Hello all,

I am new to this board, but not new to RSD.

I developed RSD in 2002, although not diagnosed until 2004, but in total have been dealing with the pain and debilitation for over 5 years. And although I have done self-research on RSD over the past few years - I have never been reached out on a web board before.

But at this time I am poking around the web trying to find answers on a specific issue -- and having some difficulty accessing this information -- so thought I might ask others who also have RSD.

This issue has to do with breathing exercises (long, slow, concentrated deep breathing pattern), which I believe works for me in attempting to calm down and relax my autonomic/sympathetic/parasympathetic nervous systems. I guess in a sense trying to re-set them from the over-active malfunctioning pattern it is clearly on. Obviously it's not a permanent 'fix', but will work for an hour or so ... but then my body slips back into the fast, quick, shallow pattern -- and when it does all my pain patterns seem to come back in full exacerbated intensity.

I know there is no research, anywhere, or at least I've never been able to find it that ties the onset of RSD to a mental/emotional component; however in my personal experience the time of my initial injury I WAS under tremendous stress (from issues going on in my personal and professional life) and I was NOT dealing with the stress very well. In saying that, I have always firmly believed this to be a contributor to the onset of RSD. The timing is too uncanny to be a coincidence otherwise.

And while I've tried everything modern medicine has to offer to deal with the pain of RSD, I have found it to be of very little help. The breathing exercises have actually been the most help (although short term). I am so sorry for the long story and explanation, but I what I am looking for is input from others:

Are there others out there that equate the onset of RSD to have to do with a physical injury + in conjunction with severe stress they were also currently going through? Also are there others out there that have found breathing exercise to be of benefit? In general what have most found to be the best treatment for them (aside from RX, which I am on plenty of)?

(Incidentally my chief pain seems to stem from vasco-constriction of blood vessels: causing frostbite-type sensations in limbs, discoloring, etc. This is present on all limbs, including hands and feet. The initial injury was in my low back.)