Good morning everyone,

I was diagnosed with CRPS this past New Years Eve. I have PCS and chronic migraines from a concussion at work on 1/2/13 . I received my first botox treatment the third week of November and I'm due for my second one the third week of February.
I was diagnosed with CRPS by a hand surgeon.I had a dizzy spell and fell on my arm,bruised my hip and remained on the floor several hours. My PCP recommended the hand surgeon for a consult. My neurologist who I've been seeing for my PCS and migraines wanted to rule out cervical spine issues so he ordered an MRI of my c-spine which showed a build up of spinal fluid in my c-spine so I'm going for an MRI of my c-spine with contrast this Thursday.
My question is, if my neurologist agrees with the hand surgeon and I do actually have CRPS, won't the 30 injections of botox create a large risk of getting CRPS in my head?

thanks for the input

Joe

Hi Joe! Sorry you are having this trouble. I have had RSD/CRPS for 23 years (I am now 47). I have it thru most of my body, including the right side of my face (where it all began). I have been having migraines since I was a kid. I started getting what we called ice-pick headaches a couple of years ago. Neuro recommended botox for those headaches/migraines. Of course any needle stick can cause spread and you need to determine if the risk is worth the potential benefit. That doesn't mean that you will definitely have spread, it is just a possibility. I had the botox treatment once and it did not cause spread. I actually had an allergic reaction to it within 2 hours. It helped me soooo much, I was so upset that I had that reaction because I could not get any more treatments

Good luck!
Nanc

Thanks Nanc!

The first botox injections did help ut only a little bit and the thought of getting CRPS in my skull is pretty scarey stuff. When I asked my neuro what might be the cause of a build up of spinal fluid at the base of my brain stem his response was lets just wait till we get the results of the MRI with contrast. I hate when they do that.

Yeah, having RSD/CRPS in your head would not be fun...I know it is not fun in my face I really wish I could've tolerated botox better! If I could tolerate it, I would definitely get again since it helped so much and I rarely get relief.

It is good that you are getting that MRI. Hopefully the dr will be able to tell you something after that. I do hate when they will not tell you anything or about what they are looking for. I guess they don't want to say anything wrong. Keep us posted on the results.

I will keep you posted. Having the advice and support of people that have this disease is so helpful,words can not describe

Good luck with your MRI.

Yes, you are right! Having people to talk to that also suffer from the same disease(s) is so helpful. This site (and the people) have helped me thru some very tough times.