Hello. im new here and after posting in the new members introduction area, it was suggested i pop over to here. Ive done a little reading on RDS and CRPS but wasnt sure if i was the right fit. now im starting to wonder.

5 months ago today i was hurt in an explosion when a full can of spray paint was accidently put into a fire. I had burns to 20% of my body and half of that was mid to deep 2nd degree burns. this mostly being my left arm from the shoulder to the fingers, with just a 2inch strip on the under of my arm and the palm of my hand untouched. The back of my hand was the worst. some spots were close to 3rd deg and this is where my problem is.

Ive been back at work for 2 months and prob 4 weeks ago i noticed some swelling in between my index and middle fingers up above the webbing and between the two bones. I then started to feel some pain shooting down my fingers. I had read that with nerve pain you should rest it but i kept working after no one would listen to me. Should have listened to myself. Oops. So two weeks ago i had to drive my nan to Adelaide to see her neurologist (ballence problems) and after driving 7-8 hours in one day my hand was sore. The next day it was so painfull. the shooting pain had spread to all fingers and up my arm. I could barely hold anything. I stupidly worked two more days until i was in just too much pain and my entire arm became swollen.

I went to the doctor and she just told me to put my pressure garments back on and keep the arm up to reduce the swelling. Come back in 10 days if the pain is still there. Plus take painkillers and dont work. after 8 days the swelling had reduced, but is back today and now im left with an arm that has shooting pain down the fingers and through the wrist. plus deep aching pain in the arm. my hand function is up and down. Sometimes i can barely move it. It also numb, sensation feels slightly muted and the whole hand feels tingly.
After doing some reading about colour change, something that i thought i didnt have and thats why i didnt think it could be RSD. Today i noticed the return of a patch above the inside of my elbow. it looks like the start of a deep bruise just as it starts to show. I noticed it when it first started and it went away. Its sometimes hard to tell because of my burn areas, but this is in a clean area.

One factor that could have caused more damage is that my burns were not treated properly for the first 5 dys and i missed alot of initial care because the doc at my local hospital told me to go home and let it heal. After 5 days and another visit, where he again told me to go away (i doubted myself and though i was just being a baby so i left with a "suck it up" attitude), the nurse who was dressing my burns went over the docs head and got me into the Royal Adelaide burns unit. I was admitted with infection and what they called "dirty wounds". I had surgery the next day, but there were a few complications from having older infected burns.

Im back to the doctor in 2 days so if anyone has any thoughts id love to hear them. To me it seems that it is my nerves, but it seems to painful for basic nerve regeneration. Plus I dont think the swelling is the norm. Another thing is that im not sleeping. Its currently 6.30am and i have not been to sleep yet. this has been happening for the past few weeks. Partly from pain, but even the pain killers arent knocking me out when they normally do. But they could explain if this isnt making sence. lol. Also i feel like im starting to slightly get the shooting pains in my feet and other hand. Just sometimes as if they are sympathy pains? like when someone tells you about breaking their foot and yours hurts thinking about it

I guess this is my hello and if anyone has any ideas or has suddenly experienced nerve pain this long after a burn injury, or any injury i would love to hear. and if so how long for? I feel like this is karma in a way. At the time of my burns i kept saying at least i was smart enough to burn my nerve endings off so it didnt hurt so much. OPPS lol. thats come back to haunt me.
Thankyou, even if its just for reading.
Sarah

It can be extremely difficult to diagnose! But you do have some "ear-marks" that would have me worried a little. I would schedule an appt with your doctor right away, ask for a referral to a neurologist.

Thanks for your reply.
I have just returned from the doctor and she thinks it is RDS and has refered my to a physiotherapist who can better advise me. Ill ask the physio about a neurologist or ask the doc when i go back next week. She has also perscribed me Endep for the pain and said it would help with my sleeping aswell. Fingers crossed. Slightly concerned about the weight gain it can cause. Has anyone had problems with this? I was trying to loose a bit of weight and get fit before this. It would be a shame to put it on after my hard work.
I was really suprised that the doctor was on to it straight away. Especially after reading some of the stories on here. She said she dosnt often see it but had had 3 cases this month. I live in a town of 2000 people so its 3 cased on a small pool of patients.
So i guess i now have some reading to do. Thanks for your support.

CRPS/RSD is a very hard condition to "prove". Usually its more of a case of eliminating other things and being left with this. It's a very GOOD thing (if you have it) , that it was caught early. It is much harder to push into remission if caught later. Don't read TOO much. LOL. It can be overwhelming and quite scary. CRPS is a real condition it's not "all in our heads" like some doctor think. However the human mind is a very powerful thing. Stay positive, and think things like you CAN beat it, you WILL overcome it. It can help the healing process a lot. My friend has forced hers to go into remission for (i think) about 5years now. Hers was diagnosed very late it was in both her legs and effected her lower organs as well, causing thing like incontinence. When caught early you have an extremely good chance of recovering fully!

http://www.rsds.org/index2.html

This is a good site to get some valuable information!



Also talk to your doctor about something to help you sleep. I take a low dose anti-depressant before bed. It helps me sleep. It's called amitriptyline. Also don't be afraid to tell or ask for something for the pain. Getting it under control early is a big key in recovering. If you can control the pain your more able to facilitate your recovery with things like physical therapy. Also if things start getting really stressful, you should look into seeing a psychologist who specializes in pain management!!! VERY important key to recovery.