cold RSD: vasoconstriction
hot RSD: vasodilation

Hey Karen,

It's good to see your back on the boards. Your logic makes sense and I understand what you are saying. Cold RSD never can get warm Hot RSD can never get hot enough. For me I just keep burning and burning. Today for example I am on the 3rd day of a full body flare. Even the neves in my face and mouth are flared. At dinner I held my ice tea in my mouth for few seconds before swallowing it to help cool the burning nevers in my mouth to my throat it felt like hot tea. My entire body head to toe is on fire I have increased my meds like I normally do and it isn't helping (yet). To look at me I look like I laid on the beach all day and have a sever sunburn (it's almost 10PM).

Be it hot or cold RSD neither is enjoyable.
Take care,
Sherrie

I have cold rsd too. Here's an explanation between the hot and cold. They aren't the same thing at all. One, cold, is vasoconstriction. Hot is vasodilation because there's too much blood flowing through the blood vessels, versus cold where there is a lack of blood flow.

Here's a link that explains it as well, Heat/Cold Adaptation. It says what the quote above says. "Red skin indicates vasodilation and the pooling of blood near the surface for release of heat."

Hope this helps clear it up. :-) Some people start off with hot rsd and it gradually changes to cold, but cold usually stays cold and sometimes people can have both at the same time.

Hugs,

Karen

Exactly! :-) Holy cow....sunburned without the sun touching your skin. You're right, it all sucks!

Hugs,

Karen

Karen, hi, im so surprized that we would have both components through the duration of rsd- that it can be so extreme in the spectrums. I was incorrect, I thought that whether hot or cold, we both suffered from vacoconstrition. I thought it just changed with the life cycle of rsd. I went through the heat in the early stages. Now with the cold, I still have excessive sweating its a huge problem requiring potassium replacment reguarly, I really try to watch it as nothing burns more than an IV of potassium. do we both have the blood pooling, I understand that our nerve cells literally leek blood. I have had lesions that look like blood blisters, so so painful. If i knew how to post pictures i would show you. Dr. S has told me that our edema is different, its in the nerve cells or rather its the nerve cells holding the fluid and leaking the fluid. the blood goes down to my extremeties but does not return,as my body considers them as lost cause. it still seems so odd to me that the disorder is on both ends of the spectrum vasoconstriction and vasodilation..and I agree we may have them both at the same time in different parts of our body. thank you for you post, hoping you have a good day, cz

Marleen,

Thank you, that is very succinct. From here, we can picture:

vasoconstriction (constrict - Verb: to draw or press in; cause to contract or shrink; compress) -- smaller blood vessels, less flow

vasodilation (dilate - Verb: to make wider or larger; cause to expand) -- large, open vessels, more flow

Mike

I was told at one time that the vasodilation/vasoconstriction that occurs in RSD has to do with the tiny nerves on blood vessels. The nerves make it possible for a blood vessel to react, to either constrict or to open up automatically under cold or warmer circumstances - it's a very finetuned system that can instantaneously react. The RSD makes these nerves act totally out of control. That's why you get constantly opened up blood vessels in first stage RSD, then the nerves sort of don't know what to do anymore in stage 2 and they start to vary between constriction and dilation, then in stage 3 it goes the other way and they cannot keep the blood vessels open enough anymore. That's why in late stage RSD often vasodilators are given as meds, to make the blood vessels open up more, to allow for more blood flow and to warm up the limb from the inside out.

Hi Sherrie,
I am so sorry you are in a full body flare. I know how miserable that is. Please know many of us are thinking of you and hope it doesn't last long. I just finished a long flu, making the body miserable. Even 10 days of super strong antibiocs didn't end it. Must have been pnemonia.
I live in Arizona and it's been an extra hot summer. Still about 104. Looking forward to some cooler weather. We were formerly from Oregon. In my 14th year,now full body. Have a great Dr. Am going to try his new HBOT in his new clinics. Please take care, loretta soft hugs

Glad to help you with understanding the difference. I hadn't seen Marleen's post or Sherri's before I post it. lol Those who start cold stay cold, those who start hot may, like you did, turn cold eventually. That "used to be" the criteria for rsd. Skin was hot first and cold later, which isn't true for everyone and I found most people have cold rsd and hot rsd is a minority. I'd have to dig up the stats on my survey again for the %'s.

Sweating, blood pressure problems and such are all due to the rsd wreaking havoc with both voluntary and involuntary systems. We can't regulate our body temperature anymore and get cold or hot when we shouldn't be. I only deal with some sweating at night that is mild but get worse at "that" time of the month. lol I think part of the reason for my lack of sweating as some do is because I'm very underweight now. I know it's hormones making the sweating worse at night near my period. Potassium burns you, seriously? Wow, I've never heard anyone who experienced that...interesting.

Maybe not so much blood pooling...it's the lack of blood flow that causes skin color change for me, but I think it's the excess blood flow, blood pooling in hot rsd though. I have blood blisters, known as petechial hemorrhages, all over my body, have since the beginning that turn into lesions. Even tiny ones take forever to heal. I thought I read somewhere what causes it but can't remember where or when! LOL

Hugs,

Karen

Some people actually move more slowly or even faster through the stages but it's also possible to skip a stage. It also largely depends on treatments given and how you react to them. That's why RSD is so different for everyone.