Ptsd And Bleeding Hands

[Earth Angel]

Every time I get really stressed, cuts begin to form all over my hands. Over a period of hours, the cuts can turn into gashes. The gashes begin to bleed. Blood will actually spurt from the gashes if I get upset enough (one time was because I saw an upsetting scene in a movie). It is immensely painful and not even Vicodin helps.

The cuts last until the stressor goes away. It can be days, weeks or months. Last year it got so bad at one point that I had to pick my son up from school with rubber gloves on, because I couldn't touch anything without smearing blood on it.

I am very tired. The pain is exhausting. Oftentimes, I experience severe vaginal pain during the periods when my hands are bleeding. I have to use hydrocortisone suppositories just to help with the pain. I also experience insomnia and when I do sleep I have nightmares. I scream myself awake about once a week.

A couple of years ago I was revictimized and as a result lost feeling in my hands, feet and part of my face off and on for several months. I see a therapist once a week, but it is hard not to feel like I want to die. I only remember flashes of things- not enought to get much resolution.

Has anyone else had any spontaneous bleeding?

 

[rjtransient]

I assume you're not experiencing a flare-up right now.

 

[intothelight]

Hi Earth Angel,

Stress can cause a lot of physical problems and manifestations. I do not have any medical background, but have seen stress trigger hives and eczema in myself.

The only suggestion I have is to see a dermatologist. What you are describing sounds quite severe and painful, so I hope they would be able to help you.

Take care.
Debbie

 

[becvan]

It sounds like you have an underlying problem that is being aggravated by the stress. Have you seen a dermatologist to see if you have any skin disorders? It really sounds like it. I have a skin disorder and stress can make it worse. I use management of both the stress and the skin disorder to keep them both inline. I would go and see a doctor personally.

bec

 

[Nattydread]

Hi Earth Angel,

I was just wondering if you have had any success identifying what's causing the spontaneous bleeding of your hands?

My girlfriend has exactly the symptoms you've described, and it's worrying me. If she doesn't get 8hrs sleep, she starts getting stressed, which in turn leads to an irritableness and insomnia, and brief periods of sleep hampered by anxious and traumatic dreams which exacerbates everything. Moreover, she has minuscule cuts to the back of her hands, principally around the fleshy area near the thumb, and like you, these cuts get worse over hours and in the past she said they've spontaneously bled. I'm pretty sure it produces vaginal pain too, but can only guess this is the case judging by her body language. With me, she'll be the lovely sensual, intimate and sexual girlfriend one day, and after a night or two's disrupted sleep, she'll be fierce, foul tempered, and unapproachable (which is totally understandable given her symptoms, but without being a mind-reader and her not disclosing anything, makes it very difficult to know what or how to behave around her...but that's my problem, not hers).

She works as an architect which tends to be pretty stressful, and demands long hours. When she's not working, she's always keen to keep her social and cultural life alive, so fills her evenings afterwork with diners and exhibitions. I know she had quite a tough break-up with her previous long-term boyfriend and I think, even after two years, that still plagues her when she bumps into mutual friends. I don't think there's anything darker in her past that would cause the underlying stresses, but I'm really not sure.

I'm worried about her and want to understand what she's going through and offer support. Instead, I feel like I can't do anything right around her. Knowing and understanding what's causing these strange bleedings might help, rather than just probing and questioning if 'everything's alright' all the time.

I hope your symptoms are improving, and would love to hear if you've learnt anything more about the causes.

Kenny