I had a very interesting experience earlier this year. I was at a family brunch, "getting by" as I usually do. Even though I have had RSD since '86 I don't think they ever really understood what RSD is all about.

All of a sudden, I had one of my sudden sharp shooting flares, followed by such overall pain I could not finish eating, nor could I drive home. This was a real eye-opener for most of my family. They had heard me say in the past "I am having a bad day" and so on, but they never really saw me in such pain. My RSD has gotten much worse in the past few years.

For many people, especially my brother, they finally got an idea of what I was going through. I am not necessarily happy with what happened that day, but I think they could finally see first-hand that I wasn't just complaining about a "little owwie" like a persistent back ache.

There is no suggestion here, just a story that I think relates to how people have a hard time understanding. This condition often has no outward appearance (except for extreme cases that include neuro convulsions). This makes it hard for people to see that there is something wrong. I truly believe that most people are not being mean, but that they cannot believe a "hidden condition" like RSD could hurt so much.

Let's face it, most doctors we run across don't know about it either.

Hugs

Mike