Swollen and visible veins

[Darlene__0__0]

  I have recently developed what appear to a couple of swollen veins in my hands, and the veins in my hands, wrists, and forearms have become more visible (I can see several veins that I have never been able to see before).
  The area is painful to the touch in only one place that I've noticed, but at night, when it seems to generally be worst, it makes my hands and arms ache, and sometimes it the ache seems to travel up to my shoulder and neck. The other odd thing is that when I step into a bath, the palms of my hands sometimes become purple and looked bruised. It will go away in a few minutes, however, and although worst when I take a very warm bath, I have noticed it to a lessor extent even with a barely luke warm bath.
  I am currently seeing a Rheumatologist for a possible connective tissue disesae, but since my next appointment was over a week away, I was hoping you could give me some possibilities to consider in the meantime.
  Thank you for much for your time and any info you can provide.

[CCF CARDIO MD APS]

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Dear Darlene,
A full history and physical by the rheumatologist is the best thing for you;
honestly there are so many things that you could have or not have and since this
is a cardiology-information forum, not a diagnostic one, I will say to you this:
After seeing the rheumatologist, write back with questions, keeping in mind that this
is a cardiology forum.  Also, write your questions down for the rheumatologist so that
s/he can go over the workup, diagnosis, and plan with you.
I hope this information is useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for
general purposes only. Only your physician can provided specific diagnoses and therapies.
Feel free to write back with further questions. Good luck!