Hello all, a breif history of myself. I was out of town because my grandmother was on hospice. I woke up two days after Thanks Giving and could not walk, my right leg had no feeling. I went to the emergancy room and they did all the test for stroke, heart attack ect., the doctors were truthfull with me and said they could not help me and wanted to transfer me to the univirsity of chicago which i said ok. The bed at UIC never came open and my inserance company would not pay for me to stay in the hospital while i was not getting any treatment so i went home. I was working with my doctors and the nuroligist i went to see went out of town for three weeks. I was trying to self medicate till he got back but the pain got so bad i had to go to the emergancy room. I tried to get admitted to the hospital 2 diffrent trips that week end and all i received was a shot (did no good) and pain killers, I sat at home 2 days crying in pain untill my doctor saw me and got me in the hospital. I was finnaly diagnosed on 1/3/09 the nuroligist finnaly diagnosed me. I feel lucky that it is only my right leg, there are a lot of pepole worse than me so i will not complaine. My wife did a lot of reserch for me/us and that is how we came across this site. I have had two eperderals and two lumbar sympathetic nerve blocks the last one on 1/16/09. I have a Fentanyl patch (75mcg) and norco every 4 hours. I am finnaly getting to try and go back to work on monday and my pain doctor wants me to get rid of my patch, right after i got back on my feet and can get around. Is this right or do i stay with what works? I have a lot to learn and i have 3 doctors that i thought were working together but it sounds like the pain doctor has his own agenda with out talking to me. Sorry this is so long, i promise next one wont be like this. Thank You all, you have helped me more than you know already.

Hi houselite, and welcome to NeuroTalk! This is a great place to hang out, and there are lots of nice and caring people here. Take some time and have a look around.

I'm sorry for your pain. I hope you get answers soon.

Hello and welcome to NeuroTalk!!

Hi i caught your post as i havent been here in a bit. I have crps/rsd in my left foot and ankle. I was diagnosed early which was a wonderful thing. I dont have it as bad as others and i dont say that in pride, im blessed. The earlier you get help, which includes depression or anxiety the better you are. Physical therapy was brutal for me, but i have to say its what put me on my feet. I also have a couple other issues as well. Everyone is different, i do not take meds, but my pain level is not high. I use a tens unit and choose my good and bad days. Sounds like your doctor is doing all the right things for you.

Blessings
Jolene

hello and welcome to neurotalk ... there are lots of friendly and supportive people here ... not sure which forum to link you to so here is the link to neuro talks table of forums and subforums ... hope that helps you find the right area to get some answers ... http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/ ... and again ...

Hello and welcome to Neuro Talk, do not hesitate on posting questions or concerns you have, folks here are helpful and kind, again welcome to NT

Thank you all for the welcome. I noticed there are a couple of you from the chicago area. I am 45 minites west of chicago. Do any of you know any doctors or clinics in the chicago area that specilize in RSD? If you do can you please let me know.
Thank You again

Hello Houselite and Welcome to NT!!

I too have RSD.... diagnosed about 5 years ago... fighting to find a cure every day since.

I've never been to this hospital but I have heard that Rush University Medical Hospital has done research and clinical trials regarding RSD/CRPS.

You may want to contact them... here is a link with phone numbers:
http://www.rush.edu/patients/contact/index.html


Here is the link to our RSD/CRPS forum:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum21.html

Please join in and ask any questions you may have...someone will always be around to help you in any way that we can. Please, also, feel free to roam around and join in any where!! I look forward to seeing you around the boards!!

I truly wish you the best!!
Abbie

Hello and welcome to NeuroTalk. It is great to see you have come to be with our hugh and loving family. There is a great group here to assist in how they can.

Looking forward to seeing you around.

Darlene

Hello. I've been suffering from RSD for almost 8 years now. And something I found in the early stages, was most doctors didn't even know what it was. And the few that did, weren't sure what to do.

The thing is, there's no medicine or treatment for RSD. There are recommendations of things to try, some common ones are medications like tricyclic antidepressants (Nortriptaline) nerve medicines (Neurontin) NSAIDS (Mobic) Opiates (Oxycontin) They may want to try nerve blocks, physical therapy, a TENS unit. There's many many options, but they don't work for everyone.

So my best advice would be if you are using something that is helping, and is making you functional to the point of returning to work, you should probably stick with it. I had many doctors at first treat it like a short term illness. With most illnesses, you would wean off the strong painkillers when you were ready to go back to work, and you hsould be fine. But with a chronic pain disease like RSD, you may need to continue those painkillers for years or forever to function.