This morning my fingers were aching. On my right hand, my middle finger has a ?knot? at the base of it, and it hurts. Could that be arthritis?

I have been diagnosed with Fibromyalgia and an Undifferenciated Connective Tissue Disease. I recently have got numerous reddish-purple areas on my knees and elbows. Some have a raised appearance. I have a few over my thumb joint. They do not itch, hurt and they aren’t scaly. Can you tell me if this may be related to an auto immune problem?

I wanted to know how the hospital and/or school selects it’s research candidates. I have read several articles about some of the research performed. I would like to know if there are any programs or researchers in my area looking for weight loss canidates.

My sister has sjogrens and ankylosing spendolitis. No one can find the source of a recurring fever and infection after being in the hospital for 23 days. her blood work always comes back suspicious. She now has a blood clot (in a very swollen leg) and can no longer sit or stand due to her prolonged inactivity. Her other leg has become atropied. Can the sjogrens be at the source of this?

When I type on a keyboard or when I get cold usually when I am sitting I notice that my hands turn blue and cold. Sometimes my hands turn blue when I get into the shower with comfortable hot water then I notice after 15 to 20 seconds my hands turn a nice pink again. I am puzzled by this. Could this be life threatning?

I was diagnosed with MCTD a little over a year and a half ago. Just recently during some routine blood work, my CPK levels came back substantially elevated (1492 to be exact). I’m concerned as to what this could be an indication of. My doctor has prescribed a daily 40mg dose of prednisone for the next two weeks at which point we will re-test my CPK levels. Could you please shed some light as to what this recent elevation in the CPK level could be caused from?