http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=izOYrLUuNd8

SGB went better this week than last. Boy did it help with the burning hands. Now I will have to battle the ins co for the lumbar SGB as the feet and legs are fire on wheels to the bone. I cannot walk, stand let alone any form of exercise, keep bathing in ice.

Thx everyone for chiming in here. Your awesome!

Agree...drugs are almost worthless considering the side effects. Need breakthrough pain meds and calming the spasms for the TOS though. The RSD has taken over as the TOS is manageable with blocks and chemo denerviation (botox, steroids, lidocaine) including not using my hands/arms. HA

gentle stretches - the floor doing Edgelow, Feldenkrais, MELT, etc
PT
Chinese medicine
massage
acupressure
acupuncture
ice
water therapy

Hi Cyndy! Glad the SGB helped you, hopefully it won't be a huge battle with the insurance company for the lumbar block! I just wanted to say, please be careful with the ice on your RSD affected areas. It is well known that it is one of the worst things you can do to RSD as it can cause spread. It has caused major problems for me too!

Nanc

Hi Cyn,
Today I go for Stellate Ganglion Block (SGB) number 8 over about a 3 month time span. My CRPS is in left hand/wrist only. The results vary each time I guess for a lot of reasons. The best results were from #2 and 3. It improved the swelling and the shiny appearance. I go immediately for phys. therapy and that has gradually improved my range of motion. The pain relief is not as dramatic.
The side effects have varied as well. One time I had neck bruising, several times I have difficulity swallowing for a few hrs. and 3 times a hoarse voice for a few hrs. Thankfully never got the droopy eye/face.
PLEASE AVOID ICE ON CRPS!
Wishing you the best and hope you get some relief.

Thank you for the explanation, Nanc!

Olecyn - my sister has Lyme, and she swears by Feldenkrais - I think I might give it a go sometime. But I join in with the others with the warnings about ice - you might want to reconsider. Of course, everyone is different, but the ice may be making things worse. Maybe try without it for a bit?

Az-Di - good luck on your SGB - I hope and pray that this one is one of the good ones! BTW, we're quite close - we're about a mile away from the Peoria border. We'll have to share doctor info sometime if you'd like to. Are you enjoying the last of the decent weather before the 100 degree + months start? Don't you just love when it goes over 110?

It helped for a few days with the arms and hands, the throbbing was gone, they weren't cherry red and swollen. Nothing for the legs and feet though. Ins only approved 2; grrr....So, now I get to fight for lumbar blocks. I need a professional athlete ice bath installed

For those who happen to have TOS with their CRPS the MEDICAL TEXT BOOK is out and available through Amazon, YAHOO!

http://tossociety.org/blog/