it takes time to get to know how to understand and manage your rsd pain. be patient with yourself and take it a day at a time because each day with rsd is different so you won't know what you can do each day until it gets here. i learned that overdoing it on a day that i'm having a low pain day isn't always good because i pay for it with horrible flares for days after. so i try to pace myself even on low pain days as well as high pain days. in time you will learn how to avoid flares to a certain extent. sometimes flares happen even when you don't overdue it. weather can cause flares, rsd spread can cause flares and getting other diseases due to our weakened immune systems from rsd can cause flares too i.e. fibromyalgia, arthritis, osteoperosis. when flares happen that are out of your control. continue taking the pain meds your dr prescribe and have an emergency rsd flare kit. mine includes heating pad or blanket, lavendar epsom salt baths, tea, cookies, a comedy on tv for distraction while i lie down to rest until the flare passes.
p.s. i have had rsd for almost five years now and though i have learned alot on how to manage my rsd pain i am still learning every day how to deal with it due to spread i am getting from it. i just keep taking it a day at a time. soft hugs.

So far I don't have any pain meds prescribed. Going through the "No, I'm not an addict/drug seeker" trials with new PCP, neuro, PM. Well, PCP isn't really new new - I have only been seeing her since Feb. She diagnosed RSD but she 'doesn't prescribe narcotics'.

I have a heating pad next to my bed & 2 of them next to my couch. I also have a butterfly shaped pillow that works great under my ankle, a drawer full of super soft fuzzy socks, epsom salt lotion and my laptop for my er/flare kit...lol

people who take pain meds to help manage their pain are not addicts. they just have a tolerance for the meds. addicts are people who take pain meds to get high. so if you need to find a pm dr who will prescribe pain meds to help manage your chronic pain from rsd then that is ok (at least to me and the many drs I see). some drs don't like prescribing pain meds because of all the strict regulations on the meds. i think it's too much hassle for some of them and some drs just don't understand how painful rsd is and how to properly treat rsd i.e. with pain meds and anti depressants. i'm not saying your drs are like this, but if i were you i would try to find a neurologist or pm dr who really knows what rsd is and how to treat it properly. pain meds are not the only answer to managing rsd pain, but it has helped me out alot. pt, nerveblocks, tens units, accupuncture (not for me caused spread for me) and scs (not for me just yet using as a last resort), calmare treatments, ketamine infustions and HBOT. if if were you i would check out all the info you can online about rsd too as well as on this forum to help you to understand your options better. knowledge is power my friend. soft hugs.

I fully agree with you and I know that's the way it is taught in medical (in my case, nursing) school. However, with the stigma coming from the FDA, that is how those with chronic pain are viewed. So I have my hoops to jump through. I think my neuro is pretty on top of it. Disgusted with PM and I've only seen the ba$t... once. I've done accupuncture for endometriosis years ago - didn't obtain results. Because I worked for a PM group, blocks/trigger points pretty much scare the hellouta me. My son had an intrathecal pump...he had more complications than I am comfortable with. Just beginning to learn about calmare/ketamine. Studied HBOT 15-20 years ago for my son...I'm pretty neutral about it as the results I have seen/read are pretty iffy.

I've been the gaba route - twice - and have an extra 40 pounds from it. I was on welbutrin (for smoking cessation) but insurance won't cover it anymore and it's not the right antidepressant for RSD. Just picked up amitriptyline but I don't have a pill splitter that hasn't been used on my dogs phenobarb, so I haven't started it yet. I swear if I gain 1 friggin ounce on that, it's not happening..at 5'1", I don't have a lot of room to grow out anymore.

I'm so grateful I found all of you!

Ugh, it really bothers me that all this time you have been posting you have had no good pain relief options. The whole point of pain relief besides comfort is reducing centralization. Will any of these docs at least give you some tramadol? It is less narcotic-ish and works well for some. Though not addictive it does require a taper though for safety if given more than a few days. but you probably already know that...

FYI - ami has the highest side effects in that drug class since it is first gen. I take nortriptyline, less side effects and I do find it helpful.

I can't take tramadol (was on it for my endo - didn't touch it and gave me awful GI upset) and with all the ibuprofen I have taken over the past 18 months, my stomach is over it...I'm on prilosec now because of constant heartburn/nausea/vomiting. NSAID's are not in my future.

I had fair relief while under my last ortho's care. Alas, I consumed my last lortab in November (from a script written for 50 tabs in August)