Quote:
Originally Posted by Jimking
The stimulator seems to be the all rave these days. Be very careful about the SCS and since your doctor is sold on it lock stock and barrel be weary of him also. Some with RSD have relief, but all the reading I've done on the subject overtime it becomes a burden with those with RSD. It accentually masks the spread from the insertion of the device and overtime it catches up with you. Your doctor should know this because most with RSD do. Also, this device never was formally created or even researched to see that in fact this device should be recommended for a serious neurological condition especially one as painful as RSD. Keep looking into ketamine. Google is your friend. I'm sure many will chime in with places you can contact. I know that GW hospital in washington performs this but there are better ketamine treatment centers than GW. Check out both of these sites:
http://www.rsds.org/index2.html
http://www.rsdhealthcare.org/ |
Last year I went to an appointment for a consult on Ketamine. It took me years to get insurance approval for that appointment. He pushed the SCS saying my insurance would never pay for Ketamine. My primary contacted another doc locally and kept writing reports until I got insurance approval. I recently had my first Ketamine infusion and responded well. I'm now going to have a series of them. I've also been approved for the SCS, and continue to explore that course as well. It does scare me. But, those that have had bad experiences with it are more likely to still be posting. None of my current docs are pushing for it, and they concur Ketamine is the more conservative option. If I was guaranteed no spread, and promised 2-5 years relief, I'd be in the hospital today.
For the OP-you've had no relief, at all, from a block? That might indicate something other than RSD. Diabetic neuropothy as just one example. It also might be an unskilled doc performed the blocks. I've had blocks done by a perfectionist ex-neuro that were quite good, and others from a pain management doc that were hit or miss (excuse the pun...)