Hey all!
If you're ever going to listen to me, listen to me on this one!!! My degree is in neuroscience, and this answer is a combo of my education and my doctor's expertise. (I went to UCSD- first rate neuro program, and my doctor/surgeon is at UCSD- first rate doc. I adore him. He also does research on RSD.)

A nerve is like a rope- the various fibers that make up the rope are the individual neurons. A sympathectomy just cuts that nerve. Or uses alcohol to kill it. Sounds great, right? No more nerve, no more pain! Yay! Unfortunately, our nerves are more like trees. They are living things. And what happens when you cut a tree down? The tree trunk doesn't grow back in just one place. It grows back 3, 4, 10, or even 20 new shoots. In terms of nerves, this means even greater connectivity than before, and unfortunately, even greater pain. More signals get through- more pain signals. Where there was only one neuron conducting the pain signal, there are now twenty.

This is why no doctor will perform a sympathectomy these days. They will only result in increased sensitivity and pain. It's pretty much guaranteed.

I truly hope that this explains why this is not a procedure you should undergo. Radiofrequency ablation, on the other hand, is believed to either shock the nerve for a period of time, or leave the myelin sheath intact, which provides a guide for the nerve to grow back into so that it does not over grow and become bushy. This procedure does not leave patients in more pain than they started out in. And on a personal note, before I had my spinal stim put in, I had up to 5 months of relief from RF ablations! 2 months on the low end, but that's still damn good!

If you have more questions, feel free to ask. I'll break it down for you!

Lynn

thanks that is a great amount of information. I have Crps in mainly my upper body and want to get rid of mainly alot of the pain but it seems a scarey operation to go through. What does it effect after re-cooping from the surgery?
That has me most scared!
Linda

Hi Tony T and Welcome. So very sorry you the symp. surgery. That is what is so scary about RSD. It can be made worse by so many things. I'm scared to death to go to the dentist. I bet it's difficult to get meds in Iowa. The FDA monitors the Docs so closely, of course, so drugs are not misused. But there are pain clinics and Drs. that know how to manage RSD. My Dr. is a Pyschiatrist, Neurologist, and has a degree in Pharmacology. He manages my pain and other symptons of RSD. To reduce pain, their are other drugs that work effectively on nerve pain. Anti-seizure and anti-depressants. So I take both of these meds and blood pressure, anti-anxiety, sleeping pills, and Vicodin. Because of changing from Neurotin to Lyrica, a newer anti-seizure, I was able to reduce the narcotics. I see my Dr. once a month for first 4 years and now every other month. This disorder turns your world upside down, especially if you were active. I've had it 12 years and now have full-body. Mine came the day after surgery and wasn't diagnosed for correctly for about 7 years. I'd like to encourage you to join this forum, it really is full of caring, educated, compassionate men and women and young adults like Ali. Hope the best for you. I'm personally glad I found this group and have 'held on' because of encouragment of my friends, family, this group of fellow RSD'ers. Hoping the Best for you, Loretta Jewell

It also depends on whether you are talking about a sympathetic block rather than a true surgical or chemical sympathectomy. Often a sympathetic block is referred to by docs as a sympathectomy. Tha sympathetic block is a diagnostic procedure which may have some temporary therapeutic benefits for some people but is nothing like the sort of sympathectomy that the other posters have been describing. It is common to have at least one such block done and if it is done properly and carefully it should cause no harm or CRPS symptoms in the area of the needle.