Hi Pete
I was given lumbar sympathetic blocks when I was 9 month along, it diagnosed my RSD (again) and helped with some of the pain, some areas of my thigh were usualy numb I found. I was given propofol by IV, a white milky substance to put me to sleep before each block, so it was a nice nap. (yes micheal jacksons sleep med)

They continued with the blocks untill after they no longer helped me at all..
I do feel they helped take the awful thermal freeze out of my foot when it was getting nothing but colder, and I apreciate my doctor later doing bilateral blocks when WCB only wanted to pay for my right leg. We probibly continued them too long, I just wanted them to work so bad.

I also think it should be mentioned that I feel the blocks caused some of the spread to my torso area, particularly my kidney area and up the back, that area still burns since a very specific block procedure. Not that I wasn't in spread mode anyway.. sigh who knows part of me thinks we should all just stop ALL invasive procedures.. A large part.. but I feel like I'd be giving up hope because of my treatments now.. but they too are very invasive.. Sory Pete I am rambling.

There are all kinds of blocks, this is why you have been hearing alot of diffrent things on them.
Not just sympathetic blocks to be given before the RSD pain becomes more centralized.. but prior to this while in the ACUTE stage of RSD, pain is usualy sympatheticly mediated meaning it is delivered through the disfunctional sympathetic nervous system (so they block that nerve see)

my pain was never totaly taken away by sympathetic blocks so it wasn't totaly sympatheticly maintained as they say, I am SIP too, also I was being helped to a minor degree by the sympathetic blocks after one year so I have both centraly or sympatheticly independant pain(SIP) and sympatheticly mediated pain (SMP), or did at @ one year post RSD.

I am in only in my 5th year with RSD and I have it full body including some organs.. I can honestly say it isn't worse than it was when my RSD was in it's ACUTE stage.. as far as mind blowing agony goes anyway. Blocks took that pain down from a 9-10 to a seven that winter and lidocaine and my medicinal herb help too make my life alot more manageable.. find what works for you.. nothing works well for all of us it seems.. and agin I ramble,
hugs pete,
sandra