FOR SOME CRPS TREATMENT OPTIONS, USE THE DROP DOWN MENU ABOVE
There are many different types of treatments for CRPS so every patient needs to arm themselves with as much information as possible. More importantly, the correct information. There are a lot of websites out there with old, outdated, and incorrect information and that is especially true when it comes to treatments.
New ones seem to pop up every day and what works for one typically does not work for the majority. This makes treating this disease even more difficult.
If this disease is caught early enough in its’ course it stands a much greater chance of being put into remission. Some might say that it is cured if caught early enough but we hesitate to call it cured as many patients report the disease coming back months or years later from a second injury. That injury can be in a totally different place or the same place. It can even be many, many years later. Of course, the younger the patient, the more likely it is the disease can be put into remission if caught early enough. But it all comes back to the same thing … IT MUST BE CAUGHT EARLY and it must be treated correctly. There still remains no cure as people know the word to be, but most patients would be thrilled to simply be in remission from pain.
Most physicians seem to agree that a combination of diet, exercise, physical therapy, and medication hold the key to treating the disease for the majority of patients. Exactly what that combination is and which medications those are remains a sticking point and a point of contention among pain management doctors. As to diet, many subscribe to the theory that the chronic pain diet is a very good starting point. You can find that by going to http.www.RSDRX.com , that was first developed by Dr Hooshang Hooshmand.
As to what treatments you can use in addition to the above? We have shared some examples in this section, JUST CLICK HERE TO SEE THE LIST OF TREATMENTS ,but there are many, many others out there. Before you try anything new we urge you to seek out as much research as possible. Llook for double-blind studies if available. Talk to as many patients as you can find who have had the procedure done, years ago if at all possible, and see what they think now. Try to stay away from invasive procedures if you can (surgical) since CRPS seems to be aggravated by anything invasive. Learn about the procedure before you have it, don’t just assume the Dr knows best, and ASK questions!
If your Dr tells you “if you don’t have this procedure I simply cannot help you”, move on to another Dr. Chances are there is a vested interest there and it is not yours. Find someone who will put your best interests first, they are out there. There are MANY wonderful Pain Management Physicians out there who seek to provide pain relief to their patients first and foremost!
No one is going to care more about what happens to you in the end than you. So be proactive! You have access to the internet, use it. Do your due diligence. Spend some time on it, seek out the information, but use reputable sources! Make sure those sources have done their homework when it comes to their information, and they are not putting information on their site simply because of where they get their funding. Where possible find two or three sources/answers for the same question.
Of course we are a little biased when it comes to CRPS/RSD information and recommend you stay with just a few sources; the two national organizations – American RSDHope and the RSDSA; maybe throw in NINDS; RSDRX, Web MD, or the Arthritis Foundation. But I wouldn’t stray far from there for the basic information on the disease itself, its symptoms, description, treatment, management, etc.; especially the two national organizations whose sole purpose for existing is to educate the public about the disease and to further understanding among patients and their loved ones. We also both work towards a greater understanding among the medical community for our disease and have come a long way towards that goal.
How often have you said to yourself, “If only my Doctor could feel the way that I do, feel MY pain, they would know it was not in my head? That I wasn’t faking it! That my pain was real! That it was horrible, and that this collection of symptoms was bizarre and we just want someone to listen to us and take us seriously!” That used to happen a lot more often than it does now.
CRPS, formerly known as RSDS, was also known many years ago as the “Suicide Disease” because of the number of patients who took their life. This was mainly because it was so difficult to get diagnosed, physicians didn’t believe their pain was real, and in the end very little relief was offered and patients suffered far greater and longer and in much greater silence than they do today. Thankfully the number of suicides that take the lives of CRPS patients is a much, much less compared to even ten years ago. This is due in large part to the thousands of volunteers all over the country who worked and continue to work raising awareness of this disease in not only the medical community but also throughout the general public as well.
Together, American RSDHope, the RSDSA, and individual CRPS Support groups all over the nation work hand in hand with patients and their loved ones in raising awareness and work not only with the legislature but also the medical community in getting the word out about this most painful of all the chronic pain disease.
We all have tried to help the medical community better understand this disease, and with the help of some wonderful physicians, nurses, and physical therapists the change has gradually taken place over the last twenty years or so. We have a long way to go but when we look back at where we were in 1970, 1980, 1990, even 2000, the change has been amazing. The internet has played a large part in that to be sure. The ability to share information among physicians and for patients to become better educated than ever has dramatically changed the face of this disease.
FOR SOME CRPS TREATMENT OPTIONS, USE THE DROP DOWN MENU