Hi Sue,
Welcome back. We all get down like you talked about. I would not be able to have the encouragement and change of conversation with others, if I did not have a laptop.
Thank goodness the price has gone down. I just got a laptop for less than $400 It is wireless. Sitting at a desk doesn't always feel good. My husbands office is upstairs. My office is downstairs. It has my desk and a daybed, tv, music.
Have you heard of places on the internet that you can buy used 'anything' It might be a little iffy trying to buy a laptop, It's called craig's list.
The annual RSDSA meeting was held just about 5 miles from where I live. I35 attended Friday and the Drs. attended Saturday. I really enjoyed it. They said 50,000 people are being diagnosed every year. They are going to make available the video tape of the meeting.
It really takes going thru a few Drs. to find a good one, compassionate one. After having this 8 years, I found one in the yellow pages. He is a neurologist, psychiatrist, and pharmacologist. I have been going once a month for 5 years. He doesn't take insurance, so it's a cash thing. I had a good therapist in Oregon for 2 years, helping me with the death of my parents. Your right, there are so many losses, one could never imagine until they have this, or another life altering illness.
If you get on the net-RSDSA and put in your zip code, they can give you the closest support group, give you a name and phone number. Sometimes that's a good way to find a good RSD doctor. counselor Sometimes the meds we are on, affect us emotionally. Just the disorder affects our emotions, depression. It affects the Limbic part of your brain that controls, emotions, decision making process. That's why sometimes when we are talking, we loose a thought, can't find a work, a little slow in our speech.
Something that helps me emotionally is journaling. Writing our feeling out on paper, helps us process our emotions, cry, express our pain about our losses. We don't have to show it to anyone. but it does help us. Meditation, Prayer, Bio-Feedback, visualization, music, dvd's scented candles, essential oils, massaage, swimming, water needs to be 86 degrees. Keeping in touch with friends, family, stretching, exercises to keep us mobile. Physical Therapy saved me from being crippled and in a wheelchair. I do have one hand that is crippled. I was 4 years delayed in getting diagnosed.
The site rsdrx.com is wonderful. Dr. Hooshmand is retired, but his site is still up. He was in Florida and very knowledgable. The part called 'puzzles' is excellend. It is about 140 questions from his patients and his answers.
I think a lot of us can relate to you and feeling very depressed, realizing how our live will never be what it was. But thru therapy, and other means, we can come to grasp with our life and start being grateful for what we can do. That took me a long while and seeing this Dr. to come to that point. There is a book out by Michael J Fox called Always looking Up that discusses his coming to term with his disease of Parkinson's.
Do you live in a town where you have support groups. If they don't have RSD, they might have a Chronic Pain Support Group. I'm glad you found our site again. It's so encouraging. We all are in the same boat, maybe just different circumstances, but we all know what each other are dealing with. Please stay with us. Take care, loretta