it first a couple months ago and just figured it was due to recent weight loss but it keeps happening - even after gaining back what I lost. I thought it was the craziest thing and my family just counted it up as "me being weird" again. Funny to know how many of those weird things are actually tied to dysautonomia and POTS now that I actually have a diagnosis.

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  • 1 year later...
  • 8 months later...
  • 1 month later...

Same here, for many years, to me it happens after eating and lasts around one hour. It gets worse when I enter insomnia and muscle exahustion phases.

I went to LOTS of doctors, neurologists, internists, cardiologists... everyone and noone knew, they had never seen it. AMAZING.

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  • 1 month later...

I am not alone! I have been trying to find information on this for a long time now maybe about two years has anyone found out any detailed info on this I drive a lot for a living and one day I noticed it after driving and I wondered if it was the weather because it was rainy and sticky out but I kept an eye on it from there on and it hasn't gone away since please anymore information would be great

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  • 4 weeks later...

My daughter who has ME and POTS has had excessive finger wrinkling in water (only needs to be in water for a few seconds) and sometimes without water. She's had this issue for much longer than she's had POTS or ME in a significant way. It's the one symptom that I tend to avoid talking to doctors about as it sounds crazy! The other day I came across this big thread on it on Phoenix Rising. Pretty interesting--

https://forums.phoenixrising.me/threads/the-finger-wrinkling-test-can-be-used-as-a-screening-test-before-tilt-table-testing.77607/

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@pistol From what I can understand from the thread, it seems that some people have a total lack of wrinkling no matter how long their fingers are immersed and that's a sign of small fibre/autonomic neuropathy, where the excessive wrinkling may be a sign of excessive sympathetic activation. And then some people on the thread have wrinkled fingertips all the time--wet or dry--and perhaps that's a sign of hypovolemia or destruction of collagen in something like EDS.

My experience is that doctors look at me like I'm crazy when I've mentioned it regarding my daughter, but it seems like fingertips have many stories to tell!

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have had this symptom for around 10 years and it still scares me as if it was terminal digestive cancer because it keeps happening on and off but always after eating, specially greasy food, but not even always, which makes me crazy. I have it right now. It happens after 5 minutes eating and lasts around 30. 

I also have lots of digestive cancer symptoms, specially the squared or flat feces, which is totally scary because it is very typical colon or rectum cancer, but I don't dare to take the colonoscopy, I am too afraid and even if they said I have no cancer I will fear it. I also have chronic diarrhea, usually right after eating something greasy, huge hemorroids, malaise after eating, etc. It's been many years like this and doctors say that cancer is faster, but I know it is there. Everyone who developed cancer had the symptoms years before.

So... it is terrifying all of this. Has anybody ever known a doctor who knows the wrinkled hands reason which might make sense?

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  • 2 months later...
On 12/2/2020 at 10:28 AM, stv said:

I have had this symptom for around 10 years and it still scares me as if it was terminal digestive cancer because it keeps happening on and off but always after eating, specially greasy food, but not even always, which makes me crazy. I have it right now. It happens after 5 minutes eating and lasts around 30. 

I also have lots of digestive cancer symptoms, specially the squared or flat feces, which is totally scary because it is very typical colon or rectum cancer, but I don't dare to take the colonoscopy, I am too afraid and even if they said I have no cancer I will fear it. I also have chronic diarrhea, usually right after eating something greasy, huge hemorroids, malaise after eating, etc. It's been many years like this and doctors say that cancer is faster, but I know it is there. Everyone who developed cancer had the symptoms years before.

So... it is terrifying all of this. Has anybody ever known a doctor who knows the wrinkled hands reason which might make sense?

Get tested for cancer—and if it makes you feel more comfortable—there are studies that suggest fasting (only water with electrolytes) for one week before chemo, causes your cells to CREATE A PROTECTIVE LAYER AROUND THEM while in a state called autophagy—which is a process your body goes through to remove damage and debris. Only healthy cells can do this.  The cancer cells cannot. So if you take chemo after doing this, it does far less damage to your body and seems to target the cancer cells better. Hope one possibly strategy gives you comfort. Now go get some answers and take control of whatever situation you're in. Good luck!

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On 12/2/2020 at 1:28 PM, stv said:

I have had this symptom for around 10 years and it still scares me as if it was terminal digestive cancer 

My guess is if you've had symptoms for 10 years and they have not worsened it's not cancer.  However, you absolutely need to have these symptoms investigated.

I was diagnosed with colon cancer in December.  No symptoms.  It was found on a routine colonoscopy.  I am feeling extremely fortunate it was found at an early stage when still treatable.

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  • 2 years later...

I just noticed that I was getting wrinkling in my fingers tonight. I was recently diagnosed with POTS. I didn’t even know this was a symptom of POTS. I was just looking up because I thought it was weird. I might be connected. Good to know I’m not alone and having this strange symptom.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have had (undiagnosed until 3 weeks ago!) HyperPOTS for decades. I never put together the the wrinkly finger/toe thing might be related; I just assumed I wasn’t moisturizing my skin frequently enough. 
 

I also have Raynaud’s Syndrome, so my digits are usually cold if I’m not in the absolute perfect situation. I don’t know if that also contributes to the wrinkling. 

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@saramichelle welcome to the forum! I too have hPOTS and Raynauds syndrome! I am sorry you have to live with this diagnosis, but please know that there is treatment out there, if you find a doc who will prescribe! I hope you have kind and educated physicians!

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