CRPS - anyone suffering with complex regional pain syndrome

I did research the Scrambler for my brother. Do you know anyone personally that benefited from it.
There is a doctor in Hartford Conn that offers it. Not far from where he lives.

My brother is early in this process and trying to find a path for treatment. He knows PT is important. But the choice of conventional pain management,acupuncture or something like scrambler has to be made. Very few doctors know anything about CRPS. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance

for those of you who don't want to take the time to look up the efficacy of calmare/scrambler tx......

Calmare or Scrambler Therapy is a very remarkable non-invasive way in treating chronic neuropathic pain with NO side effects. The Mayo Clinic has conducted four studies while Johns Hopkins recently had an abstract published in Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine showing an amazing 95% reduction in pain on the average for patients with PHN with NO side effects.. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23838448?dopt=Abstract

The Mayo Clinic Nov. 11th Health Letter just featured Calmare. (see attachment) In addition, The Foundation For Peripheral Neuropathy put out a positive report on Calmare. The article was a collaboration between Johns Hopkins and The Mayo Clinic. https://www.foundationforpn.org/2016/12/09/scrambler-therapy-for-treating-neuropathic-pain/

The MCA-5A treatment is FDA cleared and creates a series of complex artificial neuronal messages that are transmitted to the brain via the body's dermatome pathways. Five independent channels are available to transmit the artificial messages via surface electrodes attached to the skin in the dermatome region of the patient's pain.

The perception of pain during the treatment is inhibited by artificial messages of "no pain" that replace those of pain. You know it's working because during the therapy sessions, when proper electrode placement is attained, patients typically report zero pain.

After a series of treatments, the patient may experience significant pain reduction for an extended period of time. The duration of time depends upon the underlying cause and intensity of the pain and other factors. It is usually between 3 to 6 months. After which the patients would receive a booster treatment of 1 to 3 treatments to achieve zero pain again.

The Mayo Clinic recently released a video about treating CIPN with Calmare. http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/2015/02/19/breaking-away-from-the-pain-with-the-help-of-the-scrambler/

Here is a recent article published in Pain Medicine News.
http://www.painmedicinenews.com/Complementary-and-Alternative/Article/08-16/Scrambler-Therapy-Found-Promising-in-Pilot-Study/37477

MD Anderson produced this video about Calmare:
https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/cancer-newsline/spring-2017/pain-management-with-scrambler.html?intcmp=Highlights5_ScramblerTherapyCancerPain

.
The Mayo Clinic is currently conducting several studies with Calmare. They published an abstract in May 2014 at ASCO showing both a reduction in pain and durability of the treatment 10 weeks later. https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/93592/abstract

The Massey Cancer Center recently announced the completion of a back study with a sham device. The study showed a significant difference in pain reduction between the Calmare patients and those treated with the sham device.http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/results/NCT01896687?term=calmare&rank=3 (This study shows Calmare works for back pain and is not a placebo)

RSDs.org talks about CRPS and Calmare: http://rsds.org/calmare-scrambler-therapy-crps/

Dr. Thomas Smith from Johns Hopkins talks about Calmare: http://nationalpainreport.com/researcher-says-calmare-scrambler-provides-pain-relief-8821495.html

Recently it was announced that US military has purchased 20 machines for several U.S. military medical facilities in the U.S. and overseas including The VA, The US Army, The US Air Force and The US Navy.

Calmare is currently in several hospitals and cancer centers including MD Anderson, The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, Johns Hopkins, Dignity Health in Phoenix, Providence Regional Cancer Partnership, Seattle, Regional Health in Rapid City, Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, Walter Reed in Baltimore, Andrews Air Force Hospital in Washington D.C., Stony Brook University Medical Center, New York, The Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, The Medical University in South Carolina and The City of Hope in Los Angeles.

Here are some links to media coverage about Calmare , also called Scrambler Therapy: (including the" Doctors Show")

Here are some Calmare websites:

http://www.calmarerelief.com
http://www.calmarett.com
http://www.cprcenters.com
https://calmaretherapynj.com

Neuropathic Pain Successfully Treated with Calmare from these Underlying Medical Conditions
Various clinical indications that have been successfully treated with Scrambler Therapy include: Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) formally (RSD); Sciatica and Failed Back Surgery Syndrome (FBSS); Phantom Limb Pain; Post-Surgery Nerve Lesion Neuropathy; Brachial Plexus Neuropathy; Post Herpetic Neuropathy; Trigeminal Neuralgia; Migraines,Temporomandibular Joint Disorder (TMJ); Fibromyalgia; Chemo and Diabetes induced Peripheral Neuropathy (CIPN) (DPN); Pudendal Neuropathy; Vulvodynia; and Oncologic Pain Resistant to Drug Treatment.

Get off of ALL refined sugars! ALL!!!! Don’t be tempted by it after kicking it. Sugar causes inflammation. It does a number on the body with CRPS. Then kick simple carbs.

I had breast cancer mastectomy surgery with radiation years back. The area got infected and my whole chest scared down to my ribcage. I was in extreme pain over my whole chest from clavicle to lower ribs.that one would diagnosed now as CRPS. I also had random itching in areas of my body that could not be satisfied by scratching that area, as if the nerves in my chest had effected the wiring in my brain. Thought that killing myself was in the mix of solutions. I finally found a doctor who put me on a cocktail of low dose of three medications ( pain med Motrin, Neurontin and Sinequan) all in lower doses than alone. Older meds do the trick so I did not take Lyrica or SSRIs. Sinequan ( Doxapin) is a Tricyclic Antidepressant. Neurontin is the older form of Lyrica. I took Motrin for pain but it use to be a Codeine. I am allergic to Codeine and it has its negatives with addiction but it may be good in very small dose? I took Motrin small dose. All of these come in lower dose.
After two weeks the lights came back on slowely and things got better gradually. It took a year or two on this regimen to make it go away. I still have times of stress and flair ups but not nearly as bad as back then. This is not meant for medical advice, just what worked for me.

My daughter has benefited from Calmare Scrambler Therapy twice. It is absolutely worth trying. Her physician, Dr. D'Amato is in SW Florida, Bonita Springs, (Between Ft. Myers & Naples) He practiced in Rhode Island as well but scaled down to one location. He is very passionate about Scrambler, trained in Italy and in return he trained physicians in the US, including Mayo. I think it might be easier to get into a smaller health care office or facility for treatments, but not sure.

Thank you so much for the information. I hope your daughter is doing well.

I have CRPS in my right hand and back. I need help learning about having CRPS and teeth pulled. I have been to an endodontist telling me i need a tooth pulled. I cant imagine CRPS in my mouth. Does anyone have experience with this??

Omg. I came here to ask if anyone knows anything about CRSP of the spine. I just saw it exists. All I can find are medical journals and as a nurse, I'm at an advantage but its all anecdotal about 1 or 2 cases. Not how it feels, how does if get diagnosed etc.

If you have mire info, how you found out it was in yoir spine and what that means/ feels like? I have lifelong back issues with 4 surgeries but recently fell and getting less and less able to walk. They offered a SCS but oh heck no! Nothing invasive with CRPS. Most Drs don't know as much as people on this thread. Spinal CRPS. Who knew. (I've been diagnosed as hips down - a covid spread from my feet - colon, ribcage and they think larynx. All except bowel being from covid inflammation, cytokine increase that never returned to normal.
Id live any info.on spinal crps anyone has.

Oh my gosh getting into this system is like getting the lips off of a chicken! I have CRPS, too. Sorry to hear about your issues. First off, I’ve found a support group: FightTheFlame.org. Next, get off of all refined sugar, red meats, dairy. No alcohol. Watch citrus and root veggies and night shade ones. Eliminate all and slowly add them back on until you figure out what you can eat. As painful as it is MOVE. I’ve got an implant but mine is for my leg. Find a teaching hospital. I found the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill and they were of great help. I was directed there by the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL. Contact Mayo…I called “nurse on call”. I was my own advocate. My implant is a Boston Scientific. I’ve had wonderful success after jumping some hurdles with my original representative. I’ve got a new representative that is fabulous. I’ve also had a temporary implant “Sprint” out of Beechwood, Ohio. It has been put in twice in my sciatica behind my left knee and I was allowed to use it for 90 days. It was a wonderful relief! Actually pulled the CRPS out of my right leg. Hope this helps. Contact FightTheFlame.org. Helps to know you aren’t alone!