I been reading in here for about 1 month , Sorry to see so many people in such great pain.
Id Like to ask as many of you that would respond to get your opinions. First off before I start it is hard for me to type Im on Lyrica (Which Whoops me ) and 5 Norcos on average a day so I am not the clearest person.

Ok with that said heres my story in a nutshell, January 08 I had basically my forearm jerked out at the elbo at work, Had bad pain immediatly went to hospital they sent me to ortho surgeon, The 1st Surg shot it up a couple times with cortisone He said I had a slight tear in tendon, Well after a month or so of PT He changed his tune and decided to do a minor surgery on it and removed all the cartlidge from elbow, Removed all the small bone frags from where the tendon literally tore the bone away, Fast forward 3 months more of PT and Id say about 4 more cort shots I went to anther doc.

2nd doc does a massive surgery inJan of 2009 He releases top and bottom tendon in elbow and moves my ulnar nerve, This scar alone is almost a foot long on the inside of my arm. After the surgery doc sends me to PT for month or so wasnt getting better , I told doc I cant stand to touch the inside of my arm feels like needls going into my arm, He sends me to Pain Management .

Pain Doc diagnoses me with CRPS 1 March 1st, Gives me Lyrica 75 Mill 2xs a day and Norco for pain 6 a day .

Ok heres my question to you all . I get burning but that is rare and isnt to bad, I get the red colored skin kinda waffle looking red/white. My biggest concern is what Ill call the numbness, Ill explain in a little more detail on this . If you took a piece of hair and ran it over my arm it would drive me nuts the feel of it NOT TICKLING but the most oddd feeling Words cant explain it or at least I cant. This (numbness thing) is spreading towards the top of my arm and up towarsd where your T-Shirt sleeve would end.
I am totally praying it doesnt get to my arm pit I do believe i would die if it did about 5 inches away at this point. One other thing I am noticing the most sensitive part is just below the elbow , Well that part is getting hairy and I mean real noticiable ( Iam Not hairy at all my 8 yr old actually pointed it out to me today. Ill also add that I do get sharp pains through my arm or in the inside of my elbow where the ulnar nerve is, Quite painful.

Basically half my arm cant be touched and the rest it seems to be getting numb but can be touched . Here is my question is this how it started for you all??? If not does it sound to you all that I have this CRPS???

In my opinion just from reading all of your posts it seems no one has what I am trying to explain or I am unable to understand due to this LYRICA medicine.

Here is another question the 21st of this month doc has it set up for the nerve block in my neck to see if that will help, However I have read that even a needle poke can make this CRPS spread to that point???

Thanks for any responses and thanks for all your knowledge , If I do have this I am sure I will be a long term member here. Sorry for ranting I am just nervous and uneducated about this CRPS

First of all, welcome to the forum. As you have probably noticed, there are many people who are glad to respond and discuss. Always remember, that this is not medical advice. While we do have some nurses, therapists, and other health care professionals on the forum, nothing takes the place of your doctor. These are our experiences and opinions.

What you describe sounds a lot like mine. Swelling, discoloration, extreme hot or cold and sensitivity are quite common. The pain and sensitivity can have that “hard to describe” feeling you were talking about. A change in hair is not unusual, either. As a guy, I have never shaved my legs. My left leg (with RSD) is almost hairless and the skin is shiny. I image the reverse could happen as well. I also get sudden sharp pains, like someone snuck up a drove a dagger into my leg. OUCH! There have been times when I yell out at work and the secretary looks in to see what is going on.

As far as the needle poke, many people say they “go through the roof” with even a small prick. See if they can poke the other arm.

Last, you don’t have to apologize for ranting a bit. We have all been there. This forum can be used to blow off steam. It’s alright.

Glad to meet you.

Love,

Mike

Welcome to our family. We have a great bunch of people here. One thing about rsd is that is can be very different for each person. I understand what you mean about being kinda numb in different places on your arm. I have that on my feet, legs and back. I just try to avoid messing with those parts of my body. I am also on Lyrica and now Opana ER. I don't know which one of the two makes me loopy,but one of them does. In fact, trying to keep my mind focused and my fingers working is so hard.
Again, welcome and soon you will be almost everyone.

Hugs
Mary

Hey donttouchit,

Welcome, you will find a lot of friendly helpfull people on this site. Keep in mind we share what works and doesn't work for us we aren't all medical professionals. RSD/CRPS affects all of us differently. The symptoms you have written about I have either experienced or read about. When RSD is DX and treated early it can be put into a stop. There is no cure,however, it can be managed. Because no two people have the same nervous system there is not one treatment that works the same for all of us. Thus, the reason for no cure. There are a lot of treatment and medication options and it will take time to find what works for you.
Discuss your concern about the nerve block with your docotor. Blocks have been known to help RSD. Visit the RSDS.org website.
Be active in the treatment of your health. Write your questions down and share them and your concerns with your doctor.
Don't apologize for ranting we all are guilty at one time or another.
Take care,
Sherrie

Thanks Bassman and Hello. I was and still am hoping I didnt have this CRPS. I guess Im in kind of a denial since I am DX for just over a month with it and still uneducated about the whole thing.

Bassman I take it you work ? What kind of work do you do that CRPS allows you to work? If you dont mind me asking. Also doesnt the meds you take if you take them messs up your thought or ability to even drive to work ? At this point in my life I dont think I could go back and do what I used to do (Heating /Air ) in high rises , hospitals etc etc ........

Does anyone have a clue to what may be in store for me next , Meaning when or will it get worse ?? I know itd be a guesstimate but is there kind of a time frame certain thing may appear?

And lastly one last thing , I am having a new kind of sensation on my thighs, This may be just in my head I am not sure but it feels like a bad wind burn you get on your face in the winter, Feels a little warm and chapped but looks normal I guess, if any of you know what Im talking about .


Lostmary thank you for responding it is such a odd feeling to me , And the wierd part Is I can kinda touch it but when the PT touches it I squirm wiggle and almost vomit I cant get grasp all of this, And as far as the meds go I have had a few days were I didnt need to take the Norcos so I know it is the LYRICA making me feel bombed for lack of a better word. Anyways Lostmary thank you for the warm reception, I truly hope you get better.

Sbowling, My Pain Dr seems to know what she is talking about , But I feel the source ( all The People here) probably know more about this CRPS in reality so I would never think anyone here is a Med Proffessional. And thank you for suggesting that site , I just got done looking it over and there is alot of info out there , Now come the hard part understanding what it all means and terminology. Thank you for responding Sbowling I will have to look and see what is going on with all that responded.

Hope all is well

This is one thing no one can even guess at. We all have rsd but every one of us reacts differently to treatments and meds. Our bodies function differently so no way to guess when or if it will get worse, if you'll be lucky and get remission, when it'll spread or how. Some spread fast, like me...I was full body in 11 months and I know others who had it happen in 5 months or less. Some spread slow, some have no spread at all. Some get osteoporosis quickly, others slow, others not at all or it takes a long time. With rsd there is no such thing as a time frame. LOL It does what it wants, when it wants depending on how our bodies work.

The first thing usually done is blocks. They don't always work or they might work for a little bit and then stop working. I know you're still trying to digest so much info and all. Blocks work and give pain relief if the pain is still sympathetically maintained and if the pain has gone sympathetically independent, then there will be no relief. The "optimum" time is in the first 3 months after rsd symptoms appear, BUT some people have the pain stay maintained for years and get relief from blocks longer than others. Here's something for you to read when you feel like you can digest it on maintained and independent pain.

http://www.theanswerpage.com/Pain/an...o?rec=13014641

http://www.ppmjournal.com/abstract.a...cleid=P0407F03


We can often touch ourselves in the rsd affected area but not be able to stand someone else to touch it. The reason is due to the way our brain perceives sensation. We can touch ourselves because we know how hard or soft and when the touch is coming. With others we don't know any of that. Does that make sense? I find it hard to explain it though in my mind it makes sense. lolol

RSD affects all the systems in our body. It's the reason for the abnormal hair growth, nail growth, skin changes, running a fever(low grade,sometimes high), blood pressure changes, feeling hot or cold because we can't regulate our body temp. These are just a few things but all of it is caused by rsd messing with the sympathetic, parasympathetic, autonomic and somatic nervous systems. Not one thing is left untouched. Darn crud! LOL

I hope I haven't overwhelmed you. Welcome to the boards, sorry it's because of this. Keep asking questions as well as just venting if you need to. We were all "newbies" at one time. :-)

Big ,

Karen

Welcome. Sorry you have had to join the pain roller coaster;however, please know that you have support and will always have someone to listen to you.
I am Dew, nice to meet you

Shortly after I developed RSD, I began to look for a different line of work. I was an automobile/heavy truck/construction equipment mechanic. There is no way I could do that, now. With some training, I am now in fleet management and am the system administrator for the information system tracking all for vehicle-related data for a large fleet. Almost 100% of my day is behind a desk, working on a computer.

As my RSD progressed, I kept moving to higher doses of more potent drugs. People gape in wonder when they see or hear what I am taking. Because they seems to go directly to the pain, I really don't get the "doped up" side effects -- very much. I will get sleep attacks from my Rheumatiod Arthritis treatments, but for pain am taking oxycodone, tramadol, and endocet with very little side effect. I have made sure my boss and close co-workers are aware of all of this, just in case...

I know you would rather not have the dx of RSD/CRPS be accurate. I hope so, too, for your sake. Trust your doctors, and go for a second or third opinion if you can.

Good luck.

Mike

I am glad you found this site, I am new here too and I love it! Everyone is so helpful and kind. Sorry to hear about your problems though. Have you started a desensitization program with ot? That helped with some of my numbness and hypersensitivity. Also I have had 6 nerve blocks and they helped at first but then only helped for a couple hours. It is important if you get one to go to pt as soon as possible after (especially for workers comp) to get the most out of the injection and to improve your strength. I hadn't heard about the injections making it spread but mine did to the other arm, the doctors still don't believe it but I know that is what it is. Hope this finds you feeling better.
Jennelle

Hi Karen , Thanks for taking the time to explain , Makes alot of sense about the touching . My PT comes at me with a wash cloth , And its not washed in fabric softner , Its more like one youd see in prison LOL for sensation , I cringe when I see her coming!!!!!!! When you say whole body what exactly is that ?? You burn everywhere ? Does your whole body have that odd feeling? Even though I have CRPS I can not imagine living a single day with that on my whole body , You must be a very strong and special woman, I really dont know what to say . Hope to hear from you soon , Thanks Again for responding and the links .