Hi, everybody:

I have full body RSD. I might need another left knee surgery (the eighth one): an Anterior Cruciate Ligament (ACL) revision reconstruction with an osteotomy of valgisation.

During some of my seven previous left knee surgeries, I had post-operative control, either with MSIR (morphine sulfate immediate release) capsules (I am still using my fentanyl patches) or with a femoral nerve block for the left leg (Ropivacaïne was used in these blocks).

After my seventh knee surgery, during which a femoral nerve block with Ropivacaïne was used, my RSD spread from my left knee/leg through my spinal cord all the way up to my brain, then my RSD became full body. All this happened despite the post-operative pain control with the Ropivacaïne femoral nerve block. The anesthesiologist (and the orthopedic surgeon) knew I have RSD in the left knee, so why was nothing done to prevent my RSD from becoming full body or is there just nothing that can be done to prevent such a thing from occurring?

I would like to know how to prevent my full body RSD from flaring up, aggravating, and spreading even more after the coming eighth knee surgery. If there is nothing to be done, I would like to know the truth.

If you have link(s) to medical protocols I could show my anesthesiologist to prevent a full body RSD flare-up and aggravation, please post them so I can print them out for my doctors.

Thank you very much for the information.

P.S. I will also post this message in the RSD/CRPS forum because different persons, using different threads, might have different ideas and experiences to share.

Hi, everybody:

If someone has some answers to the questions I asked in the previous message, please give them to me, even if you are not sure if they are right or wrong. Without any answers, I think I will have no choice but to cancel the surgery.

My last question, which I forgot to ask in the previous message, is: how to overcome my very strong fear of general anesthesia? I am afraid of waking up during the surgery without the anesthesiologist and orthopedic surgeon knowing about it despite their machines (I know it already happened to some people) or worse, I am afraid of not waking up, ever, after surgery.

I cannot have regional anesthesia because I am even more afraid of it. I do not want to be awake while the surgeon cuts, pulls... Tranquilizers never worked on me.

Last night, I had a nightmare where I could see the operating room in which I was with its floor, walls, and ceiling splashed with blood, lots of it everywhere.

Do you know if it is possible to be put under in my room instead of the operating room? I could then be wheeled to the operating room without seeing it, so no fear. After surgery, is it possible also to wake up in my room to avoid the fear of seeing all these machines? Brrrr! I feel scared out of my socks!

Thanks for your answers.

Pleaaase, someone help... No answer... No answer... As each hour goes by, I am getting more and more scared. Is there not ANYONE on this forum who has RSD and who was obliged to have surgery? Pleaaase... Even if you do not have any answers, sharing your experiences would be useful and helpful.

[pooh_ac]

When I broke my arm my ortho put me on elavil before surgery AND for the entire time I was in the external fixator and through my physical therapy after.....My pain doc was not impressed BUT I did not have a spread despite the severity of my injury the length of my immobilization etc.
hope this helps!
z

Hi, pooh_ac:

Thanks very much for your answer. The name Elavil reminds me of something, but with my very bad memory problems and with all the medications I have been taking, I am not sure if Elavil is a muscle relaxant or an anti-depressant.

It is wonderful that Elavil prevented your RSD from spreading after your surgery. You said your "pain doctor was not impressed"; I find this strange since this medication helped you so much.

Since good pain management specialists are not available where I live, my primary care doctor usually takes care of my chronic RSD pain, but it is not his job to take care of post-operative pain, so I do not know what he would say if I asked him about Elavil. For the post-operative pain control and RSD spreading prevention, I am not sure if I should ask the orthopedic surgeon or the anesthesiologist. I guess I will just have to ask both of them and see what they think.