Complex regional pain syndrome or reflex sympathetic dystrophy

Have you heard of any one having it in there face and both eyes. The doctors do not know what they can do for me right now. I just like some relief from buring in my eyes. I also settled in my lower right rib cage. Really hard to do anything because some part of your body hurting bad.

Hello @bear420, and welcome to Connect. I moved your discussion and combined it with an existing discussion taking place on CRPS. I did this so you could meet all of the other members discussing CRPS. If you are responding by email, I urge you to click on the VIEW & REPLY button at the bottom of this message so that you can read through the many messages posted by a lot of members about CRPS.

Thank you @janetdh for greeting bear420.

@bear420, I can hear the frustration and concern over the unknown. Have you considered getting a second opinion or having your current physician's give you a referral for a second opinion? Are you currently taking any medications?

Yes I am currently taking medication for this. I go back down to the University of Minnesota on April 7th again and they're going to see what they can do. It just seems that nobody really has an answer for anything even on medication they're all like it's a guessing game. Being a single parent and makes it even harder but I'm glad my son old enough to take care of himself it's just really hard when it's in the eyes in the face and wears a person out for the day. I just hard to do anything cuz you can't watch TV really hard to type on the phone so most of my messages are dictated on this phone right now everything is just more complicated right now.

I sympathize, I wind up dictating on my phone a lot, too, because it's in my left hand/arm. Are you going to a pain center? The one I went to did multiple kinds of therapy for CRPS...the pain was never gone but was more manageable, which made a big difference. (I'd still be going there if I could afford to go to the doctor.)

What kind of therapies did they do for CRPS.

I was wpndeing

Hi @bear420 - Besides medication, they treat CRPS with nerve blocks, acupuncture, biofeedback, a pain psychologist, a social worker, and are connected with physical & occupational therapists who are really experienced in treating CRPS. I had a lot less pain when I was going there, but I can't afford it anymore (I have a bad insurance situation). The clinic is United Pain Center in downtown St. Paul, the doctor I saw there is Dr. Todd Hess. If you want to get a second opinion there, tell the desk you have CRPS because they treat a lot of other pain conditions.

I hope you find something that will help you. CRPS is awful. Hang in there!

I'm sorry @bear420, I didn't see your posts until tonight, but I hope my answer about therapies is helpful & I forgot to say, I hope your trip to the University of Minnesota went well.

I have tried nerve block and physical therapy but they did not help. Occupational therapy helps my hand some but lost most of my fine motor skills which sucks. My doctor's appointment went kind ok they did not confirm or deny that it was CRPS. In increased one of my meds back in two months see how I am doing. Another two months with screwed up eye balls and face. I am also on different medications to see if that helps out. Right now I can sleep for three hours instead of two.

@bear420, I'm sending good energy your way. I hope the new & increased meds give you more relief over time, in my experience some of them take awhile to kick in. I got a lot of pain relief from acupuncture, but if you try it, make sure it's someone your doctor recommends (because of the CRPS). The other thought is if your doctor would refer you to biofeedback or a pain psychologist, it might help you cope with the pain. Or there are CDs or free recordings online if you search "guided imagery for pain."