Wow, am I glad this thread was started! For me, the memory loss is not as bad as the fatigue. There are evenings when I can barely finish my meal before I am out so deeply my wife can't do anything to wake me. The first time this happened, I ended up in the ER. This can be really scary.

I have has so many exams and tests to figure out why I am getting so tired, and everything simply points back to the extreme pain. Fighting it just takes so much energy, I am just totally sapped by the time I get home at night.

Thanks to everyone for their comments. I can relate to them all.

Love,

Mike

Ice cold water will work. That's how my Mom use to get my brothers up for school. You might not want to let the wife know this though. LOL

Do you have CFS. I was diagnosed with Fibro and CFS before RSD. I am just like you on this. I go to bed and watch a little tv but I am out by 9 or 10. I get so tired that I can't think straight or talk straight.

My Dr. called me one evening to give me some test results and I told him I wasn't drugged or drunk. He knew that but I sure wouldn't have known it if I didn't know myself. It's very frustrating. I was talking like a drunk.

Ada

Anyone ever have a sleep study done?
After I acquired the TBI, I got apnea, real bad. People would panic, because I would stop breathiing. (I was always a snorer).
I use a CPap now, and it's like night and day, how alert I am as opposed to if I don't use it.

Also,
Anyone ever been put on "Provigal"?
It's an EVIL medication, if you have RSD, but, they're promoting it as a "smart" drug.
College kids, lawyers, etc. are using it. To me, it's just legal speed. Expensive too!
I use "Aricept", and other "Altzheimer's" meds that my doctor sample me with.
They're excellent, and no side effects.
If I forget to take it, I'm stupid all day. (This goes as treatment for the TBI).

these are just thoughts......

Pete
ASB

Pete,

Just wondering why you refer to provigil as EVIL for RSD patients. Jeff has taken it in the past for his fatigue due to sleep apnea which he had before RSD. It didn't work for him so he quit it. I take it occasionally when I'm on night shift and have to stay awake the next day for something. It doesn't make me jittery or feel like I'm speeding like the old over the counter stay awake pills. Just lets me stay awake and not feel like a zombie. Jeff has extreme fatigue but not any problems with short term memory loss yet. (Thank goodness, because I have trouble with that myself somedays and I dont have a medical condition.)

Teresa

I like Ada was diagnosed with CFS/Fibro 1999 lasted 5 years then in 2007 RSD. Even though I beat C&F I still get what I call waves of fatigue like I had long ago and listen to my body and rest instead of fighting it. As far as memory loss I thought the pain meds & neurontin were causing that and asked my dr if it would be permanent after I stopped taking and he said no it should go away. Well maybe it takes longer for drugs to get out of the system but I am still having brain issues. Concentration, repeating myself, on & on & on. So I believe it is part of RSD but hopeful the more lists I write and lose and try to find again it will all come back. LOL

DebbieXX

Hiya Teresa,
I call it Evil, for RSD, because for me, it "Drove" the pain to insane levels. (I needed it for my TBI, though). My pain meds were raised to insane levels too.
It was horrific. I know that the company is going to lose their patent soon, and is coming out with another "blend". I think it's going to be "lighter".
Not sure. I do know that some folks really swear by it.
It's just me.
But, I get jumpy from a cup of coffee...
So, take that into consideration..

I know that two drugs I've seen / been prescribed,
Seroquel, and Provigal.
Downs to go to bed, and Ups to clear your head...

That's like life in the 70's. A sad life.

Memory, sleep disorders, etc. are ALL common with RSD, and the meds we take for it. There are some great books you can get. In fact, it's just common sense, too.
ALWAYS, put your keys in the same place.
Things like that.

Be well Ya'll!

Pete
asb

I have sleep apnea. Was diagnosed with it about 2 years ago.

When I had my sleep apnea test, they bought the machine out the next day. I have an implant in me and we thought it was causing the breathing problems at night but they just tested me a month ago and I'm the same way and the implant has been turned off for sometime so we know that wasn't it.

I don't know though if it comes with RSD or if it's just something we come up with as we get older.

Ada

Pete, I was on Provgil for quite some time & I really liked it. It helped me stay focused & not be so drowsy during the day. I am sorry it didn't work for you. The problem is the expense of it. Even with insurance it cost me $100 a month. I become tolerant to my meds fairly easily & it had stopped being of any significant relief to me & I was going to have to increase my dosage. I wasnt really willing to do that. So I have stopped taking it. I know in 2010 its supposed to become generic. If I feel I still need then I will try it again hoping after a break it will work again. WHen I first got RSD I was trying to go to school. I had thought this was all going to get better. ANd I may not go back to my physical job but I would work again. If it hadnt been for Provigil I would have had a tougher time with school. Meds works so different for each of us. Thats the bad part about RSD. Alot of us take the same kinds of meds but nothing seems to be set in stone for us. I hope your on medications that work for you now.
Wishing you a low pain day,
Denny

Before the final diagnosis of RSD I was diagnosed with Fibro. My doctor still believes that to be true. I think alot of my fatigue comes form just fighting pain all day long. Its exhausting. And then theres the sleep issue. I sleep but its far from restful. Memory loss is awful. I write everything down. If I dont forget it. It will not get taken care of. I make lists of the stops I have to make when I go to town. Usually in order. I have to be organized to get things done. It was never like this before. Today is three years since I worked my job. I miss it still so much & wonder when the grieving process will end. I wonder if it ever will.

So does RSD cause brain damage?