welcome to the group swampcricket. sorry you have rsd. i've had it for four years in Feb. i'm not a dr but will tell what my opinions and experiences are on rsd and amputation.

first off, having surgery done on the initial rsd site can be very dangerous because it can cause more pain and spread. my drs wouldn't do surgery on my wrist after i broke it to reset it because i had developed rsd and they didn't want to cause more pain and spread from rsd. i would check with another ortho surgeon and pm dr who knows what rsd is because if they did, i don't believe they would have done that.

secondly, every dr i've spoken to, including my neurologist, pm dr and ortho surgeon said not to amputate the rsd site. amputation can make the rsd pain worse by spreading and will not help you at all. amputation is bad and not helpful in treating rsd pain. i would check with a neurologist and pm dr to confirm this with you.

it sounds to me like your dr doesn't have enough knowledge on how to treat rsd and can cause you more harm then he may already has by doing surgery on your rsd site and talking about amputating your rsd site. if i were you i would get a few more opinions from qualified rsd drs.

one thing i've learned the hard way from rsd is that not all drs know what it is and how to treat it. and what's worse then that is not all drs will admit to that. some drs egos are bigger then their concern for their patients.

thats not to say they are all like that. there are good and qualified ones out there. you just have to keep searching until you find them. it's a trial and error thing. check out rsd hope and rsdsa on line for possible dr listings. everyone on this forum are also very kind and helpful.

i hope you can find a dr who can get your pain under control soon. i am sending soft hugs and warm thoughts your way. take care.

There are maybe a few RSD/CRPS specialists in the entire country I would consider listening to with such extreme advice as amputation. If you do have RSD/CRPS the issue is dysfunction of your Central Nervous System.

The advise in the past has always been that amputation is only an option if there is gangrene and no other option. Someone posted a link recently that there was a study that amputation might be a viable option, but there are a whole host of other things I would insist on before ever considering amputation--and there was a point early on when I used to fantasize and dream about amputation as a way to have a normal life again.

And please understand when you are in as bad as shape as you are, it is VERY easy to overlook spread or mirroring to other areas, especially when you factor in opiates that mask lower levels of pain.

Why not insist on an inpatient course of Ketamine? I would even consider a spinal cord stimulator trial long, long before considering amputation!

When you say SGB didn't work, what does this mean? No pain relief? Temp pain relief? Did your eye droop and did your throat get sore?

Have you attempted pt in warm water? If you're unable to move it or use it, it will only get worse. If you can only move it for a few minutes under water, that's a start!

Blocks had no effect eye did droop and trouble speaking afterward no pain relief.pt with ground up corn cobs and hot air just made things twice as bad .i have been to three pain specialist and they all agree that amputation is the way to go. They want to do a spine stimulator but if I get this I can't ever work as a firefighter again because bwc won't pay to have it repaired if it gets knocked off. I have 6 years to go to retirement. Surgeon says he has done 4 people with CRPS and all have recovered well and no symptoms after amputation . Just wandering if there is any other treatments to try before the amputation. They say I have type 2 but mine is not the hot I have cold crps hand turns purple and cold. It hurts to walk any air movement. I just believe I should take the chance and see I know this sounds bad but its a chance