Here’s a great article to include with any VA filing of cryoglobulinemia, secondary to HCV. It affects many when they go out in temperatures below 40 degrees F. The cryoglobulins precipitate into a semi-solid state and cause blockages in the very small veins of the hands, feet, nose and ears. When you return into a warm place, they liquefy again and the pain is indescribable.
Cryoglobulinemia is most often associated with Raynaud’s phenomenon described here. Hope this helps some of you to win your claims on this. Many have this and do not know it. VA is not inclined to do a test of the IgG immunoglobulins unless you pitch a bitch.
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Laura
Veterans Claims Help 
Figure 2 in the article shows what this can look like when left untreated. The text is too technical for me but the photos bring home how awful this can get. . .
Cannot speak for all V.A. hospitals, here in SA they don’t bother to do the cryo test, seems you need to keep the blood warm for a proper reading and they have a history of getting it wrong. They check for RA, don.t ask me why, claim it shows above a level to be indicative. Just a redneck
I’ve had innumerable blood tests for Cryo. The one you describe has to be conducted in a hospital right at the lab. It’s called the cryo precipitate test. They take a big herking syringe of blood out and immerse it in a column of heated (98.6 F ) water and immediately race into the lab with it. You have to schedule ahead to have everyone ready to accept and process it. I could see the VA stepping on their necktie on that one. Considering the notification procedure for positive HCV tests was deficient for a decade(in violation of most state strictures associated with STD reporting of communicable diseases), VA correctly processing and reading a cryo precipitate test would be like putting a man on the moon in 1865.
Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is the immune system attacking the body, tissues, and joints; Lupus and sjorgrens disease are almost the same as RA, all are a result to the immune system attacking the body. These are not all the secondary’s of the auto-immune disorder; degenerative joint disease and others are included. SA Vamc diagnosed me with all these things and never offered treatment.
They secretly tested vets for C-Diff and found it in me. The SA vamc had a c-diff epidemic and was testing all Vets secretly. To their credit they called me and said come in ASAP for treatment. C-Diff is a life threatening disease.
When RA, Lupus, degenerative joint disease, sjogrens, etal, progress to far along then your hips and knees have to be replaced.