Carrie,


I just want to discuss a few things you have brought up in your posts and I am wondering if your PM doctor may not treat RSD/CRPS very often. I may be wrong but there are a couple of things he has said which don't seem correct.
He is right in suggesting Stellate Ganglion blocks (I gather that is what he means by cervical blocks) as the fact you are so newly diagnosed these maybe all you need to stop your RSD/CRPS advancing or in fact put it into remission.
I don't understand how he can state that IV Ketamine won't work
It is just about the most bizzare thing I have heard as NOBODY can accurately predict the outcome of a Ketamine Infusion.

I also think that physiotherapy is very much warranted and needed at this early stage of your RSD/CRPS, especially with a PT who has a working knowledge of the disease.
PT isn't just about the excercise, it is to help keep joints mobile and muscles from tightening. It surely is painful but I feel that the result of NOT moving can be equally painful and if you can prepare with analgesia beforehand then it really is beneficial.
I was unfortunate that I did not have early intervention and am now suffering the consequences with contractures, dystonia etc.
Physiotherpists who are knowlegable about RSD/CRPS should also be investigating the use of graded motor and mirror imagery--this has also been found to "trick" the brain into a different way of thinking about the pain.
I know that some people may think that this infers that the 'pain is in your head' but that is not what it means, but it is the brain that receives and registers all pain.

It is fantastic that you have already have had a consultation with Dr S.
His intervention this early is the best possible outcome you could have.
Wishing you heaps of luck
Tayla