I went into this a bit in my post on the intro thread, but I figured it'd be worth it's own post.

I'm a young guy with fairly established RSD (four years since diagnosis, estimated 10+ years since onset) without much in the way of support to fall back on. (I've got great friends, but no one who would be in a way to, for example, financially support me. I essentially have no family.) I am pretty active - solidly social, constantly volunteering/organizing, full time job. I am also in a lot of pain.

I have two issues - being taken seriously by the doctors to begin with and then with the treatments themselves. Judging from the other folks I see in the waiting rooms, I think I present as an atypical patients - I've got piercings, political tattoos, and a dyed mohawk and I haven't stopped doing anything because I'm in pain (up to getting tattoos on limbs with RSD - it's not like it increases the pain or aggravates anything). And then the drugs they give me, they just turn me in a vegetable but don't do anything for my symptoms - whether it's skin issues or pain. The best medication I've got is lidocaine for bad evenings and testosterone, which has cleared up a lot of my skin issues and wasn't even for RSD.

I'm seeing a new neuro in September and I don't know how to make it until then on just lidocaine patches or how to get him to take me seriously when I want treatment but want a treatment that leaves me functional.