Hi Bram,

Welcome to the club (that I wish none of us belonged to ) !!!!

You can definitely get some tricks and tools here that docs don't even know about yet.

I think the impression that you have (from your doc) that the lidodern patches should be used sparingly is off. If regular use can decrease pain, keep you more mobile, and/or let you use less narcotic/as need meds.....use them ! Like using other pain meds regularly to keep some level of control of the pain instead of chasing after a pain flare, the patches can help you stay on top of the pain rather than being overwhelmed by it.

Unless you are limited by the expense of the patches, get going trying them ! Remember that they should be used 12 hours on/12 hours off. You can cut one up int smaller patches to 'stretch' further along that dermatone, while still only using "1" patch, if that is your recommended dose.

I've seen patients use lidoderm patches directly on the reddened/thin skin affected by their RSD with good effects. Never use it on broken/nonintact skin. With a few good recommendations in this thread alone about the effectiveness of applying the patches further up towards the nerve root, I'd sure try that.

When I used the patches, I applied directly on the painful burning area with only mild relief. I have RSD from TOS and have pain to the left of T1 - T2. I have strange discolorations down my arms (? just Raynaud's vs leviticus reticularis), but I don't have that "typical" thin red skin with profound allodynia that so many RSD'ers suffer from.