Mike,
Thanks.............My GOOD then *LOL*

Well it best work for me this year. I again, am having to fight my long term disability insurance company to keep my LTD payments coming until I turn 62 in a few short 5 years. They told me I was determined 2 yrs ago that I am 100% disabled whether it is due to RSD &/or neuropathy in my feet. BUT my dumb but of a back surgeon made the mistake again of saying I was able to go back to work as far as successful back surgery went altho he added that I had an on going problem with RSD in both my feet that prohibits me from working. But I have a new agent & she is going to try again to make me go back to work. I couldn't get my old job back for nothing right now as there is a hiring freeze on at the county I live in & that is where I was working at the time this happened. Also my PM doc, Dr Wolfe, quit & went with a primary care group & I am not sure my new doctor will fight for me like he did. My new PM doc was one of his co-workers at the pain clinic I go to & he already filled out a form & sent it in to them.,

BTW I go in July for the lidocaine study at Stanford that I applied for. The research doctor, Dr Ian Carroll, even requested that I become one of his patients in the pain clinic & I just saw him last month. He wants an EMG done on my feet to see if any of the pain is caused by entrapped nerves & if so he would then send me to some specialists he knows to have them unentrapped (not sure if that is a word or not *LOL*). After that if the pain is still there he would like me to try having a lumbar nerve block done with Botox as I am a candidate for that due to the fact that when they did them in '04 I got relief until the lidocane wore off. In a study they did some people got as much relief from that up to a year. The problem being I would have to buy the Botox myself as my insurance won't pay for it & it costs from $250 to $300 a tiny vial. They would work with me with that I guess. So that is where I stand at the moment.

I am NOT looking forward to the EMG at all. He said it would not feel good that is for sure. Also, I have headaches on one side, shoulder pain & arm pain & he recommends some type of a muscle stimulator for that as he feels I have a thoracic nerve entrapped & that came from a car accident. Anyway I guess we will see where we go from there.

I am sure hoping that they go by what my actual treating doctor for my feet problems says. The darn idiots at the LTD insurance company............

All I know is I am so tired of being tired & if I forget my pills on time of my feet killing me...............I would rather have been working this whole time since April '04 instead of having RSD & sitting on my butt doing much of nothing............I can tell you & them that much.

Thanks again.............

DebbyV