Hi Mike,
I checked back to the post of November!! There it was: lumbar blocks with botullinum toxin to treat RSD!
I probably didn't retain it because back in November, the treatment hadn't been suggested as yet...

I also probably didn't retain it, because things are slipping through my brain like a sieve and disappearing...

Fear not, you probably didn't recall it as you have posted so much information for all of us, it's hard for your head to keep a current and updated file!!

I printed the information and will review it in detail before my appointment on Friday...At this point I doubt that I would be a candidate, as the lumbar block they gave me a couple of weeks ago with just bupivacaine and clonidine did't really have an effect...in fact, it seem to flare and stir things up. Therefore, I couldn't provide a baseline of relief to compare a subsequent block with BTA..
This will be an interesting week...

Sandy:
I actually have a couple of flector patches that my foot doc had given me that have not yet expired...I hadn't tried them, as I was using the lidocain patches ..I'll try one tomorrow..thanks for the recommentations, and I will bring them up on Friday..
Please let us know how your Tuesday appointment goes..I will be thinking of you!


Hope4thebest xoxo

It would be so nice if you could get ketamine approved right away. Once the blocks stopped working for me, and I was experiencing spread, I moved on to the lidocaine infusions. I've now had 7. They do work for a little while (like a week, at about 30% or so) for my pain, and they seem to build on each other. My first infusion was in July 2009.

Ketamine is the most effective treatment (70-80% complete success rate) to date for RSD. You might want to bring that data with you to your appt. (Dr. Schwartman's and The Netherland's double blind studies that were performed in 2009). There are a number of places that have ketamine in California - 3 in LA and 1 in La Jolla, according to a list that I got from Jim Broatch.

XOXO Sandy