Gastro-intestinal Problems in Scleroderma

While the skin is the most affected organ in all cases of scleroderma, another one of the most affected organs are those that are found in the digestive system that would occur on around 75% to 85% of all cases. Patients with gastro-intestinal involvement in scleroderma would experience difficulty in their day to day lives as an effect brought about by scleroderma.

Scleroderma causes the walls of the affected organ in the digestive system to thicken, thus limiting the blood flow towards it. This in turn would limit the functions of the affected organ and would give rise to several problems which refer to the organ that is affected. Esophageal problems can occur in all forms of scleroderma, involvement with other organs in the digestive system such as the intestines, the liver and the stomach are only limited to systemic sclerosis.

Causes

There is no recognized cause of scleroderma, what is known is how it works. Scleroderma happens when a person’s antibodies would attack his or her own tissues, which is contradicting to its main purpose which is to protect them from harmful factors. This would in turn cause the affected area to thicken that would limit blood flow to it causing the normal function of the affected area to be dysfunctional, limited or completely dead.

Scleroderma would usually begin with the skin in the form of calcinosis or Raynaud’s phenomenon, symptoms which can be easily seen and felt in the skin. If the symptoms stop developing from that point, then that case is limited scleroderma however if it spreads to other organs, that case is systemic sclerosis and that could even get worse as it could still spread to other organs.

How Is This Diagnosed?

Diagnosis is mainly based on symptoms however; it is officially made after a series of medical tests. There are several medical tests that people with suspicions about it can undergo, the simplest in an x-ray of which the doctor can see how your digestive system is doing. For sever cases, a surgical biopsy is done. This would involve having the doctor take scrapings of the linings of the affected organ and having it examined under a microscope.

Another way of diagnosing gastro-intestinal involvement in scleroderma is through endoscopy or by having the doctor view your digestive system through a small camera. This will allow the doctor to see which areas are affected by the scleroderma and see how it has developed within. It is very important for the doctor to know accurate details about a patient’s condition, especially for gastro-intestinal involvement in scleroderma since it will be their basis on what treatment approach to follow.

Can This Be Treated?

A very important point that all people involved in scleroderma or all those who are concerned with it is that it is treatable. The thought of scleroderma having no known cause or no treatments in general would usually discourage a lot of people. Gastro-intestinal involvement in scleroderma is very much possible as long as it is diagnosed and treated as early as possible. If significant damage has already been inflicted, little can be done to reverse those effects.

The key to treatment of gastro-intestinal involvement in scleroderma is to have it diagnosed as early as possible, taking care of yourself and careful medical attention. Make sure that you and your doctor would help each other out in treating you of your condition.

Digestive System and Scleroderma

Background

While the most common cases of scleroderma would show different effects on the skin, it is followed by gastro-intestinal involvement that would account for 75 to 90% of all cases. Since the main symptom of systemic scleroderma would involve having limitations in the activities of the affected organs, people with gastro-intestinal involvement in scleroderma would experience mostly digesting problems that could interfere with their day-to-day life.

When the digestive system is involved in scleroderma, the walls of the affected area thicken as a result of it. With that, blood flow towards the affected organ is limited, thus limiting the functions of that organ. Persons with this can either have it in only one organ or more at the same time.

Who Can Have It?

There is no identified cause of scleroderma and with that; there is no accurate way of telling who can have it. Statistics however reported that it can happen to all people regardless of any classifications although it appears in some more than it does on others. Any form of scleroderma is more likely to appear in women than it is in men. It also appears usually between the ages of 30 and 60. It is inherent in the Native American Choctaw tribe, in African American Women and rarely occurs in Northern Asians.

Fortunately, most cases of scleroderma come in the mild form which would only affect the skin and although it can disable a patient, it tends not to be fatal most of the time. Some people however suffer from the severe form of it which is systemic sclerosis. Since this would affect organ functions by having the antibodies attack them, this is more fatal and quite difficult to handle.

How Is The Digestive System Affected By Scleroderma?

Scleroderma can affect organs in the digestive system just as it could affect any other organ. The weakening would usually begin in the esophagus then work its way down into the intestines. If the esophagus is affected by scleroderma, the patient will have difficulty having food pushed down which is a result of scleroderma interfering with peristalsis. After that, the next organ to be affected would usually be the stomach.

When scleroderma affects the stomach, this would usually involve digesting problems that could later result to further complications. This would happen especially when scleroderma would begin to develop in other digestive organs such as the intestines and the liver. While damages can be limited, effects of scleroderma cannot be reversed. However, treatment is possible.

How Can This Be Treated?

Scleroderma has no known cause and with that, there is no single cure that can reverse the effects of all cases of scleroderma. Treatment for scleroderma is case specific and the approach to treating it is more focused on limiting damage and relieving a patient from symptoms rather than attempting to completely remove scleroderma from a patient. Treatment can be in the form of medications, rehabilitation therapies or surgery which would depend on the case the patient is suffering.

This case of scleroderma is quite severe and could lead to a fatality however with careful medications; it is very possible for a case of gastro-intestinal involvement of scleroderma to be treated. Various medications such as anti-secretory agents, pro-motility agents and bacteria suppressing antibiotics have been proven to effectively treat some cases of gastro-intestinal involvement in scleroderma.

Crest Syndrome and Scleroderma

CREST syndrome or limited scleroderma is an autoimmune disease affecting the connective tissue. Connecting tissue is the link between cells that binds them together. It is found all over your body, in the skin and in all your organs. This illness is quite severe that it would usually affect a lot of organs including the skin at the same time. Limited scleroderma would not only affect the skin but could work on a number of organs at the same time.

Limited scleroderma is very broad and the symptoms suffered by its patients would vary accordingly. For some, limited scleroderma would be very minor, although it can disable an individual and for others, it could be life changing and even fatal in some cases. As of now, this disease has no known cause. Treatments that are done for this is for managing symptoms and preventing it from complicating and not attempting to entirely remove the disease from the patient.

How Do You Know You Have It?

Crest has a distinct set of symptoms and with that, you would be easily able to identify if you have it with the presence of some symptoms. The first symptom is calcinosis which is the development of calcium deposits under the skin mainly on the fingers, knees and elbows. You can easily feel and see these deposits as the affected area is discolored and tender. These deposits can also form in the spine and on the legs.

Another visible symptom is known as Raynaud’s phenomenon, this which causes numbness, pain and discoloration in the fingers. This symptom is common among those who all types of scleroderma as it occurs to them at 95% of all cases. This is also usually the first symptom that would come out. Raynaud’s phenomenon mainly affects the blood vessels spasm having them limit blood flow that would result to the symptoms.

Severe Symptoms

While Raynaud’s and calcinosis are the two most common symptoms of CREST, severe cases would show different symptoms. People with limited scleroderma could also experience esophageal dysfunction since blood flow is limited to the esophagus, also limiting its function. Another is sclerodactyly which is characterized by thick and hard skin similar to scar tissue. This can occur anywhere from the hands, chest, face and abdomen.

Another symptom of which people with scleroderma can suffer is telangiectansia which is a collection of blood vessels on the surface of the skin which would appear as red marks. People with limited scleroderma could also have limited lung activity, high blood pressure and other autoimmune diseases such as lupus and polymyositis.

What Causes It?

While there is no proven cause of scleroderma yet, medical experts refer to reliable theories that refer to very possible causes of it. One theory is that limited scleroderma is genetic and that genetic defects would make people more susceptible to scleroderma. Another is hormones, this of which medical experts think could be the reason why females are more susceptible than males and environmental influences such as viruses or bacteria that may cause it.

Another theory is that pregnancy can cause it. The fetal matter that is left over after pregnancy that still circulates in the mother’s bloodstream can cause scleroderma even after decades after pregnancy, this theory has been aligned with the statistics that the common patients for scleroderma are women between the ages 30 and 60.

All of these theories however have not been proven and the cause for scleroderma still remains unknown.

Scleroderma And Its Effects

Understanding Your Condition

Before anything else, you should first understand your condition. Scleroderma is quite serious and for some people, it could change their lifestyles so much that they are no longer comfortable with it. But for those who have the patience and understanding, they will be able to cope up with their condition much easier. It is no doubt that life with scleroderma is definitely uneasy but it is very manageable if you know how to handle and it all begins with understanding.

With understanding, you should be able to know what could happen to you, details regarding your condition and as well as know what to do to help you manage your condition. While your doctor could help you, you must help yourself too and you can do this by having a clean living lifestyle, taking medications seriously and just plainly taking care of yourself.

How To Cope

As a rational person, it is certain that you have undergone a lot of challenges before and as you are now, you are still alive and that means that you were able to handle all of those problems. Scleroderma is just another problem and being such, you can manage it and eventually learn to get over it. Just think of it mainly as the beginning of a new life. It may not allow you to do a lot of the things you used to enjoy but it also opens a lot of doors for you that you can see if only you look deeper within.

While medicines may help, it would also do a lot if you are able to cope up with your condition. There is a difference between a person suffering from illness from another who is living with disease and for many cases; a lot of patients have been able to handle serious conditions well.

Acceptance

Another step in coping up is acceptance; you have to accept that you are different now. You may not be able to do a lot of things you used to enjoy, you might not be able to travel to places where you always wanted to and there might be some activities that you cannot do anymore. Since you have this condition, you will have to take care more of yourself now. This may be sad for most of you but if you learn how to accept, things may just be easier for you.

If you find it difficult, just learn to manage what it is that is affecting you now and what you can do to help yourself. If you cannot handle it now, you can learn in time. When coping up, you need to understand yourself and your condition for you to be able to accept your condition. Your condition would be much easier for you if you manage it well.

Having Hope

While all may seem so difficult, it is very important that you keep your hope up with this condition and that is reasonable because some cases of scleroderma have been treated quite well and that has changed many lives. Since you have a condition, you have to remember that nothing is permanent and things can change sooner than you know it.

Most scleroderma patients would be discouraged or feel weaker because of the fact that scleroderma has no known cause or cure however; a lot of cases have been treated with the help of medicine. Being one of those patients, you can also be cured just like how they have been. That is why it is very important to have hope despite being in a tough condition.

Cardiac Problems In Scleroderma

Scleroderma is an autoimmune disease that is characterized by toughening most commonly in the skin and could also happen to other organs. The mild form of this known as morphea, although it can cripple its patients would tend not to be fatal. Another form of this which is systemic sclerosis, since it would affect the skin as well as would limit the functions of the affected organs could be fatal. As of now, there is no exact cause of this disease and most doctors would go by theories.

Scleroderma is found worldwide however; women are about four times as likely to have it more than men. This would also develop mostly between the ages of 30 and 60. The disease is quite rare as affecting only 14 out of every 1 million individuals worldwide. This disease also rarely affects children. This disease is quite evident among the native American Choctaw tribe and African-American females.

What Causes Scleroderma?

The cause of scleroderma still remains unknown, although medical experts have developed various theories on the causes of it. Some have said that it is largely genetic so if an individual has scleroderma, he puts his relatives at risk of having it. Others would say that it is environmental and is brought about by unwanted factors in the environment such as virus, bacteria and other similar factors. However, non of these theories are proven yet.

The result of this is that the immune system, instead of protecting the body would attack the tissues in the body causing the development of scar tissue on the affected areas. Although different cases of scleroderma would cause different symptoms, the most common ones would be the Raynaud’s phenomenon which would refer to the spasms of arteries supplying blood to the fingers, toes and face. For systemic scleroderma, this is coupled by limitation in the organ’s function.

How Is The Heart Involved In Scleroderma?

Scleroderma makes the tissues in your heart tougher than in turn would limit its functions. If the heart gets involved with scleroderma, then there will be limitations to its function. This is characterized by myocardial disease, arrhythmias or conduction system abnormalities. Even if it is not the heart that would get affected but rather the kidneys or lungs, that could still cause a lot of heart problems, the most common being hypertension. Being that, the heart is one of the most involved organs in scleroderma.

One who gets scleroderma should be expecting some heart problems since the heart is largely involved in it. Fortunately, this can be managed with the help of some doctors. Although there is still no guarantee that a patient would be completely free of scleroderma after medications, medications are made to help patients go by difficult symptoms that are brought to them by scleroderma.

How Is Heart Involvement In Scleroderma Managed?

There is no treatment for scleroderma instead, the approach to this is patient-specific and would depend on what the specific circumstances are. For heart involvement, the doctor would make use of medications such as calcium channel blockers, nifedipine, nicardipine and bosentan. For children who have it, the approach to treating them is a combination therapy of methotrexate, corticosteroids and cyclosporine.

If these would cause side effects, then different medications are used depending on what would suit the patient specifically. Patients with Raynaud’s should be aware that these medications could worsen their condition.

Scleroderma Symptoms
This is a disease of the immune system and as such the body acts against itself, but all is not lost.
This blog will I hope show you the latest thinking, the hints and tip that can help you cope with the problem and live a happier fulfilled life?
Regards.