red skin
 

Does anyone have large areas of very red skin like 5 inches in length and 5 inches width in neck and upper chest area? Also, if so does the redness blanche or turn white when pressed?

Thanks richard

Hi Richard,

It's good to hear from you. I also have noticed that my chest and neck area goes red at times. It's sort of like a rash and it comes and goes, it can be pretty itchy at times also. I have RSD in my right arm and left leg so i'm not sure if the RSD is causing it or what. I also go really red on my RSD areas and if you press down hard enough, it goes white. My PM did this test before I was diagnosed with RSD where he pressed down on an area on my RSD limb that was red (ouch!) and if it went white, he then timed how long it took to go back to being red. I think it took about 30 seconds to a minute which indicated that it was very possible that I had RSD somehow.

If you are concerned about it, I would mention it to your doctor but from what I have heard it is pretty common in RSD'ers. I wish I had some more advice for you.

Am keeping you in my thoughts.
Alison

thanks Alison for the speedy reply, I will tell my doctor of your experience. Hope your are feeling ok and only get better each day.

thanks richard:winky:

Hi Richard and Alison,
Yes, I have redness on my chest and going up my neck. It turns white when I press down. I've had rsd 12 years and full body now. The redness varies as to areas, pretty much always red, purple, bluish color on bottom of feet and hands. And patch of redness come and go depending on stress and how I feel. Ali, I have the rashes too, very itchy . Clear lotion for poison ivy drys them up, takes a while. Being in the sun can bring them out on my back or chest, or being too hot or sweaty. A medicated powder feels good. Their are compounding pharmacists here in the u.s. that make up a gel or cream-ketamine, lidocaine, I forget a couple other ingredients, but I've already talked to my Dr. about it, especially for the burning pain in my feet. He says always you sunscreen before going out. Of course I live in Arizona, where it 85 degrees now and 110 in summer., but at least don't have to deal with rain, snow, and chilly weather.

Ali, do you have a kitty. Mine sleeps with me and likes to be in every room where I am. Her fur is so soft and she is so affectionate. She makes me smile.

Richard, have you been diagnosed with RSD. The redness showing up from time to time, to me, means a little flare. RSD affects the skin and circulation too. Some of my large red spots turn into a brownish raised mole. I'm going to see a skin Dr. My Dr. won't take them off, due to his insurance restrictions for rsd.

Take care, I take an anti-anxiety med to keep calm and reduced flares. Loretta

Richard...
 

Hey Richard,
My name is Heather and I have full-body RSD with chest, neck, and facial RSD. My chest, neck and face flare up everyday sometimes 6 X a day. (I attached a pic for you so that you can see.)

Ali, I can relate to you on the itching. Mine starts off getting very hot with hot flashes and electrical jolts:mad:and I feel that bad sunburn that itches real bad, but you just can't scratch it. :(

I was diagnosed with RSD in Aug 06 and Full-Body in Feb 07...I have had over 100 lumbar and cervical epidurals. I am having twice a week. Those and meds are the only things giving me ANY type of pain relief.

I am awaiting Lidocaine Infusion Therapy with my PM in a couple months. Till then, I am getting by with this. The facial RSD is very hard to deal with. If you have any more questions, please ask.

Thanks and hope you feel better...
Heather:hug:

Hi richard, my response is ditto to Heathers,
 

Hi Mine to happens several times a day, I too am full body, sometimes there is burning with it, especially my ears. I have a gel which helps a great deal. Good luck, CZ

I didn't realize it but I get the same type of redness on my face and my arms but my RSD is located in my hip and leg area which also get red at times.

Very interesting...I'm learning a lot from everyone sharing their experiences. I just assumed the redness was something else..:o
Thank you...:grouphug:

Redness...
 

Summertime - My redness also occurs throughout my entire body, in random lacations, during flare ups. Quote me if I am wrong but I believe that a flare-up is at least 1 degree Celcius/12 degree Farenheit, increase in body temp, and that might be the cause of the this flushing.

CZZ74 - I know the burn all to well. My ears always seem to heat up first and that's what my sign to know that a flare is coming. Also, my hubby notices it too. What kind of gel are you using?

I want to let you all know about a Homeopathic Topical Oil, for nerve pain, that I have been using for about a year now. It's called Neuragen PN. It's AMAZING!!:D I have had a lot of RSD'ers try it and they have gotten 50-75% relief for 30min-a few hours...It's worth a try. They carry it online http://originbiomed.com/usa-en/neuragen-pn.html or at most major drug stores now.

Hope this helps guys and girl!:grouphug:

I have A redness which is on both sides of my neck and extends down my chest....I'm always trying to cover it with makeup.
Iv'e been told it's everything from Melasma to Roseca. It's from RSD....I hate it!!:mad:

Hi Heather,

Thank you for the info on the topical oil. Yes, I havae the redness too. Usually when the skin temp. raises. I've had the itchy rashes and now a flare that brought 2 large skin lesions-very painful. I see my Dr. Monday.

Heather, on the itchy rashes, especially face, have you used clear lotion for poison oak?
It seems to calm and cool mine down.

HBOT is one of promising treatments for RSD. My Dr. , a Neurologist, Psychiatrist, and Pharmacologist is building 2 clinics with a hospital grade HBO unit in each one. They are about 5 minutes from my house. I have been seeing this Dr. 4-5 years and has helped me a lot.His father and sister are physicians. He also teaches,so just has a small part-time practice. He has helped to adjust and totally all my spasms, electrical jolts, jerks are gone thru meds. Blood pressure under control now I passed out for over an hour due to low blood pressure. 60/40 scary. was in hospital a few days
I'm reading everything I can about HBOT. Talked to Diana A. She has a home unit and working well for her. I've also talked to a private HBO clinic in San Fran. area, just north.
They were very nice. But I think I'll wait till my Dr. get's his installed next month.

Take care, always thinking of you.Have you read up on HBOT? We receive 21% oxygen
and with the chamber we receive 100% at 2.4 times the pressure. So it promotes healing, circulation, getting oxygen to areas that are lacking.

Be Well, Loretta Jewell

Hi Richard!
I am one month into my diagnosis. It started in my left foot/ankle after surgery. My foot/calf turns bright red/mottled only when I stand. I have the tingling/pain/edema/electric shock sensations all the time in that foot as well. Over the past two weeks, I have noticed that my opposite foot also gets red (again, only when I stand up), although after a few moments the left foot is clearly more red than the right one (and further up my calf). I have noticed that when I push on it, it does turn white and stays that way for 10-15 seconds. I don't know if the RSD is trying to spread to the other foot (I have no other symptoms in the right foot yet.....only the left) but I wanted to respond to your question about it turning white. I'm glad we have this forum to ask questions and seek answers from other people that are living through it. Best wishes to you!

Ditto!!!
 

Richard,
I have had RSD for 20 years in July and I could send you pics too. I have a red neck and chest. I have full body RSD.
I am glad you brought this up, I thought I was alone on this one. I hate having my picuture taken because it shows up so much. My legs and arms are blotchy red, purple and yellow. I am really a very colorful person. LOL
Diana

Loretta Jewell...
 

Hi Hun,

I have thought about HBOT a lot, but I don't have any $$$. :( I hear that it is super super expensive. And to be honest with you, I haven't become an "expert" on the subject, like I have every other RSD topic.:rolleyes:

I will start to look into it, because everyone talks about it.

So, I am still having my flare-ups on my face, neck and chest and wanted to post a recent pic. So, I will post it to everyone in another message window.

Thanks for thinking of me. It means a lot! Hope you had a wonderful New Year. May this YEAR be better than last.:hug:

Huggs,
H

Pics of Face/Chest/Neck Flares..
 

Hey guys,

I saw that you were talking about pics of these flares and I have 3-4 a day now, so I have so many pics. I thought I would attach a couple...:icon_redface:

Enjoy!

Huggs,
Heather

Question Heather ??
 

Hi Heather,
Thanks for the photos.
Is your neck white in the center and red on both sides? Just curious. My neck seems to be white down the center and really, really red on both sides. My chest just get red. I need to send a pic, but I am not not good at that.
Thanks Di

Di...
 

Hi sweetie...If you look at the pic above you can see a lot of white in the center of my neck, but there is a small amount of red directly in the very center. I know the pic isn't very easy to see, but that's what I make of it.

I know that my ears get hot first and so does both sides of my neck. Then my chest gets hot and blotchy. So, yes! I guess it seems to be comparible to yours. My chest is always red too...It sucks so bad. I hate it. Plus, when you are fair skinned Irish/Swedish, it tends to stand out very nicely so that everyone and their mom can see whats going on, leaving us to explain....:mad:

If you look at both of those pics again. The "scary face" one, lmao - was taken almost a year ago and the other photo was a couple days ago. I almost have the same exact pattern on my neck. Weird that it hasn't changed.

Do you have your photos on your computer already or do you need to scan them or upload them to your computer?

Love,
Heather

Here you go
 

Heather I have one pic on my computer that is easy to see. I put it in my album on the profile page. I'll give it a try again.... OK here you go. My ears get hot, so does my neck and it actually gets worse than this picture. This was a 3 years ago. Do you see the resemblence? It Sucks!!! DI

You know, Di......with that beautiful smile of yours.......NO ONE would notice the redness but you!!! You're gorgeous!!

Do you wear sunscreen on all exposed areas??? I know that sun/RSD do NOT mix......maybe it's a sensitivity to the sun???

Thank you for sharing your picture with us. I know it helps to see other people with some of the same symptoms as our own......we are not alone!!!

Hi MominPain
 

Thanks for the kind words. Yes, I do wear sunscreen, everyday in New Mexico. This redness comes and goes and has for years. I am not always red. Fortunately, I did not have this in childhood or teen years. All my pictures then, are great. I do think that may have been traumatic, if that were the case. Only since the RSD has this redness been making its appearing and disappearing act. Sometimes it is much redder than in that pic, I'm sure I could find those, but I'd rather not share them.
Hope you are doing ok. Love Di

Diana...
 

WOW!! I see it Di...I am so happy that I have seen your pic now. I know that I am not alone.:)

It's always worse than what the pic shows, huh? I know this for sure. Thanks for the pic girl.

Love,
H

Me too!
 

Unfortunately, Heather...it feels good not to be alone on this one. Although, I never would wish any part of this on anyone. Yes, mine gets much worse than in that picture. I just couldn't figure this out and I have not wished to bring this up. Thanks to Richard. By the way, has he responded since his original post???? Heather, thanks for posting your pictures and causing me to post mine. It is in an odd sense, freeing. :cool:
:hug: Love Di

I get almost the same exact rash - had one last night as the latest northeaster was forming here off the coast of southern New England. Mine sometimes goes up into my face. And it gets itchy! Occasionally I get the little spots that itch, too. I try not to scratch them because they hurt.

My RSD started in my right shoulder, then spread to my neck and head and is now flairing up basically everywhere. The rashes were isolated to the shoulder area for the first month or so.

Weather is awful here today! Pouring rain and in the mid 30's. YUK!!

Sandy

Sandy..
 

Hi Sandy...

I am sorry that you are having the same flares going on. If you go up to my posted pics you can click on the face flare of mine and it's pretty visible. I usually have makeup on before I get a flare so it's not as noticeable. ;)

To think that my RSD started in my rt. foot and now it's in my face...What a Craaaz-zay Disease!

I hope you feel better hun!

Love,
Heather

Sandy,
Hi!
My RSD started in my right shoulder too, from a rotator cuff tear and spread from a bankart repair surgery to repair it. Mine goes up my face too. Just like Heather you will notice that makeup covers some of it. When I went to the Bare Minerals counter, They said "you don't need the warmth (the blush) you have enough color". Ha! Imagine that! Just a little powder and the blush is au natural! LOL Scratching seems to be more pain that one would imagine and sometimes tears my fragile skin. Today I hit my ankle bone on an open drawer corner in the bathroom, and (OMG) I just about passed out from the pain. I have been suffering today from that small bump. It is just incredible! I am always amazed at how my body reacts to little a bump. I just looked at my ankle as I was writing the post and my ankle is really swollen. Great...just a little more madness. :mad: My best to you...Thanks for sharing. Di

hi Diana,

I tore my rotator cuff in Nov 2006, had my first repair in May of 2007 and the second in April of 2008. My PM doc thinks the RSD started the day I hurt myself. I went into a major RSD flair the summer after the 2nd surgery, the doc said the aggressive PT by the orthopedic therapists (i.e."RSI") instigated it. At the end of the summer the RSD began to spread everywhere, the worst has been the impact on the side of my neck and the back of my head.

I think because the RSD was isolated to my shoulder at first it didn't get diagnosed for a real long time. Its harder to see the swelling there vs. a hand or a foot.

Now I'm working on getting better. I take about 20 pills a day, go to a different PT who has experience with RSD and is WONDERFUL, and started getting SGB with a great medical team in Boston. (I was supposed to get my 2nd block today but its been rescheduled for tomorrow.) If the blocks don't work I hope to be able to try lidocaine or ketamine next.

How did you hurt yourself? What treatments have been successful for you? Did you ever get your strength back in your arm and shoulder? How about ROM? MY PM doc says that repetitve motions are a big "no-no" for me. I worry that I'll never be able to resume doing all the housework and yardwork that I did before I hurt myself.

Good to "chat" with you, please keep in touch!

Sandy

Sandy,
The injury was in 1989. My RSD also started from injury. I lifted an oven, about 180 lbs into a Uhaul trailer. It was lying down on a two wheeler. I bent over and picked up the two wheeler handle aand the rest is history. I weighted about 115lbs. Insane I know! Agressive PT then surgery caused the spread. I have had a frozen shoulder with major limitation on range of motion for years now. I also haven't done PT in years, it just wouldn't help anymore. HBOT is the only treatment that seems to help me at this point. I understand the pill thing, unfortunately we lose ourselves in the process. A necessary evil. But, what would we do with out them. Yesterday, I bumped my ankle and wow, have I suffered. It is still swollen today and the entire leg aches. I'm off to the doctors now, great chatting with you too! More later Di