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personal stories and notes from our correspondents
Tracy Zuckrerman - USA
My story could be your story. Five years ago I was in a car accident. The airbag crushed against my left hand and lower right jaw. My life was forever changed from that moment in time. But I was fortunate because, the orthopedic surgeon that was treating me soon realized that the physical therapy I was receiving in his office was not specialized enough for my condition. He encouraged me to see a hand surgeon and start therapy with a certified hand therapist and c
ontinue with a physical therapist as well. At the time he tried to explain what RSD was and what type of treatments I might need to pursue. I am thankful for the early diagnosis. The hand surgeon recommended acupuncture, Nikken magnets and grape seed extract for my immune system. Acupuncture did help reduce the swelling and increase the circulation. But the magnets trained my energy field.I was then sent to a physiatrist for another opinion. In between I was sent for bone scanning and others tests.Finally I found an anesthesiologist that was the director of Pain Management services.After being sent for an MRI, it was time for my first interscaline nerve block, numbing the entire left extremity including my shoulder. This took place six months after the accident and I continued to have these for the next year or so .During that time I started to see on a regular basis a physiatrist, who would help me decipher the different treatments and medicines. This doctor would become the catalyst that would help lead me onto the path of wellness.There were numerous trigger point injections over the next few years that would help ease some of the complications from spasms. And I was constantly looking and trying alternative therapies along the way. Some of them would lead to success while others would fizzle out over time. RSD is like a long winding, roller coaster and we should never stop looking!!!To help cope with the pain and depression I worked with a therapist that was trained to understand medical conditions and their side effects. Relaxation and stress reduction therapies became a part of the continued treatment plan as well.
Over these last five years I have been on a variety of different medicines. and am still doing a variety of therapies but am very functional and thankful of course
Niki Bennett - UK
I have just been diagnosed with RSD following an accident which resulted
in my left ring finger being fractured and the middle finger being dislocated
across the first knuckle. A visit to casualty put the dislocation back
into place, but the fracture was not discovered until 3 weeks later.
My hand was in a cast for two weeks, during which time the dislocated
finger started to contract and is now, nearly 6 months later, "locked"
at an angle of 65º.
My joints are still very red and swollen and I am in a lot of pain which
is hindering any progress I try to make with my physiotherapist. My
physio has been trying progressive splinting on the middle finger which
involves the finger being pulled whilst in wet plaster until the plaster
starts to set and the finger is held in it's new position. The pain
makes me cry and I go through this twice a week with very little gain.
I have now been referred to the Pain Clinic where I am told I will be
given injections to block the pain which will help me progress with
the physio. As for my fingers - I have been told that the dislocated
middle finger will never be straight again and the fractured ring finger
which is now bent will never recover its full function. Both are extremely
stiff and painful but I have been told that I will get used to it in
time and learn how to cope with my hand the shape it is.
I have been left feeling very let down by the doctors and specialists
I have seen. Only my physiotherapist gives me any hope for the future.
All the things I love to do with my life involve my hands, I have not
been able to try to ride my motorcycle since the accident as the pain
is too great and the longer this goes on, the less confidence I have
in the hand that will have to control the clutch on a powerful bike.
I love to garden, but if I get the hand cold the pain is unbearable,
and I have lost so much dexterity that I could cry with frustration.
True, I am right handed - thank God, and I can continue to work and
can even still type so perhaps I should count myself as lucky, but at
the moment I don't feel that way.
Please can someone who has been through, or is going through this -
give me some hope that there are other avenues to be explored?
Barbara - USA
It all started one day in December of 2001. While at work my foot started to hurt really badly and, by the time the day was over I couldn't walk on my foot. The next day my company sent me to doctor who said I had tendinitis in my foot. The pain never went away but rather increased, so I requested to see a foot specialist; he said i had mortins naroma. I finally called a lawyer who sent me to his doctor and I was dianosed with RSD. I was going through workers comp., so it took them 13 months to get me any treatment. I was dying inside from the pain. Finally, in January of 2003, I got treatment, but it didn't help. I kept telling the doctor that I was in lots of pain and the meds were not working. In July of 2003 he said I was at MMI. Well I still couldn't walk on my foot nor put a shoe on it. I haven't seen doctor for 8 months and it is April of 2004 . I am in so much pain. It started in my foot and has spread all the way to my hip. When I walk it messes up my hips and back because the orthapedic shoe I wear on my bad foot is higher then the one I wear on the other foot. Sometimes I just want to give up... but I have kids and husband who need me.