Hey Pete,

I agree with the sleep study. My husband stopped breathing and jumped out of bed one night. I had been trying to get him to do a study. I very calmly said if you don't call the doctor and schedule an appt. in the morning I will do if for you he called. He will tell you if we travel and he forgets his machine his quality of sleep is so poor he can't wait to get home to his machine.

However, if you do the study and you don't need a machine. There are other issues to look at.

We all take lots of different meds to help us with RSD. They can interact with each other and cause sleep issues. Because I have trouble with my heart (beats too fast because of RSD) the medication I take for it is perscribed by a different doctor than my pain meds from PM doc. and then there are the medications I get from my GP. So it's important that all your doctors know about all your medications. I keep my on a spreadsheet in my computer and I print it out and take it to my doctor appt. and when the nurses ask about my meds we check my list to the chart. Keeping a spreadsheet on my meds isn't something I'm proud of it's just become a part of managing my RSD.

Bobber is correct on the diet thing. Our foods can have a negative reaction with our sleep. I know for me I have gained too much weight over the last few years and my husband complains of my snoring. It was never an issue before the weight gain. The weight gain is due to decreased activity (my RSD is fullbody), some of my meds. and poor eating habits when I am bored or stressed have also contibuted.

Exercise is important. For RSDer's it's not always easy. In the water is best for me. When we are in the water we are weightless and we have less pain. I like to water walk.

Sleep is very important to our bodies. When we sleep our bodies renew themselves for a new day. If we don't sleep our concentration is off (it's already affected by our medications so now it's worse) our energy level is low (My RSD affects my strength and endurance so now it's even worse).

Sorry I am rambling and my spelling and grammar are bad. I hope what I have tried to say makes sense. I had a very enjoyable labor day weekend with family and freinds. I played so now I must pay with pain so I can't sleep.
Take care,
Sherrie