I have CRPSII and having surgery tomorrow
 

I am so nervous because I am scheduled to have an excisional biopsy on my right breast tomorrow. I have put this off for over three months because I fear a RSD flare up in a new place almost as much as I fear getting a diagnosis of cancer. I am going to do it even though I have my doubts. I just need to know the little suspicous spot is out and is properly looked at.

I have been taking 500mg of vitamin C this week and have talked to my surgeon about RSD. I think they plan to put the IV in my foot rather than the arm because my RSD is completely in my left arm and shoulder. I am hoping I can get through this without a huge RSD complication. Sometimes I wonder if I should just let things alone and not tempt fate with another surgery since having an ulnar nerve surgery started up this whole RSD problem almost three years ago.

I would love to hear from anyone who has had surgery since their RSD diagnosis. Was it good or bad and did you take any precautions?

Thanks so much - Lisa

Lisa,
I'll keep you in my prayers.
I don't have any experience with surgery since the rsd, but I think that the anesthesiologist needs to know about the rsd.

Hope that everything goes well!:hug:

Pete

Hi Lisa,

I have had 2 knee surgeries, and the 2nd knee surgery made the already prevalent RSD symptoms become even more evident. My doctors and PT ignored my pleas of the constant burn, until the burn manifested into many other RSD by-products.

Your situation is different in that you know the RSD exists.
With that said, Pete gave you excellent advice, and it sounds like you already have this under control.

I will have you in my thoughts and prayers. Remember, it isn't the worst until they prove it is the worst. Keep your chin up, and know you have support here.

hugs,
Dew:hug:

Praying for you!
 

All of my surgeries and minor procedures have been related to my RSD- nerve block injections and a SCS trial. I have never had a flare-up related to a surgical procedure (though flying for me is a completely different story).

I will be praying for you tomorrow- so that this doesn't increase your pain, and so that there is no cancer. I agree with the previous post, make sure to tell the anesthesiologist/nurse anesthetist.

Praying for you, that everything goes well. I am sure there are many others thinking positive thoughts about this for you too!:hug::heartthrob:

Hi LIsa,
I don't have any experience with surgery since my RSD but I will keep you in my prayers.
Good luck with everything
hopeful

HI Lisa
I had a THR on 4/13 09 and ive had rsd since 1/109 . I had the surgery without a continous block,,bad mistake,,from what ive been told and from what ive read of your post,with the ketamine,,i truly think your going to be fine,,a biopsy isnt as invasive as a joint replacemnt,,thats what i was told,,mike on this blog is haveing some hernias fixed,,he is well knowledged pm him,,,,,I myself think that you are going to be fine,,and there will be prayers sent up for you,,Christ Jesus is the great Physcian and is over looking your surgery,,,good luck to you,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,bobber

Thank you all for the kind words and encouragement. I have discussed the RSD with my breast surgeon and she was very good about arranging that my surgery be at a hospital that is a bit farther from home but has a particular anesthesiologist she wants to use. I guess she is a pediatric anesthesiologist so hopefully she will be good. I am not going to have ketamine as I have never had it before. I am going to have a regular IV in the foot with extra numbing in the breast tissue. The surgeon said as long as it does not involve a limb, I should be okay.

I will not know for sure until after the surgery. I hope I have made the right decision. The second breast surgeon I saw did not want to do the surgery because of the RSD. He wanted to wait 6 months. I can't move on with my life knowing this suspicious mass is hanging over my head so I made the decision to go ahead with the surgery. I hope it is not a mistake on my part. I kick myself every day for having the arm surgery. I had a great surgeon but the RSD complication came anyway. I just pray I won't have to go through what I went through that first year - oh my gosh - you guys know the pain - I am preaching to the choir on this forum. Only you fellow RSDers know how terrifying that nerve pain is to live with.

Okay, I am going to fill out my forms and try to relax. I feel sick to my stomach from the nerves. I plan to report back on Saturday to let you all know all went well and that we can all make it through surgeries and not face a huge flare. I pray for everyone on this board; RSD is not easy to live with.

Lisa

Best wishes..Lisa
 

You have my best wishes and positive vibes for a great outcome to your surgery..I have not had any surgery since my RSD diagnosis, just blocks and my SCS implant, which I believe didn't further my RSD...it really just takes off on it's own.... I too, agree.. tell your anest. Dr. and have faith in your surgeon... Try to remain poisitve on all accounts concerning this situation and we all be praying for you. Be sure to check in with us with happy thoughts.:grouphug:

Hi Lisa,
You are certainly are in my thoughts and prayers. If a may, when I'm extra anxious, I use meditation and visualization. Like closing your eyes and picturing yourself at your favorite beach, lake, garden it relaxes your sympathetic nervous system. I did have a breast biopsy 14 years ago, but more complicated as also had a mass deep in lymph node group in arm pit. and another mass deep in breast. He went on vacation next day and I had huge swelling and his partner withdrew the liquid with syringe. it was green. meaning infection. I was given nothing and told nothing. It got worse and got frozen shoulder. My Dr. sent me to a rehab Dr. for physical therapy. It was bad-100 therapies. moved to other shoulder more therapy. I didn't know for 4 years I had RSD,
I haven't had surgery since RSD, but did have hand injury and bad RSD in the hand, actually full body. I did have two remissions after each frozen shoulder pt and getting range of motion back.
Are you asking your anethesiologist about anti-anxiety med before surgery. It's important to keep our system as relaxed as possible.
My husband has had ulnar surgery, broken wrist, finger trigger release twice and nothing has every happened- all turned out well.
We will be thinking of you, and please know you are important to all of us and we will be looking forward to your full recovery. Your friend, loretta

Hi Lisa,
I am sending you support and healing energy for your biopsy! You are making the right decision to go forth with the procedure. It will make all the difference for your surgical team to be united and have a collaborative plan in place!
That way you will feel more confident and relaxed!
I had a breast biopsy many years ago, and because I don't like sedation, it was done with local anasthetics. My left front quadrant was 'frozen' as they say! Because I was awake for the biopsy, the staff was wonderful and they played Barbara Streisand music during the procedure.
Do all you can to relax yourself with meditation, self positive talk, and you will go into this and come out of it with a head start in healing!
think of us, too!! when I have terrible pain days and feel lonely from this very solitary experience I think of my fellow NT posters, and they bring a smile to my face!!!
Hope4thebest :hug:

I have had two surgical procedures done since the original RSD diagnosis in 1986.

First, I had orthopedic fusion of the left foot metatarsals in 2000. This included two rather long incisions on the top of the foot, and two other, shorter, slices on the calf and on the knee. All areas took a lot longer to heal than expected with a “normal” patient. The RSD did flare-up (the foot is my main RSD area anyway) but it did not spread like wildfire.

I saw that same surgeon last week. He said that just recently – nine years later – he has had a second RSD patient, and was wondering how I was doing. This is a very busy doctor. This shows how infrequently some doctors encounter RSD.

Second, I had the Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) implant in 2003. While this is a more minor procedure, it is invasive nonetheless. As with the foot surgery, the healing process is v-e-r-y s-l-o-w!

In both cases, the surgeon and the anesthesiologist both were well aware of the RSD and said they knew of the precautions to take.

Hope all goes well for you.

Mike :hug:

Thanks all for the support. We leave for the hospital in 15 minutes, but I wanted to jump on the board for last words of encouragement. You did not let me down.

I am feeling anxious but good about getting on with the procedure. I hope to be back home and hungry by this evening! That is always a good sign.

Loretta, thanks for posting. I remember reading your RSD was started from a breast biopsy so I was very interested to hear the details. I had a frozen left shoulder in 2000, which started my ulnar nerve pain and numbness. That lead to the surgery in 2006, which resulted in the ulnar nerve getting trapped in a ligament when it was moved. So this required a second surgery five months later. That was a nightmare.

I am hoping for a good result this time. Thanks to all and have a healthy and restful weekend.

Lisa

Hi Lisa,
 

I just had surgery in July. I had 2 cuts. One on my neck and one on the side of my left breast to remove a box and wires. They used extra lidocaine in the breast area and it did work. The RSD didn't come back out on me. I hope it works for you and I hope the surgery goes good and everything turns out ok.

Ada

I am sorry I am late to this but now will wish you good healing thoughts and hope all is ok in the long run. Please take care

Well I got through the surgery just fine. The technicians had a lot of trouble getting back far enough to capture the mass on the mammogram. The rest was easy. The wire did not hurt at all but the radiologist had to go in from the side which resulted in a much larger cut. Now I wait until I hear the news regarding cancer.

I must say I am so proud of myself I made it through the surgery. The first nurse blew the vein in my hand when he tried to put in the IV. I thought - OMG I am going to get RSD in my hand. But no, I wiggled my fingers and kept moving my wrist and I have been fine. Then in the OR, the anesthesiologist blew two veins in my foot! I couldn't believe it. So I said just try it in the elbow area and it all worked. My foot is fine and I have not pain. So the exerience has helped me to see I can go through some assaults to my body and get through without an RSD spread. I did take my vitamin C just as soon as I got home, just in case.

Now for the wait...

Glad to hear you did well!

We're all wishin' and hopin' for the best for you!

Pete

it's now 9/20..... how did ur surgery go?? i'm praying that ur fine & recovering! let us know...... :hug:

Hey Nancy, I feel I did much better than I expected. In fact, when the nurse blew the vein in my hand there was much bleeding so he had to apply pressure for a few minutes. While he was applying pressure and apologizing, he said I would have a huge black and blue mass under the skin. Well, I am happy to report I barely have a mark. I think it might be due to the fresh spinach I ate all week in an effort to cut down on bleeding. I am a bleeder and have experienced two large hematomas from my last two surgeries. Therefore, I did some research and read spinach is one of the best anticoagulants. So I bought a big bag of it and ate it every day. I think it helped.

I am also taking vitamin C for the next 50 days because one research study noted a reduction in the amount of RSD in patients after carpel tunnel surgery if they took 500 mg of vitamin C. Someone on this forum mentioned this about a year ago and I wrote it down so I would remember. I started the vitamin C about one week prior to surgery.

I am praying I don't have to go through any more surgery soon but it was extremely encouraging to me to get through it without a huge flare. I am achey and sore and my nerve burns, but that is normal for me.

Hi Lisa -

I am very happy your procedure went well.

And don't worry too much about your vein popping, constricted peripheral viens really come the the CRPS territory. (And forgive me for not replying earlier but I had an entirely unaniticipated - but very brief and ultimately uneventful - hospitalization beginning Thursday afternoon. I was getting an MRI brain scan with contrast in Friday morning - these folks pull you out 3/4's of the way through, telling you not not move while they put the contrast in through the already in place iv line - they found that the iv line had kinked in my ever so small vein and then spent over 25 minutes trying to find another vein that would accept the thin catheter (a 22 gauge line), blowing 2 viens in the process, before one the last possible chance before they "call[ed] it a day" and scrubbed the procedure - unlike some other hospitals they aren't set up to have a mobile team from their PICC line service come down install a line while the patient lay protuding out of the scanner - they found a good vein in the back of my hand and in it went. And wonderous it was, for with a clean scan they were able to discharge me in time for my son's B-day party!)

All's well that ends well.

Mike

Dear Lisa,

I'm so glad that you did well with your surgery, I will keep you in my prayers that your biopsy results come back clean and that you continue to feel well.

Sorry that I missed you on your way into the procedure, I had a Lidocaine infusion last week. They make me more tired than usual so I have not been on the board much.

Take care, Sandy

Hi Lisa. I had my tubes tied last month, along with some "Female Housekeeping". It took me about three weeks to recover, then I began a three shot series of Sympathetic Nerve Blocks...needless to say, I got my butt kicked. I am praying for you tomorrow, and I hope truly that everything turns out for the better. My thoughts are with you and your family. Look forward to heariing from you on Saturday.

Mike, is it true about the constricted veins after contracting CRPS? It makes sense to me because in all the surgeries and procedures and blood draws I have had through the years, I have never had a vein blow. Then, on Friday, three of them collapse. I was stunned. The surgical nurse asked me if my veins tended to blow and I told him it had never happened before. The anesthesiologist seemed to think it was related to RSD, so that must be one of the changes that take place internally.

I have to say I have had only one needle stick in the past three years since developing CRPS, so this must be the "new me." Is there anything we can do to help prevent it in the future for needle sticks? I have feared a spread of the RSD so I have avoided much needed blood draws and an order to have an MRI of the brain with contrast. My instincts were right I guess.

Lisa
Im glad to hear your home and coming out of the woods,,God is with you,This i kniow,,your in prayer