What crosses my mind is the pain she would have to go through just changing cloths on just any given day. We were recently in the eastern shore of Delaware. We were walking on the shore line, the water was cold, about 65 degrees and the air temperature was 100. Suzy was barefoot and because of the contrast, I believe, her feet soon turned blue and became very swollen. She couldn't get into her shoes and had extreme difficulty changing pants. That was last week and only today her feet are finally deflating. However, I suppose if we fly she could wear a bathing suit, a tight one.

I don't know about Suzy, but constriction is death for me, even for less than a minute, depending upon location. That said, it absolutely gives the cleanest profile with "advanced imaging techniques." If changing clothes wasn't such a pain - and wearing something tight was tolerable if only for a few minutes - I would recommend wearing something "form fitting," just long enough to clear security, switching into whatever is most comfortable in the handicap stall of the first rest room on the other side.

As far as swelling is concerned, there is probably a good argument for the occasional use of diuretics following a flight - in consort with prescription potassium supplements - but I stress occasional. (At one point I was using them fairly regularly, until I realized I was dependent on them to urinate, I was then hooked up with a kindly nephrologist who explained that for every liter of "interstitial fluid" I wanted to lose, I had to part with two liters of blood.) Then too, being dehydrated mid-flight is never a good idea.

Hi,

I have RSD in my left knee/leg. I wear, on this leg, the long version of a DonJoy post operative knee brace, attached to a DonJoy post operative ankle stirrup. I do not wear the brace and stirrup because I recently had surgery in my knee, but because I find the brace and stirrup very effectively support my RSD-affected knee/leg.

When I traveled to a foreign country from the San Francisco International Airport, a TSA employee asked me to remove my brace and stirrup to pat my leg down. After explaining my situation to the TSA employee and showing her a medical statement from my primary care physician, I refused to remove the brace and stirrup. At the time (it was in 2005), the TSA allowed a disabled person to refuse to remove their brace and stirrup. The TSA even mentioned on their web site that a TSA employee should not ask a disabled person to remove their brace and stirrup. I do not know if this is still true six years later. The TSA employee patted me down everywhere on my body, except on my left leg. She had a sort of stick made of plastic; a sort of sponge was fixed to one of its ends. She patted the brace and stirrup down with this sponge stick while explaining to me that she was looking for traces of explosives. She went away with her sponge stick for a while. When she came back, she asked me if the brace and stirrup had been onto the floor/ground. I replied yes, because I had fallen a few times while wearing the brace and stirrup. Did the explosive test come back positive because there was dust on the brace and stirrup? She never told me. The most important thing to me was that the TSA does not force me to remove the brace and stirrup. I am happy they respected my desire so as not to endanger my RSD leg and cause a fall onto an unprotected leg (when it is not braced).

I do not know if I was just lucky or if experiences vary depending on the airport from which a person travels.

I appreciated that the TSA accepted not to scan the bone growth stimulator with which I was traveling because such a device should not be scanned for technical reasons I do not understand.

Priscilla

Dear Mike,

I know I'm a bit late in responding but I want to thank you for all you are doing, so many of us have to travel and for you to take the time to try and help make a difference, truly makes me proud to know you ( not that I wasn't proud before mind you )

You provide so much help to all of us here, please know that you are greatly appreciated in so many ways.

Dee

I used to fly alot to go to my RSD doc. Make sure you take your pain meds & Xanax if you have a script. Cabin pressure sucks but not much you can do about it. When you reserve ticket, tell them you are disabled & need assistance....wheelchair, etc. I noticed that when we got one way tickets, we always got extra pat downs. They didnt care to even listen about the RSD. Once they lost my luggage, huge ordeal.....by end of night I was curled up in a ball on floor in baggage office crying to just go home. They found our bags & took me up to a nice hotel in the airport, but the damage was done.