Ada and all:

I also do get the feeling that many doctors give up easily when they can't come up with a quick fix. I have been told by the few who have even heard of RSD that mostly I just need to live with it, manage the pain the best I can, but that there really is nothing to do that will actually cause any improvement.

Like you, I was diagnosed in 1986 at the age of 35. All that has happened is a slow deterioration that seems to be picking up momentum. I don’t know why the medical community seems to accept that nothing can really be done. There have been many discussions on this site about getting more publicity, with a celebrity “fellow sufferer” like Michael J. Fox, Christopher Reeve, etc. Personally, I would not wish this monster on anyone, celebrity or not.

As others have said, the best thing we all have going for us is support -- family, friends, sympathetic physicians, and of course, each other. Often, that is what keeps me going. My boss and co-workers don’t fully understand what I am going through, but they all back me up as much as possible.

As hard as it is, let’s all try to keep an optimistic attitude. Even if we can’t see any progress on the horizon, we know we are never alone.

Love to all…

Mike