I don't believe for a minute she has rsd and never have. She really makes us all look bad and it ticked me off a lot to have rsd come up during the show in relation to her. I don't care who you are, you're not going to go out whooping it up and being that active with rsd. Especially rsd and no pain meds! Shoot, all of us who do take them can't be half as "active" as she is!!! I wrote to Nightline and only hope enough people do too so maybe they'll do a whole segment on it and get the truth of it out there. It would bring awareness and show what we really go through everyday. I have confidence if Nightline got enough letters they would do it. This isn't like trying to get Montel or Oprah to do something which I always thought was a joke anyway. They won't do anything to actually help out people.

Hugs,

Karen

I haven't seen much on Paula talking about her condition, and she doesn't talk about RSD in this video. She did say she had been on nerve medication, and that alone can probably explain her loopy behavior. I know when I was taking high doses of Lyrica I was a loony. I teach college courses, and after my doc had increased my dose of Lyrica, I started slurring my words and stuff--I'm sure my students must have thought I was drunk. This med also made me suicidal and really kind of crazy--kind of how Paula looked. I wouldn't go near it again. Gabapentin never had that effect on me. This may not be a popular opinion, but I think some people are also good at hiding their pain. I don't think my students knew that I was hurting or what I was going through, and being active in my career helped take my mind off the pain. But then I would come home and crash. I don't know what Paula's going through, but after 15 surgeries there has to be some lingering pain (whether it's RSD or something else). There's probably a reason she's a judge on American Idol and no longer active in her singing career. I am so glad I don't need to live my life in a fish bowl. I can imagine the headlines they'd have about me!

ok i have had time to cool off.

do i think that she has pain !yes do i think that she has RSD not at all...
its pretty bad when you are acting on live TV 2 nights out of the week like your drunker than a skunk.. i work and i dont act like this.. yes i take meds and have for years i have fentanyl in my pump and have a high dose and take other meds too.. but ask anyone thats has talked to me im not acting drunk or stoned..

she makes us all look bad period.. i dont care that she isnt the poster child for rsd .. thats not what erks me.. what erks me is that she has done nothing to help or to support RSD awarness or chronic pain awarness for that fact.. dont be the poster child just try to bring some awareness for god sakes.


thanks to everyone that has posted their feelings good or bad..

carrie

Hi. It's my understanding based on "people who know people" in LA that she in fact has RSD. That said, because her doctor is a prominent rheumatologist, I'm guessing she keeps in in check with an anti-TNF[alpha] drug like Remicade (Infliximab), which has a black box warning that's way too scary for me. Check it out at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/d...s/a604023.html (For a while, I saw a rheumatologist who suggested that I consider Remicade myself.)

And the other thing about Remicade is that it's a strickly off label use of a very expensive drug, so there's no possibilty of insurance coverage. Still, it ties in with the CRPS/autoimmunity abstract I posted a few minutes ago at the start of another thread.

Mike

micheal

yes i know how scarey this drug is due to the fact that my uncle was taking this for his RA and he also had lung cancer and he went back for this 10yr check up and they found more cancer well long story short
he had the surgery and died because the remiciade basiclly made it so that his blood wouldnt clot at all and he bleed out 10 times over .. the lived in a coma for a week then died... so i understand the risk of this med. and that is why it is black labled.. this happend 5 yrs ago..

so i will not black lable use anything due to the fact that you have no idea what will happen to you becuase of the off lable use..

thanks for the insight michael

I found this article on Paula today, I'm confused, however. If she has RSD is she now in remission or does she have another treatment to control her pain? To me, the article gives the impression somewhat that it is the meds that are the problem not RSD. If she "spent at least part of the last decade relying on painkillers and Chinese medicine to quietly combat her injury-induced chronic debilitating pain" then what is she relying on now?

http://www.nypost.com/seven/05052009...ula_167637.htm

I stopped reading about Paula Abdul alltogether. Please!

I'd much rather read about Cynthia Toussaint, at least she is a perfect role model in the fight for RSD awareness.

Thanks for the link - I just read it too. You can't tell. Bummer. Makes it sound like she either went into remission, or only uses Chinese medicine (as if!!).

I ,also throught she had R.S.D. I, would like to known her Cure for it .Because there is none. I have had it going on 16 years now. And there is no Cure. Some one is not telling the whole story.She, blamed it on Pain killers.WHAT? It is the person that takes them not as directored. That gets ADDICTED. And abuses them . I want to Yell and tell the world WAKE UP PEOPLE. Take your meds right. Do not but blame on some thing you can not controll. iI just went to the people whom printed the story of Paula and told them GOD BLESS KIMMIE

I couldn't have said it better myself! I'm one of those that hides my pain and most people don't know I have RSD unless I tell them. I refuse to use a cane or crutches as that just causes further problems both physically as well as psychological. Living with an invisible disability is not easy either, when I do use my forearm crutches people treat me completely differently. Like you Millerproof the world does not see the other side of me when I completely crash after a day of putting my best foot forward. I prefer to keep as busy and as active as I can because I worry that if I stop the RSD will take over my life.

Thanks for your post on this.


MsL