That is a very good point. When I was first diagnosed, one of the first doctors wanted to perform a sympathectomy (essentially destroying part of the central nervous system). Fortunately, my primary care physician explained that while it would get rid of the pain, it would also prevent me from feeling any other pain which is a good thing. He talked me out of it – thank God!

When our pain system works the way it should, it acts as a warning system to tell us that something is wrong and that we should do something about it. When we as children stick our hands in fire and it hurts, we quickly learn to take our hand out and not do that again. This is evolution at its best. If we did not have such a system, we would harm ourselves many times over.

By using a lot of narcotics to numb our RSD pain, we do run the risk of dulling senses that will give us warning signs for other problems. However, our bodies are pretty smart, too. The nervous system, even screwed up, will “direct” the pain meds to the areas where they are needed and concentrate the numbing effect there.

Want some non-scientific evidence? I take enough (your choice of narcotic here) that the average person on the street or recreational drug user would be “flying high.” However, I am never dizzy, dopey, goofy, or high. Why? Because much of the drug is going to the pain, not to the part of the brain that makes one “fly.”

Of course this is just my opinion. I am not a scientist. I still am extra-careful to pay close attention to all of my body-signals and get regular complete checkups. I own a cuff and take my own blood pressure daily. If you have a cardiac condition, your cardiologist should advise you how often to come in.

Mike