Hello! I've been on and off these boards for a long time...mostly on the TOS board, but I guess I've had to migrate over here :-(

I was wondering if any of you could tell me if this sounds like RSD spreading...I have had an atypical case of RSD as a result of TOS and sternoclavicular instability (from a car accident 9 years ago). Mine has always stayed the "warm red" type, and I haven't had a lot of the burning pain in my arm. I have been taking 450mg of Lyrica for several years, which I know is responsible for keeping things calmed down. I do occasionally get the stinging/burning sensation in my arm, along with swelling and redness, and if I am in a hot room my arm catches fire...so to speak. I can usually calm it down with a cool, damp towel wrapped around it.

But, recently, I have had some concerns about it possibly spreading. I have had issues with my left foot (my left arm is my RSD/TOS arm) swelling, getting numb or tingly, or feeling a prickly burning sensation. I haven't noticed any real redness, but definitely the heat and swelling, so much so that my sandal straps dig into my foot (and they are usually loose). I haven't been able to trace it to anything, and it just happens in my left foot.

And this week, I started having an incredibly sore jaw...I waited a few days and called my dentist, who x-rayed it and said there had been an abcess that ate the bone away, and the tooth had to come out (again, my left side). I have in the past had pain and numbness in my face, which I attributed to the TOS and/or RSD, along with a full feeling in my ear (I know that the blood and lymph vessels don't drain well in this arm) and a drooping and twitching eye. Well, my dentist doesn't know anything about RSD, but I have him a quick lesson, and he used a lot of extra numbing medication for the extraction, but as soon as all that wore off I was in absolute agony, and have been ever since. I called the dentist the day after, and he said it was actually an easy extraction since the bone had been worn away, and he wouldn't have expected me to need any more than some Tylenol. I have been taking Percocet on top of my Oxycontin, and still barely getting a handle on the pain! Woke up at 3 a.m. with it again...because the pillowcase had brushed against my cheek. Yesterday I was sitting in front of a fan, and a section of my hair brushed up against my jaw, and it felt like a hot poker! The left side of my face is swollen, warm, and slightly red. The dentist says it is probably because we stirred up the nerves, but he expects it to be better in a few days. I hope he's right!

But...due to these two incidents, I am considering going back to a pain management clinic (right now my family doc has been refilling my pain meds and Lyrica). Do either of these issues sound like the way RSD spreads? Can anyone give me some advice, and is there anything I can do to stop it?

I would appreciate any advice you could give me!

Donna