Hi Jules,

I would love you to post your approach on here because there's at least one person besides you who works and avoids narcotics, and that's me.

As you may remember my RSD is mild these days. It wasn't for the first two years, though. Like you I have never had blue/blueish skin, my left hand is just a bit greyer than the other, but still pink, and I have sometimes thought of asking Vic the same question because, by his criteria, I also wouldn't be considered to have RSD. Doctors here agree that's what it is, however.

I think though, that cyanotic skin need not be more than greyish necessarily.

My RSD was very much worse before, when it was vivid red, throughout the first year and well into the second. But I have a deep belief that oxygen-starvation does play a significant role in my case, despite the lack of obvious signs of cyanosis. I know that's not very scientific....but I have a gut feeling about it.

I don't take GSE and so far have not had the RSD spread (yet) although in the last year I have developed RSI in my right hand and arm.

But I take as much (cheap) nutrition supplement, food and drink which contain free radical scavengers as I can; and that is really the point.

GSE is prohibitively expensive here; not only is it imported but HK loads massive tax on the "luxury nutrition" market. But no matter, you can get a very large amount of antioxidants into the body every day by being selective about what you eat and drink. Chinese green tea is stacked with FRSs, for example.

My guess is that while Vic may well be right about the ischemic-reperfusion injury component I don't think that's the whole story, by a long shot. There are too many other variables for that to be the entire answer. But if it could be recognised as a major part of how RSD presents itself, I believe it would go a very long way to determining some kind of effective treatment.

BTW, Jules, when one of my dogs was poisoned (he died in 20 minutes, we think by accident, someone trying to get rid of their rats, perhaps, using strychnine which grows wild here...) he went royal blue, quite unmistakable despite the fur....horrible, my poor beloved boy.

So...just wanted to encourage you to tell us (well, me!) more about your approach to your own management of RSD. I take an approach rather different from the "forum mainstream", myself. So...please?

all the best