Hello All,

My physiatrist has been trying to convince me that I have RSD for almost a year...as short as I can make it: I had a cervical fusion done in 2000. Was fine, and then took a fall on the ice a few years after that, put out my hand to brace myself. I couldn't turn my head the next day. Over the past 2 years, I have had reoccuring "bouts", in the past several months it has been continuous. My symptoms in a nut shell are burning, stabbing pain over my scapula [the spasms in my trapezius muscle are horrendous!] Inflamation in my joints, shoulder and neck...pain radiates down my hand, my hand is blue [although with manipulation, I can get it "normal"] sometimes red and swollen...always colder than the other....sometimes, my dh will walk by me and try and touch my shoulder area and I jump.
I have had: shoulder arthrograms with MRI, cervical and upper thorasic MRI's as well...all normal. Have done PT [with little relief, seems that a day goes by and the muscles are back to knots] Massage Therapy...have been on a pain contract for Vicodin for over a year as well [am very good about keeping my dosages way down], have done trigger point injections... I go back to the doc's today, and I believe the next step is for nerve blocks-which I will do, because the pain is unbearable...also seems to be [newly] on my left side as well--a kind of mirror...but I feel the pain mostly in my scapular area [those trapezius muscles] when I try to turn my head...although for the past several days I don't even have to move to feel pain. Oh yeah, a few weeks ago I had a "flare up", and the doc put me on steroids, which did seem to help...for the short term.
So--after all my blathering, do you, who know this disorder far better than I, think it is time for me to "suck it up" and deal? Or should I be searching for other answers?

Thank you so much!
As my grandmother always said...Count your blessings!