Dear Kitty -

I was out of town and apologize for not reading this thread earlier. I am sorry for the suffering you are going through.

For many people, oral Baclofen (up to 50 mg./day) is the best thing going for CNS induced muscle spasms. Have you tried it? It takes a little getting used to, but it's more effective than anything other than cannabis, in my experience. Plus it shouldn't be too expensive.

Another drug, typically prescribed for anxiety, does wonders for my shooting nerve pain, but it works on maybe half the people who use it. In the U.S. it's called Xanax (Alprazolam - a benzodiazepine) and I take a total of 2.5 mg./day with NO psychotrophic effects.

Finally, there's a whole class of meds called calcium channel blockers that are great for vaso-spasms and neurogenic vaso-constriction of any kind, as well as being dirt cheap, the only thing is they can't be taken if you already have abnormally low blood pressure or edema, where they will contribute dramatically to any swelling. I found out the hard way on Norvasc (Amlodipine). But again, if it works, it should be affordable for your health system.

I hope this is helpful. And keep up the hope for better days!

Mike


PS To the best of my my understanding, the only test currently capable of directly measuring small-vessel vaso-spasms/constriction - outside of the brain - is a CT profusion study with contrast, as opposed to an EKG. And one thing a CT profusion study is not, is inexpensive. ;<(

That said, a lot of work has been done through the years with thermal imaging, which is used as an inferential measurement of small vessel blood flow. Whether thermal imaging is clinically available on Tahiti is another question altogether. My guess would be, probably not. And on that point, I refer you to my post # 30, below.