I have certainly had doctors claim they've cured CRPS patients over the years that seem to have only a very basic understanding of the disorder.

One of the issues is that there was a push to have doctors, as well as other health care professionals, recognize the warning signs of CRPS so that aggressive treatment can start early, giving patients the best chance for remission. Great. But, 1)some of those patients were misdiagnosed 2)what works for a patient that is just a month or two into the disorder will not work for a patient that is at the 2 year mark or longer.

So, my experience (as well as others I've talked to over the years) was that I received substandard treatment during the period when I had the best chance for remission.

The treatment I received from the most experienced pain clinic doc in my area made my condition substantially worse. This was the specialist my PCP referred me to. BTW, the vast majority of his patients seemed to be for back pain, not CRPS.

I'm not a huge fan of pain clinics for many reasons, but the biggest is probably that all their patients are in distress and they very frequently can't devote enough time to each of those patients. If they're being overextended in their practice, they probably aren't keeping up with the latest CRPS research.

I feel like I was experimented early on. Perhaps it wouldn't have made a difference if I had received better care, but I tend to think I could have had a real shot at remission because I actually respond well to stellate ganglion blocks (when done properly.)

So, when newcomers start posting about their care, and it seems to deviate highly from what the majority of us are experiencing, I often question if they need to seek out a more experienced doctor. We shouldn't be treated like guinea pigs, after all. The stakes are just too high. The most extreme example of that are the patients being advised to amputate a limb, which there have been recent postings about here on NT.