I don't mean to create a problem, but speaking as someone who grew up in the very bosom of the Mayo Clinic, unless you live close enough to Rochester to be seen on a regular (bi-weekly?) basis, I can't recommend the Mayo Clinic for RSD/CRPS.

It's a long story with too many components to go into here. Let's just say that they are willing to treat only those who live in the immediate area, while everyone else seems to be sent home to their doctors with letters saying they just require conservative care, when in fact what most people need is considerably more aggressive treatment. It's a bias which I believe is two-fold. First, a very long-time member of their Division of Neurology has been, for many years, a nationally known hawk against the use of opioid medication in patients with chronic, non-malignant pain. Second, the Mayo Clinic - nationally - does a lot of expert witness work for the insurance defense/workers' comp. carrier bar, and that seems to be where its heart lies when it comes to chronic pain issues.

While I will swear by the care I've received in many other ares of the Mayo Clinic, I have not had good experiences with their pain management folks - as an out of town patient - and have heard a number of discouraging stories from others.

In terms of other doctors in the state, I recall a post from about a year ago recommending someone, but haven't been able to find it. One thing I can suggest, however, is the directory of certified pain specialists, maintained by the American Board of Pain Medicine. With the exception of some notable specialist in the field who were "grandfathered in," all applicant must first complete a one year fellowship in pain medicine - after their residencies - and then sit for an 8 hour written exam. While there are other certifying groups, only the ABPM requires the fellowship.

Here's its search engine: http://www.association-office.com/ab...dir/search.cfm Please note that for each of the 32 doctors in Minnesota, each is listed with a specialty or origin, i.e. the pre-fellowship residency. As a rule, for RSD/CRPS, I would avoid people coming from a physical medicine background, and lean instead towards neurology, internal medicine, or the like, recognizing that the bulk of practitioners will have a background in anesthesiology, which is okay, but may not be great when it comes to the cutting edge stuff.

I hope this is useful.

Mike