The Girl With Arthritis

Lately I've had incidents of my fingernails and toenails turning blue. It's not as if the skin was blue, which would be terrifying, but it was still a little concerning. I brought it up with my rheumatologist the other day and showed him numerous pictures I took of it. After he examined my fingers and toes and felt how cold they are, he gave me a diagnosis: The blue was caused by me standing or sitting up. The treatment? Lie down. Best treatment ever. I took this with a grain of salt. Lie down every time? I can't wait to lie down in class, on the train, randomly in stores. It's literally a dream come true. Doctors really don't get it. They don't listen. Even the best of the best can be dismissive sometimes. I really like my rheumatologist and I've been with him for years, but sometimes he's just a pain in the butt. Did not listen to me explain that it happens when I can't warm my fingers or toes? It's obvious I probably just have a very mil...

If you know me, you know that I'm always cold. I've always wondered if this was the arthritis or if it  means I have a cold heart. Regardless, you tend to see me bundled up at all times. Sometimes I won't even take my coat off when I get  home at night. The cold instantly makes my body stiffer and more painful: if I'm out shopping, I'll just walking around looking so I don't have to move too much. And let's not even  go into how cold my hands are at all times (eve in the summer). But recently, I've had the oddest thing happen to me: My fingernails are going blue. The first time this happened I text my mum a picture. She instantly became frightened and called my rheumatologist. He wasn't in, but the nurse wrote it down in my charts. I see him next week anyway.  I've been taking pictures of it to show my doctor as well. Everyone in my family who has been told is obviously a little startled and then goes on to suggest it's just the cold. Obv...