Hello!

I'm Chase. I was diagnosed with RSD back in autumn 2010, stemming most likely from a surgery back in 2003. I'm 27 now and between neurologists, so I'm pretty frustrated. I am a trans man in Philadelphia (Pa, USA) and for me, testosterone helped with the secondary symptoms of the RSD a lot - making things manageable for a while. I work full time at a non-profit and stay pretty active - yoga, activism, community organizing, playing with my dog.

I am not currently on any medications for RSD other than lidocaine and you can probably imagine what a problem that is. My old neuro cycled me through a variety of neuro meds - lyrica, gabapentin, cymbalta, tramadol - and mostly they left me still in pain but as a zombie. (I tried cymbalta again in the spring of this year and basically slept through the entirety of my goddaughter's vist - unacceptable.) I had a neurologist who was willing to work with me, but he left the practice and I was landed with a guy who is a neurogeneticist and just shunted me off to a pain specialist.

I haven't made an appointment with the pain specialist (though I do have one with another neuro over at UPenn Hospital in September) because while I am avidly concerned about my pain levels, I also need to be able to function at capacity. Not working isn't an option for me (I do not have any kind of familial support nor anyone to fall back on) and the regimens that appear to be recommended seem to assume that I can go without that. Additionally, the non-paid work - organizing and activism - are even more important to me, psychologically and emotionally - than my paid work.

On the other hand, my RSD has progressed to be hemispheric - my whole left side is affected, with the skin issues and even in my gums. Every day is a struggle, but the drugs only seem to make the struggle worse. I was always in just as much pain (except for the lidocaine patches) but I wasn't able to focus or do anything. (My favorite coping mechanism for pain is to lose myself in something intrinsicly important or interesting.) I really have trouble with the idea of giving anything up just because my body isn't working "properly."