Dear Sandy/Cindi -

Please make sure you are not taking Sudafed or any other product containing pseudoephedrine, which works by constricting the small blood vessels in nasal passages:

Pseudoephedrine is a sympathomimetic amine. Its principal mechanism of action relies on its indirect action on the adrenergic receptor system. The vasoconstriction that pseudoephedrine produces is believed to be principally an α-adrenergic receptor response.

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These adrenergic receptors are located on the muscles lining the walls of blood vessels. When activated by pseudoephedrine, the muscles contract, causing the blood vessels to constrict (vasoconstriction). The constricted blood vessels now allow less fluid to leave the blood vessels and enter the nose, throat and sinus linings, which results in decreased inflammation of nasal membranes as well as decreased mucus production. Thus, by constriction of blood vessels, mainly those located in the nasal passages, pseudoephedrine causes a decrease in the symptoms of nasal congestion.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pseudoephedrine (For a list of the many over-the-counter products containing pseudoephedrine, see http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/d...s/a682619.html.)

And as I believe Sandy is well aware, anyone with RSD/CRPS has way too much experience already with vasoconstriction. See, e.g., An Update on the Pathophysiology of Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, Bruehl S, Anesthesiol. 2010;113(3):713-725 at 717 ONLINE TEXT @ http://www.rsds.org/2/library/articl...ology_2010.pdf, citing, Alpha-adrenergic supersensitivity of the sudomotor nerve in complex regional pain syndrome, Chémali KR, Gorodeski R, Chelimsky TC, Ann Neurol. 2001 Apr;49(4):453-9:

Abstract
alpha-Adrenoreceptor supersensitivity in many tissues has been described in patients with complex regional pain syndrome type I (CRPS I). Because excessive sweating of the affected limb is an important feature of CRPS I, we investigated whether this supersensitivity also occurs in the sudomotor system. We compared the sweat response to iontophoresis of an alpha-adrenergic agent (phenylephrine) in 4 patients with acute CRPS I and 3 patients with resolved CRPS I with that in 9 control subjects using the methodology of the quantitative sudomotor axon reflex test (QSART). A significantly higher sweat response was observed in the affected limb of patients with acute CRPS I compared to their unaffected limb (p = 0.03), to control subjects (p > 0.018), and to the affected or unaffected limbs of patients with resolved CRPS I (p = 0.02), whose sweat response was not significantly different from that of control subjects. We conclude that the abnormal response in patients with acute CRPS I is most likely mediated by an axon reflex and that alpha-adrenoreceptor supersensitivity occurs in the presynaptic portion of the postganglionic sudomotor axon. This supersensitivity is reversed when CRPS I resolves.

PMID: 11310622 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/11310622

So while Sudafed, etc., is constricting the small vessels in your nasal passages, it's doing the same number on the rest of your body: something I figured out the hard way. Hence the contraindications for those with cardiovascular disease, hypertension, etc., as set out in the Wiki article. Better we should take something like Zicam® Cough Max Cough Spray (100% Dextromethorphan HBr - just search the forum for Dextromethorphan) and let the nose do what it will!

Mike