Antiphospholipid Syndrome

Hi all, I had a pulmonary embolism about a year ago, have been on coumadin ever since. I was diagnosed with having the Lupus Anticoagulant Antibody and suspected of having antiphospholipid syndrome because of other problems like Hashimoto's. None of my blood tests have been absolutely conclusive, but my immunologist is assuming it is APS. About three weeks ago my fingers started to swell and become red and bruised looking. The swelling has gone down but there is still a little bruising. At first my doctor thought it was an infection so she started me on antibiotics, but my blood test came back negative for infection so I stopped the antibiotics. She's (again assuming) that it is bleeding in my joints from some injury, but my hemotologist disagrees, he says that bleeding in the finger joints is very rare and very painful. There is not too much pain in the fingers, I can bend them pretty well. It's just that they are bruised looking and swollen. I'm so tired of having all my doctors tell me different things and no one knowing what it really is. My general physician wants me to go on steroids, but I won't until I see my immunologist on Wed. I thought I'd see if any one has any feedback or experience with APS and possible complications of this disease involving the joints of the fingers or the joints in general. Thanks in advance. Oh, and my spelling is horrible so please excuse any mis-spellings. Thanks.

Karina

[julia111]

Could the condition you have of your hands be Raynaud's?  Do they get cold easily?  With Raynaud's they can turn purple/blue and even black.  I have raynaud's, but a, not an expert on it.  Also, it's common for people w/ Lupus and other autoimmune dieseases to have this condition.