The downfalls of heat

A few posts ago I mentioned how I could cope with the winter months by using heating pads, hot baths, and other methods of attempting to warm up my foot.  My foot is always cold.  Even when pressed right up against the heat, or submerged in a hot bath I often can't feel the heat.  My foot is just cold -not numb.  I couldn't be so lucky as that.  It's a cold pain- and nothing will warm it up.  It's hard to explain the col pain to someone who doesn't suffer from the symptom.  It's kind of like if you walked outside in the middle of a snow storm, with no jacket.  The snow bites into your skin and after a few minutes the cold permeates to the bone and you feel this deeply painful chill.

Then today I ran across this article on MSNBC http://bodyodd.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/02/22/10470748-heated-seats-burn-bums-of-2-women and it got me to thinking.  Ever since I got CRPS/RSD I've had some discoloration, and the burning pain comes and goes.  I wonder if using heat as often as I do (in the winter it can be a near daily thing) could be creating more of a problem with my leg.  I wonder if maybe that's part of the reason the winters can be so difficult.

So I think I'm going to try to cut back on using the heat.  I will try not to use it as often as I currently do and I'll see if that brings any improvement.  It's easier to avoid on the weekends anyway, so there's no better time to start than now.