[fabafter47]

Hi to all!
I was just diagnosed in April with RSD and certainly feel like a fish out of water! Any recommendations for diet, therapy etc.. would be so greatly appreciated. I live in Houston and need a good pain management doctor.

[AintSoBad]

Well Fabafter47,
You're right!
You need certain things!
Did the doc that diagnosed you, have any pain management docs to send you to, or is S/he going to provide some pain relief?

As far as diet, I just eat everything in sight. I'm gettin' to be a pretty fair size!
Water Therapy is excellent, warm water. Just get in there and WALK! for hours!

Houston is a town of many "clinics", as opposed to hospitals. (As my memory serves),
and, what do your docs say?

How did you get hurt?
Are you WC, or auto, or private ins.?

I don't mean to dig into private matters, but, once you get used to all of us here, (I'm still a newby) we're all pretty open.

So, you need a PM doc. How have you looked? Your "diagnostic" doc, has nobody to recommend?
I suggest a PM Psychiatrist!
A Neurologist who knows RSD.
And, Excercise.
The "triangle" of Rsd care.


Lot's of folks are gonna join in to welcome you, as I do.
And, to offer you guidance and help!
Get ready for the questions, that I just loaded you up with!

Pete
Asb

[fmichael]

Hi. You'll absolutely get tons of support here.

First things first, as anyone will tell you, time is of the essence in getting on a new case of RSD, a.k.a. Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), so you don't want to be waiting six weeks + for an appointment. If you go to the search engine for the American Board of Pain Management, the group that accredidates pain mgt. residencies in the U.S., also runs the most rigorous cetification process for pain management physicians. Its public directory of "Diplomates" is found at http://www.association-office.com/ab...dir/search.cfm Just plug in the city, scroll down to the state, and go.

When I ran it, 20 names cames up for Houston, and their affiliations aren't too shabby. Just click on each name for basic details. You're looking for someone with a "background specialty" in neurology and/or anesthesiology, if not pain management itself, and you are off and running. (So to speak.)

Good luck!

Mike

[baseballfan]

Originally Posted by fabafter47

Hi to all!
I was just diagnosed in April with RSD and certainly feel like a fish out of water! Any recommendations for diet, therapy etc.. would be so greatly appreciated. I live in Houston and need a good pain management doctor.

Hi fabafter47,

Just wanted to say welcome and I was dxed with RSD in April 2009 also. It is very important to get a pain doc and or neurologist that know how to treat RSD.
Welcome

Kate

[loretta]

Hi fabafter 47, So sorry you have RSD. Welcome to a wonderful supportive group of us that want to be here for each other. I would suggest you go back as far as you want to and just READ READ READ. Write down specific questions, and you will gradually get them answered either by your dr. or someone here will share there experience. We all vary as to what meds we are able to take, and we all have some similar symptoms but not all the same.
The best Dr. I've had the last 5 years is a Neurologist, Psychiatrist, and Pharmacologist. He has experience with RSD and knows meds and neurology. He has helped me greatly emotionally get thru the tremendous life change of loss of health.
Our fingers, toes, can curl up and become fixed, frozen without therapy. My Dr. gave me specific instructions to exercise dailey in our pool, water needs to be 86 degrees. Thru water exercise and massage therapy, after a few months, my toes were touching the floor again. I intend to keep exercising and stay mobile. I do have one hand crippled due to wrong diagnosis and delayed physical therapy. Physical therapy and desensitazation made possible to keep use of both arms and shoulders. The painful frozen shoulders took over a year of weekly therapy, but very much worth it, along with massage thrapy.
I feel it is very important to keep weight in control, some of the meds cause weight gain, so thru exercise and good eating habits, can maintain a good weight. RSD is an autonomic condition, which means organs the are involuntary are affected, like the heart, circulation, lungs, body temperature. A lot of us have to go on high blood pressure meds, I have both high blood pressure caused by the sympathetic nervous system, and low blood pressure, caused by the para sympathetic nervous system=can go so low as to pass out. So good to keep the weight under control. Exercise is imperative. We also have bone loss from RSD, so calcium is important. Foods that reduce inflammation are very important. Because of the pain meds, I eat a lot of fresh fruits and veggies with fiber.
No salt, as we tend to retain water......
It's not uncommon for us to change Drs. as many really lack an extensive education and experience in RSD. For a lot of us, RSD spreads, so it's very important to get to the Dr. right away, and get treatment.
Many towns have RSD support groups. If you go to RSDSA.org and put in your zip code, they will give you name and phone number of closest support group. Houston should have several groups. They have Dr. speakers, pharmacists, therapists, group discussions, and very educational and encouraging.
My Dr. is building two new clinics here in Scottsdale and Paradise Valley and both will have HBOT treatment, taking 100% oxygen to all parts of the body to supply blooed and circulation. I'm anxious for them to be finished . They spoke about this form of treatment at the annual conference I attended in Feb. by the RSDSA.
Hope the best for you, and please, whatever question,, is not too small or ?,question mark means stupid. We all keep learning, and nothing is looked at strange. We are all
doing our best to learn as much as possible and help others.
Oh, before you go to the dentist, or a blood draw, you might ask about precautionary
measures. Take care, Your friend,loretta

[ali12]

Hello and Welcome to NeuroTalk, FabAfter27!!! I'm so glad you have found us as you will meet many great people here who will try and help you feel less alone if they can!!!

I'm sorry to hear that you suffer from RSD too!! I really hope that you can find something to help you real soon and please know that you are in my thoughts ad prayers!!

I have RSD in my left leg and both arms so understand some of what you are going through and know how scary it is to be diagnosed with such an awful condition! I developed RSD when I was 12 years old after an ankle sprain and am now 14.

I hope you can find a good PM Doctor real soon as they can be really useful in helping to treat RSD as they prescribe pain medications, do nerve blocks etc! Have you seen a Neurologist? They can be really useful also and give you some suggestions.

As far as diet and RSD, there is a diet by a famous RSD Dr called 'Four F's Diet' that I found a while back and have been trying to follow. I can't say that it has helped with my pain that much but it is worth a shot as there are some foods that can trigger pain such as chocolate and caffeine etc. I usually find that if I have some chocolate, my pain goes up for a bit afterwards so try and cut it out as much as possible - even though it can be hard!!!!

The link to the diet if you want to check it out is:
http://rsdrx.com/four_f's_diet.htm

Are you in Physical Therapy at the moment? It's extremely important that you keep moving as much as possible even though it is extremely painful!!! PT can really help some people as long as you have a PT that specialises in RSD and other disorders that are similar. You could do some exercises at home also that could help.

Take care and if you need anything, please know that I am here for you and will try and help you if I can!

Alison

[Dew58]

I am sorry that you have been diagnosed with RSD. We are a positive support group. You will have no problem feeling welcome here at NT.

My suggestion would be to take time for yourself everyday;specifically, to meditate or to process what is happening to you and your body with RSD. Please remember that You are so much more then the illness. Others may doubt the diagnosis of RSD, as it is not a clear cut, understood disease. You will experience doubt, at times, yourself. It takes time to accept the changes caused by RSD/CRPS. Listen to your body.

My name is Dew and it is nice to meet you

[CRPSbe]

Welcome to the forum.

[bobber]

Originally Posted by fabafter47

Hi to all!
I was just diagnosed in April with RSD and certainly feel like a fish out of water! Any recommendations for diet, therapy etc.. would be so greatly appreciated. I live in Houston and need a good pain management doctor.

one good site that is very informative rsdrx.com or org