Re: RSD & Lidoderm Patches?

"kittychats" <eileen_73@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:493d3373-1891-4f66-9195-eddfdb679650@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Hey-

I've got good news, if this goes RSD specific, I eventually started
sweating and they have trouble sticking, LOL...

kittychats


ROTFLMAO! Didn't think of that - except with my luck I'd get on my
treadmill to walk and, as has always been the case in the last three years,
would start sweating on my left side only! ;>

I think I've got the solution, though, after thinking about it a lot... I've
promised myself that I would try again to start walking on my treadmill for
half an hour every day after work (I can't walk fast, but I can keep it up
for half an hour on *most* days *if* I'm determined enough)*. Then, instead
of taking a shower and putting on my 'jammies, I'll jump in the bathtub
instead - with the patches still on - until they come loose in the warm
water all on their own. Sound like a plan? Remember, I'm counting on the
RSD "ole timers" here to let me know *before* I do something stupid if that
is at all possible ;>.

*I really need to start walking again not only for my health, not only
because it's almost mandatory for the chemo-therapy I might (or might decide
not to) soon take, but also because it lifts my spirits so much. Just that
little bit of serotonin that a slow walk releases into my brain helps keep
me from getting too depressed. And I *REALLY* start suffering from
depression at this time of year when the weather stays bleak and drizzly
(even though it stays warm, mostly, in the winter here in Houston). I think
it's called seasonal depression - it comes about when I haven't seem the sun
for a month or two, it gets dark at 5PM, etc.

I'm also soliciting questions I should be asking my doctor so I won't have
to bother you guys on the group with my stupid questions. I'm going to make
a written list so that my PM doctor phobia won't make the visit valueless -
if nothing else I can just hand him the list to read himself. Questions
about problems like the one I'm thinking of and having problems with right
now - aphasia - I try and try to find the correct word to use to make my
meaning clear to people and it just won't come to mind (doesn't have to be a
rare or esoteric word, could be just about *any* word)!

It's not too important when I'm writing and can just wait for 5 or 10
minutes until the word comes back to me, or look it up on an online
thesaurus, but it's a *HUGE* problem when I'm trying to discuss something
with my manager or coworkers, get to a point in the middle of a sentence and
just draw a blank. Not only is this very embarrassing, but it's driving me
crazy because I *used* to have a very large vocabulary. Is this is symptom
of RSD or do the opiates do this also?

I am *SO* tired of being on this emotional roller-coaster. Which reminds
me - other than the obvious connection between pain and emotion, is it
specific to RSD that when my pain meds are working and I'm feeling
(somewhat) pain-free, I *feel* good and I am "up" and interested in what's
going on around me, and wanting to do things; but when I'm hurting really
badly I just want to crawl into some hole and pull in down on top of me and
make the world go away.

Like today, I'm feeling pretty "manic" (as if you couldn't tell from the
amount of and length of my posts here ;>). But last night was "change the
patch" night and I took one extra BT pill this morning. I know that I'll
have to cut back later on in the week or over the weekend to get my BT meds
back on schedule, but this week is when we have to get FAS 87 (government
form) information to all of our clients (think anywhere from 10 to 20
(60-page long) reports per client for 20 to 30 clients. When I know that
I'm going to be typing and binding and shipping from 7AM until 7PM (or
later) all week long, I'll plan for it by either cutting back on my BT meds
before or after that week. I've read about RSD affecting your limbic system
(and vice-versa), but how do you distinguish *those* symptoms from the ones
from something else (like the opiates, or the joy of not being in
excruciating pain, or just DH meaning "dick head" instead of "dear
husband")? ;>

Also, I'm going to get the name of a good psychiatrist from my counselor
this Friday, make an appointment for an evaluation, and see if I can talk
him into giving me one of the old-time anti-depressants like Prozac or
Zoloft - one of the ones that *aren't* SSRIs which I am, admittedly,
paranoid about.

BTW... *does* it bother you for me to ask you questions about RSD? I'm a
bit paranoid about doing so just at the moment, but I'm a bit child-like
when it comes to things like that - a question comes to mind and I run to
the fastest source I can find so I can ask it before I forget what I wanted
to ask about. I explained in another post why I don't like googling about
RSD, but if it really does bother people here I'll stop doing it. I've only
known about RSD since the first time someone here (was that you or Lori?)
who said my symptoms sounded like those of RSD. For *THREE YEARS* I was
trying to find out what was wrong with me... I went to FIVE orthopedists,
TWO neurophysiologists, TWO neurosurgeons, ONE PCP, and ONE acupuncture
treatment (not to mention ONE Anterior Cervical Discectomy With Fusion ONE
Stellate Ganglion Block, THREE Steroid Injections, and ONE Facet Joint
Ablation), tons of tests (ump-teen x-rays, TWO MRIs, TWO CAT scans, ONE
myelogram, ONE EMI), and in all of that time, in all of those doctor
offices, in all of those medical labs, in all of those hospitals *NOBODY*
could tell me what was wrong with me. It took someone here in the group
mentioning it before I knew what it was I had (how sorry is that a comment
on our medical professionals here in the US?) That's when I started looking
up RSD online and kept saying, *YES*, *YES*, *YES* - all those thing they're
saying are exactly what I've been experiencing. *THAT'S* why I come to you
guys first because 9 times out of 10 you've know more about what's going on
with my than my doctors did!!!

Hugs,

CatNipped


.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: SWEATING
    ... I know that some meds can ... Also ask the doctor about the possibility of Reflex Sympathetic ... RSD can be just a nuisance or life-threatening. ...
    (alt.support.mult-sclerosis)
  • Re: What Should I Say
    ... I explained to your wife, to be honest with the doctor about *her* symptoms ... Is it RSD, I DON'T KNOW, the problem is while there's ... the pain even if it's symptom relief only. ...
    (alt.support.chronic-pain)
  • Re: Thinking about coming back
    ... to say it but that's one of the symptoms of RSD". ... That's when I got DH to search the 'net for me for a doctor who ... I've given him a list of every single drug and OTC ... seeker and *INJECTING MY OXYCODONES!!!!!* WTF???!! ...
    (alt.support.chronic-pain)
  • Re: Thinking about coming back
    ... wrong with me only that I was in constant and increasing pain more ... to say it but that's one of the symptoms of RSD". ... That's when I got DH to search the 'net for me for a doctor who ... I've given him a list of every single drug and OTC ...
    (alt.support.chronic-pain)
  • Re: What Should I Say
    ... attacked my wife, automatic hackles, claws and teeth. ... As far as I understand RSD, CRPS or whatever it is she has (she's gotten 3 ... the pain even if it's symptom relief only. ... and number of the doctor in Houston that "specialized" in treating RSD. ...
    (alt.support.chronic-pain)