hello, I just have a quick question, and it is can crps cause an old injury (1997) satic nerve to flare up? My lower right side of my back has been burning out of control and radiates down my thigh, just like it did all those years ago. But now it is all the time and I can barely left my right leg. The crps started in my left hand and arm, but mirrors a lot into my right. Any thoughts?

One more qucik question about medication for sleep. Pm has me taking Amitripoline 25mg at night for sleep. It works okay, but it is hard to shake it off the next day. What are your thoughts?

Hi Lefty,
I believe any injury can bring back the rsd pain like you said from 1997. Once you have rsd it can lie dormant in your body for years and then rear its ugly head when you injure yourself (aren't we so lucky haha). Also, the increase in burning pain can be from the weather in your area. I know for me the barometric pressure going up causes me more pain and there is almost a full moon which causes me more pain too. Try a warm epsom salt bath and two weeks ago my neuro doctor told me to take a bath with baking soda (1 pound of baking soda to a tub of water) because something with the alkaline and rsd makes us feel better. I have to ask her next week what she was talking about since I was going out the door when she mentioned it. Mirroring one side to the other is also something rsd does unfortunately. One more quick reply for you is about sleep. I've tried all the sleep aids out there and just recently tried ambien again and it has been working well. I can't take any of the other meds out there for rsd as they make me feel so much worse and lethargic too. Maybe you need a switch in your meds. Contact your doctor with your new problems to see what he/she says. Best of luck to you and I hope you have less pain.
take care,
kathy d

Thanks Kathy for responding. But I may have not made myself clear and for that I apologize. The rsd is current, dx in May 2010, and the Sciatic Nerve injury is from 1997. I was wondering if rsd can cause this nerve pain to come back after all these years...ten time worse than before?
Lefty
For the past two or three months my back had been giving me problems.

Where is your RSD? Have you had it checked to make sure nothing has changed? I have rsd from no injury or accident. I thought I had an injury when it first happend but there was nothing int he dx testing to say that. So rsd can be in some people in an area without an injury etc.Also though my rsd in my legs and eyes possibly my back had a problem that was very painful for a long period that I thought was rsd but it was not. I tend to walk and do movements weird to protect my legs when they are in a flare and that causes other problems. As for the med I would talk to your doc about trying some other med or maybe taking 1/2 or something? Not sure that dose. Feel better