Well, I am not sure and only time will tell but I wonder if I was able to stop a spread/flare of RSD. I have RSD from hand to shoulder on my left side and have been diagnosed with this for just over a year. In that time I have done a lot of PT, OT, diet changes, aqua PT for swelling and medication. Through my efforts and time I have been able to calm some of the symptoms down for some of the time.

Well, then today I was attemping to make the bed. I was tugging on the sheet to make it crisp and tight when my RSD hand released and swung right into the solid wood headboard. I hit my thumb hard and the pain was bad and persisted for a good 10-15 minutes. Then my thumb started to swell as if I had a huge water blister under it and I was not able to move it at all. I was scared to death which then got my sympathetic system cranked up and I started sweating like crazy on the left side only.

I was in such panick and pain but then I thought, OK, life is going to happen so what are you gonna do about it? So the first thing I did was take a lorazapam for the anxiety and to slow down my sympathetic system. I also took a 500 mg of vitamin C and 200 mg of vitamin E (I don't know why). Then I got my sponge and started scrubbing the counter for 3-4 minutes at a time (compression) every 30-45 minutes for the next six hours. I did this because the scrubbing really helped me control the pain last summer. I also got a kitchen towl damp and used this (it is heavier) to scrub the counter for more compression.

And oh my gosh, to my total surprise, the swelling is down 90% and the pain had significantly retreated. I also can now bend my thumb completely even though it still hurts. I do have a big red spot on it where my bone really took the hit but I think that looks more like what a normal person would get. The sweating stopped after about 20 minutes so I don't know if it was the medication or the scrubbing.

I don't know what the next few days will bring but I plan to continue scrubbing the counter for compression and probably will soak my hand in Epsom Salt water in just a few minutes as that always helps me when I am in a bad flare. I will let you know how this turns out. I will be thrilled if this stops the flare because it was my RSD hand and it looked really bad.

It does seem staying calm is very important.

There are lots of little things do do as well and diet seems important usually.

Of course telling me to stay calm is sometimes about equivalent to telling a man with his clothes on fire to stay cool.

Amen to that!