Days 1-3 with the Submersion Technique

I used the submersion technique for the first time on Friday before I left for school, and it was cold – about 30° F outside! I took Saturday off, and did it again on Sunday morning – this time at about 23° outside. I did four repetitions, inside for 3 minutes and outside for 7 minutes. I was surprised that my fingers didn't go numb when they were in the bucket of water outside. I have always found that even wearing heavy gloves if the rest of my body is cold my Raynaud's goes off.

I will admit that other than going out to do the submersion technique, I stayed indoors most of the weekend, which may have affected the number of my Raynaud's attacks. I only had one really noticeable attack and it lasted for about 10 minutes. I feel like the severity and numbness was less than usual – but then again that may just be because I stayed inside. The initial color change in my fingers and toes was about the same as it usually is – very white and corpse like. I do however feel like the relief process was much more gradual than usual. The symptoms just sort of went away and there was no noticeable burning or tingling. The color change as the blood returned was very very gradual.

My toes did hurt pretty badly even when I didn't have a specific attack, but they normally do. I don't know if anyone else has this problem – maybe I'm just a Raynaud's-hypochondriac – but I have constant pain when I'm not cold or stressed. I feel like I may have actually permanently damaged one of my toes, because it always hurts.

I'll be interested to see how my symptoms change as I continue with the submersion technique. I'll do it again tomorrow. I may switch to doing two or three repetitions in the morning and two or three at night just to fit my schedule better. But I'm definitely going to keep up with the technique. I am so fed-up with my purple toes!