I'm so sorry you're going through this. I understand what it feels like to be a human pin cushion, each injection causing fear or spread and pain. I completely understand your fear of spread, and would recommend against any needle stick in an area where there is an active flare, unless it is life or death. Do your doctors understand your RSD and are they assisting in treating it??? or are they only interested in disproving it suggesting it is all due to your neck and back??

You are your own best advocate. Do not feel badly about getting a second opinion, preferably with another doctor that is familiar with treating RSD. If you MUST have the test, I would ask that special precautions be taken to ensure your comfort during and after the procedure. Have them numb whatever area they're working on, request a sedative or an anxiety med beforehand to keep yourself calm, and do not feel badly about doing either. Explain that RSD patients are not like normal bodies. We have a disorder of the sympathetic nervous system. Anything that causes us pain or anxiety turns on that sympathetic nervous system and increases our pain out of proportion to a "normal" response. That's why they call it a "disorder" or "syndrome" or "dystrophy".

I wish you well and hope you get the proper treatment you need. Please keep us posted on your condition.

Thanks, Dubious, for your excellent description of the myelogram!