Originally Posted by CRPSsongbird

Hi Bramble,
Welcome to NT! I have been out but have used the Lidoderm patches 5% dose. I hope hey work well, but I would be careful and talk to your doctor about putting the patches on super sensitive parts of your CRPS/RSD. The only side effect I have noticed, and I don't think it happens to everyone, is that if I have a few days where I need to use one in the same spot, the skin will burn and be red where the patch was. You might not have that reaction at all but I would be wary of placing it in the same spot. As far as effectiveness it can be WONDERFUL if I can get it on at the very beginning signs of a flare up! It usually can stop it in tits tracks, as far as increased pain goes. Sometimes the CRPS has a mind of its own and just does what it wants anyways!!lol I will say they can work very very well though. I would watch for any skin reactions after you use them and keep a log to make sure you remember where you put it and how well it worked for relief. My physiatrist had me chart where I put it and the relief or lack of that I got. I noticed I can place it on a nerve grouping ABOVE the worst parts of my arm and it "trickles" down the nerves still, so I can avoid outing the patches over the more sensitive parts of my arm. It will (for me) cause the redness and burning still, so I try to avoid placing it directly over my hypersensitive areas!

I hope this helps a little and wish you luck!