Yes I too could never tolerate cold or even heat or anything on my rsd area. I was told that the blocks can help with swelling though for me I seemed to feel and look more swollen so I have no clue. Also other treatments like the scs or meds.For me I have different sized tennis shoes for the day to accomidate my growth in feet. I also am very slender but wear plus size women socks. I hope your wife feels better

Hi,

I have to been told by my pain doc not to use ice, that using ice can spread the RSD and it is very hard for something to touch my foot. Has your wife asked your her doc about Lidoderm patches. My pain Doc says Lidoderm patches do help with the RDS for pain. Of course we are all differenr and what works for another person may not work for another even though we have the same dx. I saw my pain doc 5/13/09 and i asked him if I could wear more than 3 Lidoderm patches on my body. He asked how many I would like to wear to help the paiin. I told him 4 2 for my foot one for my left hand and one for my
left arm he also told me I could wear them for 24 hours then change them. Of course I am not able to keep them one even for 12 hours, but when I am able to stand the pain of one of Lidoderm patches touches me it does help the pain a little. I hope this helps for your wife. good luck. here is a hug for both you and your wife

Kate

I don't have the swelling all of the time, only when I take walks and swing my arms and also my feet if I am on them too long. When I saw DianaA, she had the swelling all of the time. Everyone seems to be different. If I use my hands to much they will swell and hurt also.

As far as the Lidoderm patch, Kate is right. I think if a person can use them, they are great. I had a headace on my left side last night from PT and I threw a patch on the back of my neck and it finally calmed down after I found that over the counter meds didn't stop it.

I know we all overdo and that brings on these symptoms but when you have things you like to do, it's hard to give them up. I never sit still and pay for it later.

Hope your wife starts feeling better soon.

Ada

I am a big fan of the lidoderm and flector patches, although, I don't know what they do for swelling. (but for pain relief).

As for the ice pacs, I'm Not suggesting they go right on the skin, that's why I got into the discussion of wrapping them and your feet in towels.
Certainly Not ice pac directly on skin!
My feet swell in the summer, and just cooling them, can trigger the nerves to make a change. For instance, just sit on the edge of the tub, and put your feet in some luke cool water for a short time. Then, apply a Lidocaine patch over the swollen area. The "gentle cooling" seemed to trigger my nerves and take the swelling down.

I didn't mean to suggest direct ice to skin! AGH!

For me, those packs help with migraine too.
But, still wrapped in a towel, for gentle coolness..

Good catch, folks!

pete
asb

All of this is such great info, especially for newbies. I have found in the last few weeks that a warm damp towel with the heating pad over it really helps my foot and ankle pain and actually reduces the swelling some.
Miz Lizzie

I'd not try the opposite extreme in temperature on the limb.

Don't use ice on a hot, burning leg.
Don't use heat on a cold, icy leg.

Just try and keep normal temperatures against the limb, whether that limb is icy cold or burning hot. It might not help ease the burning or the cold that much, but I think it will do a lot less damage than resorting to extreme temperatures.

I too use a heating pad (cherry pit pillow) for my cold limbs but it's "heated up a little" and not burning hot. I use it to warm the sheets or a sweater, and I don't put it against my limbs directly.

I have RSD in my lower legs and ankles and feet. I am also on Lasix to combat the fluid however RSD has a mind of its own. When I was on my last long term meds the swelling was so bad all I could do was sit in the recliner with my legs propped up. When they changed my long term med I instantly lost 10 pounds of fluid My feet and ankles and legs still swell but that is the RSD telling me I have done too much even if it wasn't anything but sitting at my computer I have other parts of my body that remind me of different things, it is hard to let go of some things that I love and I know that the next day or two will be extra painful. Wish your wife well and moderation with RSD it is a beast that has its own mind.
tjbird

Marleen,
Are you telling me, I can't use a Torch on my feets when they cold?
C'mon, I'm a plumber! What else would I do?

TEASIN'!

Pete
Asb

LOL! That just made my day!

This is one of the most poignant posts I can remember in quite a while. It brings to mind a teaching I put up a year ago, but one that bears repeating. It is drawn from Jack Kornfield's wonderful book, After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, and the experiance of Ram Dass (f.k.a. Richard Alpert, PhD. of Harvard, before he got expelled way back when along with Tim Leary for spreading too much good cheer through the land). A good friend of mine was at the public talk Ram Dass gave in San Francisco where these words were delivered, at what I understand was one of the first public talks Ram Dass gave following his stroke. They appear online in a collection of Unitarian sermons, and have been somewhat redacted to avoid copywrite issues:

Ram Dass, is an American spiritual teacher who suffered a catastrophic stroke in 1997. About a year later he said, "For years I practiced the path of service. I wrote books about learning to serve, about how to help others. Now it is reversed. I need people to help me get up and put me to bed. Others feed me and wash my bottom. . . . But this is just another stage. . . . If I think I'm the guy who can't play cello or drive or work in India, I would feel terribly sorry for myself. But I'm not him. . . . I have a new life in a disabled body. This is where I am. We've got to be here now. We've got to take the curriculum."

http://home.att.net/~usnh/20040502.html

It is hard to let go of the things we love, but take the curriculum we must.