On the other forum I wrote several times about the sunburn like rash I get. Well I got it again this morning. It follows exactly, the pathways of where there is pain from my TOS. It turns bright red, feels like it is on fire, is sensitive to the touch, and the joints are hard to bend. My DH said it is almost as if it is my lymph system flaring up. I know it isn't RSD because it is intermittent, and RSD is present all of the time. I have never been able to show it to the Dr. so of course he thinks it is all in my head. I also know it is not an allergy. I had testing done, and was told by my allergist that allergies do not present themselves in this way. She at least got the opportunity to see the rash. My DH took photos of it this morning, so hopefully I can show them to the Dr. and he will have some idea of what to do. Anyone have any ideas?
Tracy

hi trix-
how long does it usually last?

so it seems to follow a lymph pathway {if there is such a thing} vs a nerve pathway?

oh can you post the pic of it?
maybe somebody else will recognize similar sx if they see a picture.

Tracy, I get this too... it's wherever the pain is. it looks like a cat clawed my shoulders or chest and there are red spots from it. I'll try to get a pic and post here later, but am on my way out for a day. For me it's almost always there around my shoulder capsules and is very tender to the touch. and frequently goes across my chest above the collarbones.

The way it was explained to me (can't remember who: Dr or PT) is that when you have pain in the same place for so many years, acids build up in the tissues that kind of attack your body. Make sense? Am I wrong? Comments?

Hang in there - it's all we can do.
Anne

Hi Trix,
On the old forum I had posted a similar mylay. At times I also got a tiny scabbs like along the path. Just liek wa said a cat scrath.
It reminded me of when my son had shingles, the aggrivated nerve path.
I found that Valtrex, and bynadryl cream, or something with lidcain in it, like a preperation H product, perianal, or insect releif, calmed it down.

For prevention, I found a small dose of Topomax has helped the best.
I also think when you see the doctor mention Allodynia. It is a hyper nerve reaction to long term chronic nerve activity. The nerves travel to the brain and send messages. When you feel something instead of a pin prick, it seems a stabbing. Or if someone touches your arm in an attention getter, it feels like a painful pressure point remains.
I will look for some literature for you to print to take.
Di

Hi,

Just a suggestion but it could be an immune reaction to the pain the nerve cells are damaged and then the body tries to heal which causes redness inflammation and sometimes puss. Think of what happens when you get a cut. the body reacts by sending immune cells white cells and other important cells. perhaps this is what is causing the problem. And yes there is most definatly a nerve pathway and a lymph pathway.....all systems are interconnected. One thing goes wrong......and then all flares up. Not sure if this helps or hinders........GREAT idea for pics make sure to document every little thing. Do you keep a pain journal when you take your meds with your symptoms.....is a very valuable tool to take with you to your docs so they understand just how awful you feel and how painful things are.

Take care

Victoria

it last anywhere from 2-3 hours where the pain is out of control, burning and nothing can touch it. After that, the redness stays for about 4-5 hours. It prickles like a sunburn, that is how I know it is starting. That and I get REALLY hot. I get so hot that I have to pull off as many clothes as I can. I am then HOT for the rest of the day. I went to a wedding on Saturday when it happened, and it was about 10c and everyone else was wearing jackets, and as the sun went down people were wearing parkas and I was standing around in a short sleeved dress sweating like a pig. Everyone thought I was nuts. I hope my Dr. can figure out what this is and get rid of it. I hate it!

Trix,

RSD often DOES flare up and then go away, especially the color changes, swelling and stiffness, at least early on, that's why it can be really hard to get a dx cause it never seems to "act up" during a Dr visit

And RSD shows up in lots of different ways, it's not the same in every person, which makes things harder to figure out!

But there are usually other sx in common besides the burning pain: pain when touching or being touched (it would hurt to pick up my car keys!),
pain from AC or wind on your skin, a deep, achy bone pain, abnormal sweating, abnormal hair loss or growth on the limb, abnormal fingernail growth (fast or slow). Not every person will have ALL of these though.

There are some really helpful people on the RSD forum here that you may want to ask about this.

I'm hoping it's not RSD, in some ways it doesn't sound like it, but if it is it's important to get an early dx and treatment as there's a chance of putting it into remission if caught early enough.

The best Dr to see for this is probably a neurologist or a Pain Mgmnt/Anesthesiologist, they do a really poor job of educating Drs about this in med school, which is a crime as it is SO important to catch it early!!

Feel free to PM me if you have ANY questions.

(((hugs)))
beth

i was having knee pain (from overdoing it on the eliptical walker). at one point it was similar to the pain i had when the knee was infected, and i had a big red spot and red streaks.

i have read that herpes infections can manifest as red streaks and nerve pain. i had chicken pox as a kid and i think it recurs similar to this.

i was fortunate, i waited and it went away with the high pain. guess i am just living well. but i did beef up on yogurt and wonder if that is what did it. anyway, it is worth a try.

here is my yogurt recipe. i have a melitta coffee maker, but u can use cheese cloth or any other coffee filter. i spoon the yogurt into the coffee filter and put it in the fridge. this makes the yogurt really thick and it tastes "sinful". it takes an hr or so but i usually give it overnight. i use stevia and concentrated cherry juice to flavor it.