Question about intolerance to cold - Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Message Board

Drlyf26Cal · 07-03-2001, 12:05 AM

My grandma possibly has RSD. She had a stroke two days before Christmas in 2000. A couple of months after her stroke, she was getting out of the car and had a sudden and severe pain in her right (?) leg. She went to the Kaiser Permanente ER and the ER doctor could not find anything wrong. One or two months after that ER visit, she experienced over one week of pain severe that she could not sleep at all at night. She has seen numerous doctors and they told her that the circulation in both of her legs is very poor. Her kidney function isn't very good either (about 30%). She cannot stand to have anything touch her legs because that makes the pain even more unbearable. She has a very difficult keeping warm (especially at night since she cannot have a sheet on her legs). Has anyone had a very difficult time keeping warm either during the day or night? If so, is there anything that has helped to keep you warm? My grandma is taking neurontin for the pain whch helps to some degree.

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Take CARE and God Bless! Dsvid

ivonly · 09-10-2001, 07:12 PM

Not quite sure if you'll see this since my reply is some time after your post...but just in case:

yes, extremes of heat or cold is very common with RSD. For me, my leg goes completely ice cold...at that point very little can be done to warm it up. Although I have RSD in my right leg...I am able to put a sock on my foot...although absolutely nothing can touch the area between my thigh and my ankle. Being able to put a sock on helps battle the cold to an extent, but not much. Some people with RSD have found that although they cannot have anything brush against the affected area, they can tolerate something "snug"...pantyhose for example.

As far as medications go, Neurontin seems to be the med of choice. It works about as well as it can. You may want to ask your doctor about Trileptal...that can work in addition to the neurontin. As for pain, there are many narcotics that are used, but there's also a slew of pain relieving medicines that are not addicting...celebrex, zanaflex (a muscle relaxant) and ultram to name a few. Ambien or remeron work really well as a sleep aid. But, also, remeron taken in higher doses can help overall with the RSD pain and symptoms...you may definitely want to check into that.

I hope this helps and if you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask. I will try and help any way I can. I hope your grandmother finds some relief!

buffyt · 10-16-2001, 07:28 PM

Hi. I also have extreme sensitivity on the lower part of my left leg. I'm very sensitive to meds and as a matter of fact I ended up in the hospital after taken remeron. I had a severev reaction. My pain control dr has prescibed lidoderm pain patches for me. They are a great relief to the touch sensitivity. Hope this helps.