type I vs type II…. is there a reason to know?
 

Hi,
I was just wondering if it matters if I have type I or type II? I had hip surgery and two weeks later the orthopedic surgeon diagnosed me with CRPS, but sent me to a neuro/pain management dr for confirmation the following week. The pain dr listed type I on my checkout sheet. I'm just curious if the course of treatment/prognosis is different for type I vs type II.
Thanks :)

hi. i dont have any idea if the type matters. im just looking for any answers i can get. ive had it almost 5 years just diagnosed a year ago. i just want it to go away !!!!!!!!!
i want my old life back

my surgery was two months ago and I was diagnosed with RSD two weeks later. I already want my old life back so badly. I'm so sorry you've been dealing with it for so long. It just stinks. I'm tired of every step being either impossible or horribly painful.
I keep reading about the two types, and I'm just curious if having one instead of the other means the treatment is different. My doctor seems to have quite a bit of experience with RSD but isn't giving me much hope of getting back to my normal life. I don't know if it's worth the money and effort to travel to a bigger medical center for an evaluation (Stanford in CA is doable for us. I have a referral and am waiting to be scheduled).

Possible treatment difference
 

Hello,

I firmly believe that it makes a difference in that a nerve injury can possibly be repaired or resected by a plastics reconstruction peripheral nerve specialist. If you had a nerve injury from your surgery they may be able to do something about that. I had a nerve injury from ankle surgery and formed a neuroma which Was crushed/ cauterized then buried by plastic surgery. It made a huge difference for me and spontaneous pain. Surgeons do like to admit that something was damaged in procedure. It can be as simple as the retactor placement. Get to some specialists and don't take no hope for an answer. Stanford has a both great pain programs and great microsurgery. Hopefully they can help.

Sending healing love,
Littlepaw

when it come to type 1 and type 2 as far as have seen treatments aren't so much different as that the out come is. They say type 1 is said to be damage to smaller nerves and is more reversible or treatable where as type 2 a more bigger or major nerve that has been severed or severely damaged. I think with both types we go through the same treatments whether meds or devices. This is some of what I read and have seen at pain clinics that even though I am type 2 people with type one were doing the same treatments.

i don't know if type I and type II rsd are treated differently. i have type I after breaking my wrist almost four years ago and they won't go in to try to fix anything because of risk of rsd spreading and pain getting worse.

also infection is also a risk they don't want to take. surgery especially in original rsd site can be very dangerous per my drs so i'm stuck with a deformed wrist that is immobile and hand that is also deformed and has limited range of motion, plus the constant horrible pain and spread that rsd can cause.

as for type II rsd i don't think they would want to do more surgery in the initial rsd site either for same reasons as with rsd type I but i would check with a qualified dr about both types and how to treat them. hope you can find someone soon to help you manage your pain better. take care.

What matters is which variation of type 1 you have whether it is hot or cold, cold needs to be treated differently

type 2 hot or cold ?
 

I'm curious.

I've had 6 surgeries total on my hands and arm. The first 3 were back in the 90's, I healed up fine and went back to work. Shortly before my last 3 something drastically changed. I called my surgeon to speed up my surgery. I had no idea at this point that crps even existed. I had the surgeries done but my condition kept getting worse. I kept telling him and the response was it could take up to a year to fully heal. Well, that was totally wrong. I was sent to numerous physicians still no diagnosis. Not until 4 years into it was I diagnosed.

Medications haven't touched it and a stellate ganglion block did nothing. Now my primary who by the way doesn't have any other patients with crps doesn't seem to know what to do.

My point was hot vs cold. I hurt from my skin down. My skins burns as if on fire, but my hands actually freeze. I don't know if that makes sense ? I use hot hands brand hand warmers daily, I love them. My hands feel as if they are being squeezed, pressure, all the time. They swell, my skin appear shiny, I have muscle spasms, I am very guarded about anyone touching my hands because of the pain it causes. My fingers are stiff and range of motion has decreased. My thumbs are the best I have to use and rely on thumb and half of index finger to get through the day. Vibrations, movement, sheets on my skin etc etc are painful. My pain has not stopped since it began just gotten worse. Oh and now have atrophy also, severe depression, anxiety etc.

Back to the point I think I have the cold type ? Does this sound like it ? How do treatments differ ?

Thank you so much for any response.
Take care of yourselves.

It was the Dutch that discovered this, they have a group of 7 university hospitals and 2 pharmaceutical companies working together. If the RSD site is cold to the touch then it should be treated with Calcium channel blockers however you have had it so log they may not make any difference now.

cold crps
 

thank you. i never heard that before of course. does mine sound like the cold type ?