Hi Voner!

I posted a thread about it a while back... here is the link: http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...+motor+imagery

Let me know if you have any further questions!

We had some other strategies for addressing certain other triggers (weather changes/women's cycle issues). That I'd be happy to address either. The more that our experience could help others, the better!

I keep Lidoderm patches on hand and apply to any area that has even a slight injury. Since adapting this strategy, I no longer experience trauma induced spread. (When I experienced RSD pain in my jaw, teeth, and tongue, this was no help, of course.)

I keep a steroid pack on hand, incase of urgent need, if the above approach isn't enough. If I had a serious enough injury, I'd fight my insurance for a block and/or Ketamine--or just go out of pocket.

I regularly take baths with Epsom Salts. I severely limit my exposure to environments that cause me to flare. I break up my activities in small chunks and really listen to my body. I've adapted and don't do things in the same way that cause my pain to escalate.

If my back or neck become more problematic (there's always low level pain and swelling) then I see a massage therapist.

I just saw this thread and am curious as to what other strategies you have discovered for addressing triggers like weather changes and women's cycle issues.

I am so happy your fiancee has had great success with GMI. The research is quite convincing and I am likely going to give it a try. I've managed to keep my pain around the 4-5/10 level over the past several years with an electrical stimulation type treatment, but have significantly more pain in the winter and am looking for some other solutions.

For prevention, I try to swim regularly and have also been eating gluten free which I think has been helpful. Stress management is also key. I've found that whenever I have a flare-up, staying positive, keeping the limb moving, and seeking social support help keep the flare-up from escalating.

I definitely echo your point about stress reduction. Two days ago, my fiancee went out walking in the heat of the south for about 2-3 hours and developed a migraine. This made it hard for her to sleep and her body started playing the "RSD tune." Fortunately, she has read "Explain Pain" and was able to remain calm and remind herself that there was no threat to her tissue, which helped the pain remain below a 5. She got to sleep and was back to her old self by yesterday morning, so pain education is also helpful to avoid catastrophizing.

Weather strategies: I only came across a few things with weather changes online, but some suggest that the change in air concentration to positive ions directly before a storm is part of the cause of chronic pain inflammation for barometric changes (I bet it also has to do with just pressure as well). Anyway, these sources suggested a negative ion generator. I kicked the idea around for awhile until Hurricane Sandy which totally wiped out my fiancee. I rushed to get a negative ion generator and it helped her through the storm tremendously. Now, she doesn't get pain per se from storms but can feel a certain heaviness when a storm is approaching. We have an at home negative ion generator and a portable one that she can wear on her neck if she is out (she keeps it in her purse). It makes an immediate and noticeable difference for her.

As for the woman's cycle issues, this is an ongoing area of experimentation. When we told the doctor that her cycle was causing her issues, he suggested birth control to totally wipe out her cycle. We are both faithful Catholics, and, although it would have been permissible for her to use birth control for this purpose, she was hesitant. I did some research and found out that pain sensitivities are higher for many many woman around the end of the luteal phase and the beginning of menstruation for many conditions (fibromyalgia, migraines, etc.) It turns out that pain is linked with estrogen and that progesterone is a potent anti-inflammatory and analgesic hormone. At the end of the luteal phase, a woman's progesterone levels will sharply drop. In months past, although we did not know it at the time, we now believe this led to some of her most difficult flares. For example, when she had already started the GMI and was doing pretty well (basically pain free) one day the pain suddenly came back and hit her so hard she fell over. She was laid out for just a day and recovered quickly, but it was clearly related to her cycle. I did some research and found out that a lot of people are able to supplement Progesterone at appropriate times to minimize the severity of the drop in Progesterone at the end of the luteal phase. This last cycle, I had just found this out and so we were only able to try it for a few days up to the end of her luteal phase, but it made a world of difference (she still had a minor flare but pain only up to about a 4 and over by the time she got to sleep). For this regimen, it is recommended to supplement Progesterone cream directly into a woman's vagina twice a day starting at about ovulation and continuing until about 2 days before you expect your period to start (if your period starts, stop the Progesterone). We look forward to trying the full luteal phase coming up this cycle.

As for the cold, I'm not sure because she's in down south now, so the cold isn't an issue, but I'm interested in activated charcoal cloth. Obviously there isn't too much research on this, but it's supposed to be the same mechanism (negative ions) as the negative ion generator and its supposed to stimulate blood flow (she has cold type CRPS). We got some negative ion socks and I've worn them and I can definitely tell that something is going on down there (they are noticeably warmer than other socks). My fiancee has said that they feel good, but it'll have to get really cold before we know if its a good solution to that issue.

Any other suggestions are much appreciated!