Hello all.
I'm very new to this site and very frustrated with my drs
I have crps ,diagnosed 3 months ago. Due to surgery for priecers of the left wrist.
My Ortho sent me to a pain management Dr. I had stellote block done last week
And guess what? My pain is off the charts! Gabapentin isn't helping, sleep doesn't happen. I called pain Dr today and they said don't do anything to upset cprs. And use ice! And ibuprofen. Needles to say I hit the roof. Ice? That told me he has no idea what he is treating.
Does anyone have any advice?

Welcome to NT. This is a great place for info and support. Sorry you are dealing with this! I am glad you didn't listen to that dr and use ice! You are right, advising you to use ice proves that he knows nothing about RSD/CRPS. Ice is the worst thing for RSD/CRPS. My advice it to find a new dr right away!! Wonder if this dr, since he is so ignorant about RSD/CRPS, did the stellate ganglion block correctly. They definitely have to be placed in the perfect spot. I had two PM drs do them completely different from one another. I definitely benefited from them in the beginning.

Nanc

Thanks nanc for your reply. Makes me feel better to hear someone else say what I have been feeling. His idea of pain management is a joke. Can't seem to get him to understand hydro 10 isn't touching my pain. And my symptoms are much worse. If I switch Dr it may take a month to get to a new one. Then I will be hosed for sure.

You definitely need to change drs. A month is really not that long to wait...and the wait may be well worth it. This guy is only causing you more stress and aggravation. Your best chance of remission is early treatment, you really shouldn't waste time getting mistreated.

This is just my opinion. I have been there, many times, in my 23 year journey with RSD/CRPS. It is very hard to find a good pain dr, I am actually in the process of finding a new PM dr myself.

Good luck to you!!
Nanc

Post where you live someone on here maybe in the same area and can advise on a good specialist.
As Nanc says definitely no ice no hot and cold water contrast therapy, I have permanently damaged blood vessels and restricted blood flow from that, no aggressive physio

I live near Springfield mo. I called back again today and wasn't nasty but very frank. Mysteriously an appt opened for tomorrow and he readjusted pain meds.

Welcome and we are sad to heard when for unfortunate reason we have new members in our up growing family , yes as patient myself, I had learned a lots from this side and from each member, and important advise I learned is don't give up and always ask questions,do research and if you don't get answers,keep asking until you get there,is unfortunate for us that pain management clinics sometimes just offer a short term relief but that's their job, just to help to manage our pain,is hard to learn that but eventually you get the lesson well memorized and don't expect more than that,manage your life a little more comfortable but after all there is not a long term healing,we had learn that reality and accepted when we have good days but when we had bad days we don't want to accept any negative answer,keep trying and make sure whatever treatment you decide in the future you are 100 percent sure what the upcoming results might be,we expect so much because we want to be well that we ending accepting whatever the dr suggest but guess what? Sometimes no even drs know the right treatment to follow and at the end you ended with more suffering ,so please do your research and always ask as many questions you might have,good luck and welcome, blessings to all from Jesika

Just wanted to start out saying thank you guys for such a warm welcome to this forum.
After calling my pm Dr office again on Tuesday and stressing my concerns about my increased pain and issues they bumped my recheck appt up. I was able to see him yesterday.
Armed with a list of questions and concerns. He still didn't have a lot to say. His new approach is changing my meds..d/c the gabapintin.. Increased hydro..added clonaxepam. Ordered a bone scan and briefly discussed a neurostimulater .
Not sure what to think about all this. He also mentioned this might have spread into my shoulder. I haven't started the new med yet. Read everything I could find out about it and frankly I scared to take it.
Would love to hear some thoughts about all of this.
Has anyone else taken this clonaxpam? Side effects experience?

Hey Jana. I am glad you were able to see the dr sooner, but am confused on his medication choices. I know you said the gabapentin wasn't working. Were you having an adverse reaction to it as well? I ask because he could've increased the dosage of it to see if that would help before discontinuing it. I cannot take that med, but a lot of people on this forum do and it helps them. I have never taken clonaxpam, but I do have diazepam which is in the same drug class. Clonaxpam is for anxiety and a muscle relaxer. Not sure how that will help your pain. Diazepam does nothing for my RSD pain or symptoms.

I still think you need to find a new doctor.

Nanc

Hi Nanc,

Totally agree. Jana needs to find a new pain mgt. doc.

Hi Jana,

So glad you got back in right away and the doc is aware that he did not help you. I agree with Nanc that you should seek another pain mgt. doc but I would also "use" this guy to get pain relief until you find another. Of course, treat his recommendations with skepticism but at least YOU can "use" him to get meds for pain until you find the right doc. I would not have any additional procedures done by him until you find another doc.

I have not taken the meds he has prescribed so I can be of no help with that. Sorry about what you are going through. You deserve a better doctor. (Or someone that looks at your history before dismissing you.)

One word in defense of the doc since I was a bit harsh. When you called his office, he may not have been told anything by his staff. You may have gotten the "pat" post-procedure statement. Ice for swelling. Ibuprofen for pain. That may be fine for someone that does not have other medical conditions. The staff may not have even considered looking at your records. Maybe the doctor did not either.

I am glad you stood up for yourself and got back in to see him. Sometimes, office staff create a barricade between the patient and the doctor. It is up to us to break through that barricade sometimes.