Overall Background: I am Type 2 diabetic with other (I consider minor)
medical problems that my doctor keeps finding and having me seen for.
The only major problem (to me) is that I experience very heavy
bleeding each month, keeping me housebound for 3-5 days; have just
started showing anemic on blood tests--Dr. is finally considering it a
problem.

Relevant Background: I've been asking him about this for years, and he
doesn't seem to think it's a problem. My ankles and legs are swollen
(not major, but significant), and I get "dents" in my legs when I lean
against things. He's admitted that I might have a "minor amount" of
fluid retention, but does not seem to think that my inability to lose
weight (even when eating far less than I should) has anything to do
with it.

Question: For years (even before being diagnosed as diabetic), the
palms of my hands and fingers will often turn bright red, hot, shiny, swollen,
and "tight." Whenever I take a shower, my hands feel "waxy." We have
not been able to identify a specific event or reaction that might
cause the redness--I've thought of allergies, heat, etc. I did notice
a few months ago that when my hands get red, the soles of my feet
often get red, as well. Today, when I was in a swimming pool for over
two hours, someone realized that neither my hands nor feet shriveled
in the water and that the palms of my hands felt waxy in the pool.

Sometimes, when my hands get red and hot, they itch (which originally
made me think of an allergy), and I sometimes (whether or not they are
red) get hive-like eruptions down the sides of one or both of my index
fingers (only)--usually starting at the first knuckle.

Is this a problem or am I just driving myself crazy? 

I'm not looking for a "diagnosis" unless it sounds like something
someone can identify, but I don't even know who or why to ask about
the problem. As the night goes on, I noticed the skin on my hands
getting "tighter" and my hands are very smooth, but do not appear to
be red.

Any thoughts? Thanks for your help

I'm not a doctor but my dad (we're in India) had a similar problem for
about ten years which most doctors attributed to diabetes but this
year during a routine check up prior to a cataract operation, an
endocrinologist diagnosed it as an allergic reaction to a blood
pressure medication that he had been taking for about ten years now.
In the past month, that medication has been discontinued and these
symptoms disappeared. I suspect you need to get a second opinion from
another doctor, who is more open to hearing out your problem.

Hello wannanowhy-ga!

I'm sorry. I inadvertantly posted the answer to a different question
on your question. I'm going to ask the editors to remove this one, and
I will continue working on your question. Sorry again about the mixup!

Sincerely,
Boquinha-ga

Also, just so you know--please kindly refrain from rating the question
until we have this resolved. I've alerted the editors. Again, I'm so
sorry about the mix up. I am at work researching your question and can
post that for you as soon as the other answer is removed. Again, my
apologies! This is the first time I've ever done this in years of
doing this type of research and I am embarrassed. Thank you for your
patience.

Sincerely,
Boquinha-ga