Joy's Story

Joy* was diagnosed with Raynaud’s around four years ago. She also lives with scleroderma, of which her Raynaud’s is a key symptom, as well as psoriatic arthritis and a rare skin condition called morphoea. 

Joy, 66, from Greater London, is unable to take any medication for her Raynaud's due to side effects, so keeping her body warm is vital to prevent painful attacks.  

Sharing her story as part of our Raynaud’s energy campaign, she says the prospect of a cold winter worries her enormously. 

“I’m terrified of the weather getting colder as anything below 20 degrees in the house triggers a Raynaud’s attack and I feel very unwell with it. 

“Even the smallest exposure to the cold can trigger an attack; there have been times when I’ve been in a car park when it’s cold and gotten a Raynaud’s attack because all I did was take my gloves off to get my money or bank card out to pay for parking. It can be excruciatingly painful. 

“I’ve had horrendous attacks before and people don’t seem to realise how bad they can be. It’s awful because you just feel like you want to chop your hand off rather than go through the agony that an attack causes. 

“I can’t take any medication for my Raynaud’s as it made me feel very unwell, so I have to focus on preventing these Raynaud’s attacks from happening, which is why staying warm is so important. 

"I have lots of gadgets like heated pillows, blankets, hand warmers, Raynaud’s socks and gloves, fleece-lined slippers – everything to try to prevent an attack from happening. If I go out, it’s with three pairs of layers on my feet, three on my hands and goodness knows what else to stop myself from getting cold in the first place.” 

* Name has been changed.