[Dr. Smith]

Originally Posted by DianeKem

When asked to explain your pain other than burning pain the rest I still after 23 years find it so hard to put the pain of RSD into words that folks Doctors can really understand.

A couple of suggestions that may help (if you're not already familiar with them):
Google: McGill Pain Questionnaire
Google: pain adjectives

If I tell my doctor this he might cut me lose and that’s what stops me from saying anything to him. Scared to speak to your doctor because you know that they really don’t want a patient they can’t cure.

Originally Posted by jimbo

Why should anyone be afraid to tell a doctor anything? Aren't they here to help?

This is the really complex issue. It's bad enough talking to a doctor about pain without worrying about being believed or that "it's only in your head" I don't think it's so much that doctors don't want a patient they can't cure, but many times they are afraid of us. This letter from a real doctor to patients with chronic illness may shed some light and provide some clues/advice on dealing with this:

http://www.medpagetoday.com/Blogs/21266?

I truly believe that most doctors do want to help us, but it is incubent on us to help them help us in any/every way we can, and communication is a big part of this, so more constructive/positive suggestions can be found here.

Google: talk doctor pain

Doc

[LIT LOVE]

My doc kind of gleefully pronounced he loved me as a patient because I'm one of his more complex cases. My sarcastic response was, "gee, thanks!" and then we both laughed.

The doc patient relationshp with RSD is more important than normal, because a high level of trust, communication, and respect is required by both parties for any hope of successful management of the disorder. We're not easy patients to treat medically and they often have to fight for us to get access to the right procedures and best medications.

If you can't open up to your doc, analyze why. Is it your issue? Or are they communicating to you that they're not thrilled with having to provide your care? And I'm going to repeat myself from another thread and sound like a pompous ninny with my own catch phrase, but--There are other fish (with medical degrees) in the sea!