Greg Sutcliffe

My name is Greg Sutcliffe and I'm fairly new to the Scleroderma family. I was diagnosed with Progressive Systemic Sclerosis (Diffuse) in August of '96. I've been married to my wife Diane for 12 years and we have a 10 year old son named Cody. I am 40 yrs young and completely retired because of this horrible disease. Despite all I've been through in the last year my spirits are up and my family is still intact.

The first time I suspected something might be wrong was around '90. At the time I was enlisted in the Navy and had chosen to make it a career. My wife, son and I were living in San Diego and life was good. I noticed that my hands would turn blue when they were subjected to cold. It really didn't bother me except that it was ugly looking. I didn't feel any pain or have any other medical problems except heartburn. At the time I felt it best not to seek medical attention for fear of being discharged from the Navy.

In '91 I was transferred to Hawaii and that really helped with the "blue hands". I still had no idea what was wrong. I thought it might be a circulation problem. I was always active and felt good so I continued to look the other way.

In '92 my ship was deployed to South America on a six month cruise. That is when my next symptom showed up. It was winter time and the weather was very cold. I developed sores on the tips of two of my fingers. The pain was more than I could handle so I checked into sick bay. The medical tech said I had some kind of infection in one of my fingers and decided to lance it. He cut and he cut, what a joyous moment in my life that was. The pain was terrible. No anesthesia, no nothing, just grin and bear it. He found nothing. For a week I soaked my "wound" in peroxide and eventually it healed, or at least healed as well as it was going to. Other than the sores, which I developed on a regular basis, I had no other symptoms. It wasn't until I was transferred to Kansas to do a tour as a Navy Recruiter that other symptoms began to surface.

In March of '95 I failed to make the required time on a 1 1/2 mile run for my semiannual physical fitness test. I attributed it to getting older (38 yrs) and not exercising regularly since I had left the fleet. My "blue hand" episodes were happening on a regular basis because of the climate change but I continued to ignore them. Through the summer of '95 I set up a regular exercise program and kept to it. In the fall of '95 I was successful on the 1 1/2 mile run. All seemed well.

In the winter of '95-'96 I noticed my hands were getting worse. When I lay them flat on a table it appeared I was cutting off all circulation to them. I was beginning to have trouble forming a fist with both hands. I was under a lot of pressure in my job as a recruiter and still did not seek out medical help. I felt my job was too important to travel 50 miles to have an Army doctor give me two aspirins and send me back to work (later on I would find those Army doctors to be very helpful). Now that I look back I realize I was just plain afraid of what might be wrong with me; I didn't want to face it.

As the year went on I found that my hands were swelling and it was getting very difficult to hold a pen or pencil. I was also having other problems. I was having severe pain on my right shoulder blade. The only thing that helped with the pain was mass quantities of aspirin and or motrin. My heartburn was getting worse as well. I would wake up at night, on a fairly regular basis, coughing and vomiting (yuck). If I went anywhere I always had an ample supply of antacid and motrin.

My wife was getting angry with me for not seeing a doctor, so I promised to go to a local doctor and get checked out.

In July I saw a doctor in the small rural town we live in. Thank god he was a good doctor that had the sense to suspect what was wrong instead of stringing me along. I've read a lot of horror stories about what other folks with SD have gone through for a dx. He ordered some lab work and a chest x-ray. He reviewed my x-ray and told me something was not right with my lungs. He also suspected I had a connective tissue disease but would not be able to make the diagnosis without calling in a Rheamatologist and possibly a Dermatologist.

After I left his office I did some investigating at the library and found some information on connective tissue diseases and Scleroderma. I wasn't sure how to take all that I was reading. The more I read the more I got scared. This is when I let the military in on what I suspected was wrong with me.

The doctor I saw at the Army clinic in Kansas agreed with what the first doctor had told me. Two weeks later I was sent to Fort Sam Houston for tests, dx and treatment plan. I was gone for a month and visited two different hospitals, one in Texas and one in California

I was diagnosed to have Progressive Systemic Sclerosis, Interstitial Lung disease, Raynauds and Esophageal Reflux. I was put on Penicillimine for the Scleroderma, Prilosec for the Reflux and a Calcium Channel Blocker for Raynauds.

In January '97 I was given a medical retirement from the Navy. I am presently appealing with the VA over my disability rating. I hope to receive 100 percent vice the 60 percent I was awarded.

Since the diagnosis; the hardening of the skin has spread from my hands, up my arms, to my chest and stomach. My lungs have also gotten worse. It can take several minutes to catch my breath from walking too fast or traveling up an incline. My doctor wants me to consider Cytoxan if my lungs don't get any better by June or July of this year. I experience extreme pain and stiffness in my leg joints and muscles which keeps me awake some nights.

If you like to "gab" drop me a line via e-mail, the compurer is one thing SD hasn't been able to take away from me. Good luck to everyone out there affected by this terrible disease and hang in there. I'm going to. My e-mail address is: gregs@midusa.net

Greg Sutcliffe

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