Hi everyone

I just want ed those how talked with me over the last few Weeks. Having those done are not fun. Not like it was some major surgery that requires lots of recovery time.I do not like how my body feels afterward. It's funny how they tell you to stay awake and try to do "normal things"..right after giving you strong sedatives. LOL


But I did at least for the first couple hours. I did have a physical therapy appointment today! I'm glad I was numbed as I don't think I would've lasted an hour. It was more of an assessment than a regime but I have another appt on Friday.I really like this Dr. He seems confident and has taken recent courses with more detailed knowledge on CRPS. He sounds really positive and is going to be starting me on a TENS soon and is working with my anesthesiologist on treatment plans. I may saw WOW. I liked how smoothly it went. It would've been nice to know that he was gong to schedule a physical therapy appointment today.It was a little irritating as I couldn't drive myself and had to rely on others to get me from the Block @ 7:45am then home then to physical therapy @2m then to pick my daughter up from daycare and back home. lol. But no hiccups there.Then of course I cooked dinner.Which I will say to any others waiting to have this Procedure done, plan on SOUP!And sounding a bit like a late Katherine Hepburn

As far as how it's working...well.I can't say "HALLELUJAH I'm saved" or :It's a Christmas Miracle" But I am getting some small relief. It's seems to be fading though. We can only tell in the next coming days.No one can call me a wimp though! Even as I'm writing this its starting to wear off more.So on that note I think it my cue to GO TO BED! Unfortunately I must go to work tomorrow, we'll see how that goes.


All in all I dislike this procedure, and how it makes you feel.Still only have the tramadol. Wish It would've worked better but oh well I have hope still.

Did he do it while you were awake using the fluoroscopy to pinpoint the area that gave you the best relief? It takes longer during the procedure, isn't fun, but in my experience gives much longer lasting results.

The meds also make a big difference--I don't remember what the options were when I last had one, but there are probably new options anyway, so you might want to research this. Some docs really only do these for diagnostic purposes--and yes, you just had further confirmation it is RSD/CRPS. Did he give you an idea of best case scenario, how long you'd get relief? If he wants to do more?

Is he willing to give you a Ketamine infusion? It's a simple procedure.

Sounds good so far Emily. Lit Love I have sent you a PM.
SS

I Have an appt set for sometime after Christmas, I have to look at the card to see when I don't remember much right after the appointment right now...lol
The Dr. wants to try it 1 more time before moving to something else.He also said whether it works or not I do have CRPS this just shows if it is Sympathetically maintained pain SMP or Sympathetic independent pain SIP. Means which group of nerves are going haywire, he said only a very small portion of RSD patients have SMP. SO my reaction and this wearing off if pretty normal...boo. Although it's probably about 40-50% better than it was and I can live with that if it last a few days!! LOL We haven;t talked about Ketamine or anything else yet but I'm sure we'll talk about other options when we get there

I have another physical therapy session on Friday And as I said before I really like him.I hoping between all these doctors we can beat the RSD monster down. Good luck to everyone else as well!

Using Depro Medrol can help with longer lasting results with SIP.

Also, you should have a massage asap. http://www.rsdrx.com/massage_therapy.htm

Glad that you have a doctor and physio you feel are doing a good job for you. It's important to have trust in the people treating you.

Its so important to try all the various pain management options. For me, my lumbar sympathetic block was diagnostic only - I had no pain relief and after the local anaesthetic wore off the nerve pain was even worse for a while but at least it confirmed the diagnosis. It was a fascinating procedure to watch as it was being done. I did get a very nice printout of my spine and the whopping great needle in my back from the fluoroscopy machine as a souvenir! TENS didn't work for me either - any electrical intervention made my pain much worse but it really helps some people. At least it is cheap, easy and non invasive so if it helps its very good news. It's also encouraging that your doctor has you actively working on the physio - more and more of the latest research work is supporting the hypothesis that intensive physio, in spite of the pain and lack of popularity with patients, is actually the way to go.

Fingers crossed for you.