I have RSD in my feet (both). They are soooo cold! I can hardly stand it! It hasn't been this bad until lately. Is this normal? I have been sensitive to cold and they got cold very easily, but now they are like ice blocks almost all the time! Of course we are visiting WA state and it is not the 100+ degrees that is normal at home, but what gives? The only thing that helps are some booties that you warm in the microwave and put on your feet...and they don't cover my toes, just the bottom of the feet.

what does everyone else use?
Thanks.
J

Hi J,
I hear you on the cold feet! I happen to have both hot and cold feet. At 1 AM my feet go from ice cold to burning hot. Starts in the big toe and works down the toes up to the rest of my body (I have full body rsd). So, when I wake up in the am I am on fire. About 2 hours after I wake up in goes back to cold and gets so cold during the day and evening I want to scream. I cannot wear socks or anything on my feet until around noontime each day. But in the afternoon or when they get cold I put on socks. I can only wear certain loose socks and I have learned if you turn them inside out the seams don't hurt your feet! I must always wear a cotton long sleeve shirt and long pants as my entire body is extremely sensitive. If I can't get the socks on I have a pair of slippers that have cloth that goes up over my ankles. They are the best. And I wear them without socks. I got them at www.DreamProductsCatalog.com Item #160 $19.97 Cardigan Slipper Socks. Also, I ordered "Fashion" Leg Warmers (crazy but they work great in winter months here in PA) #92407 Black $9.97 and you can get them in white too. They even have great Ladies' Thermal Tube Socks #96450 four pairs for $9.97 and they are real comfortable. I sound like an ad for that place haha. But I have searched for years for things that help me. (On a personal note they have a great bra too #295 9.97 that opens in front. Not much support but very very comfy to wear esp at home all day). Sorry I don't want to offend you if you are a man:.) Check out their site and maybe they can send you their catalog.

I have found that if I use those booties in the microwave they may actually cause more pain esp when the warmth stops. Also, I have placed my hot foot on the ice/snow outside on a cold morning (boy it was like heaven) only to have the ice melt around it AND then the pain hit and I about had a heart attack haha. Never again on that one. I do however hold my foot and keep my warm hands on it when it is so cold and that seems to help it for a bit. I have even tried putting my feet in a warm bathtub but it doesn't work and always feels worse afterwards. Boy I am a professional when it comes to feet haha. Let me know if I can help you in any way. I hope some info will help you. I know it is tough but it is all about balancing it at different times. I do have a blanket covering my legs and feet all the time.
Take care,
kathy d.

When I had cold feet, I would periodically soak them in warm (not hot) water.....

Don't need to fill the bathtub, just soak them in a plastic basin or I have one of the Dr. Scholl's foot bath massagers.

My CRPS is not in my feet but my neck/shoulder/arm/hand...but I do experience the cold limb. My physiotherapist recommended to soak the cold limb in warm water (not much warmer then room temperature). (like someone suggested) She cautioned me though to be very careful while doing this though as I will not be able to feel the temperature of the water. So I constantly have to check with my left hand to see if the water is beginning to get too cool. She suggested never to run warm water from the tap and hold the limb under it due to if the temperature changes I will not be able to noticed the change and could end up burning or causing pain due to cold water (i can not tolerate anything cold on my hand/arm).

Take care,
Karen

I have a space heater that I will turn on while my leg is elevated...the warm air feels good. I also have a microwave heated wrap that I will lay on my ankle/foot. The big problem with that is I can't always take the weight of the heated wrap which makes the space heater better. Only...it heats up the whole room which is fine for me but can be brutal for anyone else in the house. Warm water helps...but I find that when I take my foot out of the warm water I get cold again pretty quickly.

Hi Catra121,
I had to laugh as I don't know what I would do without my space heater. I have one that rotates left and right and heats up the air real well. I can also control the heat to be warmer or cooler heat. Of course my pets think it is a fireplace! Haha. They lay in front of it but I have to watch them as they will sometimes get to close. It is great in the winter as it heats up the whole area it is in.

My other favorite trick is that I have ceramic floors in my kitchen and it feels great in the am when my feet/body is on fire. Then, when my feet get so cold they hurt I stand right in front of the refrigerator because the floor gets warm from the fan throwing off hot air. It works as a great foot warmer!

I had a thought when you said you had a problem with an ankle foot wrap...is there anyway you can put it on backwards with the heavy side on the floor and your foot on top of it? This way the heavy part won't be too heavy on your foot. Just a thought. I have done that before with a heating pad to keep my feet warm. Hope these ideas help you or the others here. We all have been through sooo much and if we can help each other in any way...great! Take care all,
kathy d

I dealt with this when I was living in a cold state or even now when the air is on too high. I dread doctors offices just for the issue of temp control.
For me it is better to not get cold in the first place cause once it happens it is hard to warm the foot up and also the pain has already set in.
I am sensitive to textures but I was going to suggest warm socks? Baths help too.
Some I feel is circulation too and I know it is hard when frozen foot and in pain but to keep moving.

My cold is in both feet but goes up the inside of my left leg all the way to my knee. But my best solution is soaking in epsoms salt water. Hurts like the dickens, and I have to keep adding warm because it gets cold so fast. But I'm also like KathyD, I'm frequently awakened with scalding red feet and i put them in water too. I start out with lukewarm on both occasions and add more warm as needed. I usually leave in until the stinging stops, 1 1/2 to 2 hours. Be careful of how much epsoms salts. You do absorb it and it is good for you, but too much will make you want to be at the front of the line for the bathroom!

Plus I leave a heating pad at my chair and put it on low for a constant warm up. And I try to wear spanx or something similar when going out which keeps my calf warm. No shoes, no socks for this old lady. I have an oversized pair of mens slippers with (probably) fake lambs wool lining that I wear. But I also have a set of SQIISH pillows, that seem to make them feel warmer when cold and cooler when warm that I rest them on when sitting. Sometimes the temp of my feet is only 70*. I'm much more comfortable at 80-85ish and 93 up is too much. But my body temp avg is 97.4 so I have to work hard to keep my whole body warm.

May you find the solution that works for you.