Living The Dream

  Digital ulcers are more often than not a scleroderma patient’s nemesis. They used to be extremely troublesome for me, until I started taking bosentan continuously in autumn 2012. This requires me to have bi-monthly blood tests, which were monthly, for the first eighteen months of taking the drug.

This year, 2016, FESCA (Federation of European Scleroderma Associations) have put together the following awareness / information video: ‘Hand in Hand for a Better Future’   To watch the video on YouTube, click : https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYIU7v50DfU To find out more about FESCA, visit their website as well…

DAY 21  Scleroderma Awareness Month: UPPER Gastro-Intestinal Tract Scleroderma can affect the entire gastro-intestinal system starting from the mouth all the way down to the anus. Please see Day 11 SclerodermaAwareness Month for a general discussion of these symptoms — click here. Dry mouth, along with…

  DAY 20  Scleroderma Awareness Month:  BONES, JOINTS, MUSCLES Most scleroderma patients will experience symptoms relating to their musculoskeletal system, including their bones, and in some cases this can lead to osteoporosis. Again, it is important to note that no two scleroderma patients will present with the exact…

DAY 19  Scleroderma Awareness Month: CALCINOSIS Today’s topic is the debilitating, painful symptom of calcinosis. It is important to note that not every scleroderma patient will experience calcinosis, since no two scleroderma patients present with the exact same set of symptoms. Calcinosis is more prevalent in the diffuse…

DAY 18  Scleroderma Awareness Month: SKIN, HANDS, MOUTH, DENTAL I focussed on the Skin and its management for Day 10 Scleroderma Awareness Month also. To read the post, click here Today’s image, I have focussed on the physical effects which skin tightening and stiffness can cause.

DAY 17  Scleroderma Awareness Month: THE LUNGS As highlighted in the diagram above, lung involvement in scleroderma patients can be a life threatening complication, if not diagnosed and managed early on in the disease process. Lung involvement, compared to other organ involvement, currently, carries the highest threat to…

DAY 16  Scleroderma Awareness Month: THE HEART Scleroderma can affect all body parts, including the heart. This can be seen in the limited forms and the diffuse forms – see my Day 1 Scleroderma Awareness Month blog post. As can be seen in the above…