mike,
I don't have the answers to your questions. However, i want to ask you is your arthritis caused by RSD. How did your doc treat you with your rheumatoid artritis?
Numb

Not sure if this will be any help or not. I have Fibromyalgia & RSD. Fibro officially dx'ed since 1989, this type of pain my whole life. RSD officially dx'ed since 2004, this type of pain & sensations since 2003. Fibro pain is body wide spread body pain in muscles etc. RSD pain started in my both of my feet at the same time, left foot worse & still is the worst one. Yes the Fibro pain is way different than RSD pain. RSD pain mostly over rides the Fibro pain. But now that RSD pain is under better control since fall 2005, I feel the Fibro pain more often, like today it really sucks big time. The weather is about to change from perfect to of course, not so perfect. When the BP (barometric pressure) goes up or down, up being the worst. Wet & cooler & windier. Typical spring weather. But I can feel the damn weather changes, BP changes, way early with the Fibro pain.

I take Morphine for RSD pain, with Oxycodone for BTP (breakthrough pain). I also can take a bit more morphine as needed due to all the weather causing me more pain.

I do not think having RSD causes Fibro pain to be worse nor vice versa. It just is. The RSD pain was so bad when it started one morning that I would say for almost 2 yrs I did NOT even feel the Fibro Pain. And up until RSD hit, I totally thought Fibro pain was the WORST PAIN I would ever probably feel. When asked about pain using 1 thru 10 being the worst, I would say I had days of 10 +++ (plus, plus, plus) it was so bad. It would keep me bed ridden for several days at a time. I would have to take loads of Aleve or Motrin with Norco. And it got so bad after a car wreck in 1993 I was taught how to give myself Torodol IM injections for headaches & Fibro pain both. That car wreck made the Fibro pain get even worse than it already was. I even missed work off & on in the spring or fall. Those were the worst ever times for me with Fibro pain. That is, when the Barometric Pressure would go up & down. And when it went up it was the WORST EVER!!. I still suffer Fibro pain due to BP changes, but I no longer have to give myself Torodol injections. An Atlas-Orthoganol Chiropracter fixed my neck & got pretty much rid of the headache pain as long as I continue to see a NUCCA Chiropracter for maintenance to keep the headaches at bay now. If I take Aleve for the Fibro pain along with Morphine for the RSD pain, I can keep the Fibro pain in better control during BP changes.

Man I hope this made sense..........*LOL* If not well ask me anything you would want clarificaion on. *LOL* I am really sleepy here lately. It gets day light so early any more I am having a difficult time going back to sleep in the mornings after taking my 6am meds. It is frustrating. So anyway I am loosing sleep & having a hard time catching it back up.

Good Luck,
DebbyV

I doubt the Rheumatoid Arthritis was caused at all by the RSD. This systemic disease is generally part of a person’s make-up genetically, like whether one will develop baldness, or have green eyes. It often shows up when we are children or teens, but some will not see it until later, like me.

This is totally different from osteoarthritis which most people associate with “wearing out” joints. Roofers get it in their knees; typists get it in their fingers, etc. I suppose that type of arthritis might be connected to RA, but I really don’t know. The cause and treatment is completely different.

After having a couple of Rheumatologists shrug their shoulders, I found one who is ambitious enough to dig in and try to find a treatment. Currently, I am on one of the more standard drugs for RA – methotrexate. She started with a low dose, but I am now at maximum. She now has added Plaquenil, but it is not really doing anything.

The next step is what she calls the “big guns” – which will be Biologic Response Modifiers. This makes me nervous. Not only do they have some nasty potential side effects (severe swelling, weakness, cancer, TB) but they also call for frequent sticking. They are administered subcutaneous injection, muscle injection, or intravenous infusion.

I am currently waiting a decision of “medical necessity” from the insurance company, and then the choice gets thrown back to me.

Like Debby mentioned, I am one a multitude of pain killers already anyway, so nothing was added for the RA. I am taking oxycodone regularly, with endocet and/or ultracet for break-through pain, depending on the severity. I also have 800 mg of ibuprofen three times a day for joint swelling. These are all just fly swatters against the dragon.

Mike