Story Board (personal RSD stories) No.46

Sandy - Pennsylvania, USA

It took over two years to be diagnosed with RSD of my upper extremities. After failing with the local doctors , a friend recommended a neurologist who specializes in RSD, so I made am appointment. On my first visit he spent two hours with me and diagnosed the RSD along with TOS, Carpal Tunnel and a number of other medical conditions. The. The day I got my diagnosis I heaved a sigh of relief, because other doctors I had seen treated me as if it had all been in my head. I told them, if that were true, it would have gone long ago, because I didn't have time for it! The local doctors tried different medications, physical therapy and sympathetic nerve blocks. But none of them was willing or knowledgeable enough to give me a diagnosis.

I was injured in two car accidents. In the first a negligent driver was too much in a hurry to stop at a traffic light, and just slammed into our car. A second driver did the same thing almost two years to the date of the first accident. That is when the RSD spread and the pain increased.

Had I not called the specialist, I would still be in continuous pain, with red white and blue hands that swell and feet that are starting to give me trouble going up and down steps. Luckily our house is all on one floor. I have filed for social security disability as I have lost my independence and am no longer able to work. I have a lawyer handling the cases. I pray that I will come out ahead. RSD is an expensive disease to treat. Hopefully our court cases will be favorable since it is imperative that I am financially able to continue seeing the doctors and receive the medications that keep things under control.

My life has changed tremendously. Fortunately I have support from my husband and two grown daughters.

Jen - Pennsylvania, USA

I had a whiplash injury in a car accident in September 1999 and by that October I began having problems with both my feet. There was a burning sensation and I was unable to walk without severe pain that kept getting worse. By December the pain was on the tops of both feet and covered my entire right arm from the fingers to the shoulder and my left wrist. I was not diagnosed with RSD until July of 2000. I accidentally found this doctor on the internet under chronic pain. I have had 3 preliminary blocks, two for my right arm and one for both feet. I have had one permanent block using radio frequency lesioning on my right arm and one on my right leg. The permanent blocks usually work for 9 months and that's how long it lasted on my right arm, so I am now waiting to have it done again. These blocks have given me 50-75 % relief from the burning pain on my right arm and right leg and have changed my life. I can now wear shoes the whole day. I can use my right arm where before the pain was so bad I had about 10% use of it. My RSD must have been diagnosed early enough because I don't have the swelling, discoloration, frozen joints, loss of strength. My hands and feet are cold. The cold really bothers me, but at this time, I am functioning fairly well. I thank God that I had a computer and the will not to give up, so I hunted and hunted until I found a doctor that would help me.

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