I had a few of these and was rather surprised the doctor persisted in them when there was no effect. Has anyone else experienced this?

When my bier block was unsuccessful we stopped= what is your doctors rationale for continuing?

So sorry. Be really careful. My RSD didn't spread until after my second block. We stopped after that one. My doctor said that some doctors will just keep doing them indefinitely, but if you don't have long-term results after the second or third one, they aren't really worth doing. It's just more money and pain. Good luck!

I had a bier block when I was initially diagnosed with RSD in March 2007 and had an awful reaction to it!! My doctor injected into the nerves around my ankle bone with a drug called Guanethidine and my body couldn't tolerate it. When I woke up from the procedure, I couldn't co-ordinate my legs at all - everytime I tried to walk, I fell over. This lasted 13 months and I had to go for intense PT before I could walk short distances again. It was only after the block that we found an article on the internet stating that you should NEVER inject into an RSD limb and by that time, it was too late.

I'd speak to your dr and ask him why he is still persisting in the treatments if they aren't helping ... theres no point in going through all of that if you aren't getting any relief. IF your dr is injecting into your RSD limb(s), he should also be aware that you should never do that as it can cause more problems than enough.

Take care and keep us posted!

I hope you get an answer to your question from the doctor. It makes no sense to me why you would have to undergo blocks that are not working for you.

My PM doc told me blocks would do me no good as my treatment was delayed 15 months(time lapse to dx of RSD/CRPS) because of WC negligence in getting me to a PM doctor.

Hang in there and please share the answer to this question the next time you see your doctor in the future.

Just for you

Great flower, thanks.

Thanks to all who responded.

These blocks happened back in '04 and I didn't understand the point. I went over the doctor's notes and it was more clear. Somehow he got the idea that they were helping so he continued them. They all were scheduled in advance actually as a series and unbeknownst to me he was varying the medication somewhat. Perhaps this was an attempt to tweek the process but we never spoke about it.

I should have looked at the notes first.

This was back when things were most stressful for me and the stress and pain fed off each other. I wasn't even on any pain medication at the time and felt like I was stuck in a trap.

I still experience stress but its origin is more obviously internal now so it can more easily be worked through. Thank goodness for the medications. While the doc who gave me the blocks will never get my thumbs up at least he did get me on tizanidine.

I had 3 blocks in which he openly admited that he missed on the first,,after running 2 more,,he stoped and tryed me on alot of different meds that didnt seem to help either except xanax[,that is the 1st scrip for xanax he has wrote for me]for thr flares late in the evening about 4-6 pm,,,,,i saw him 2day and asked him if he would consider running another series of blocks in case in still in that window of remission,,he said no,,i think he really is getting annoyed with my case,,i guess god is giving me my answer,,,,,,,,,im going to continue to pray and seek other dr;s,,i;d love to run into one who knew what he was doing and had empathy,,,,,,,,,,,,,