by fireyone » Mon Jan 07, 2008 11:45 am
About 6 months ago I was invovled in a car accident. A lady driving too fast for weather conditions totaled my truck with her car and was cited on scene. My jaw was slightly disaligned for which I now wear a retainer at night, whiplash and right arm trauma (used it to block the airbag). What I thought was going to be a quick recovery turned into a nightmare. After months of Phy. therapy, chiropractic care and medical test I was finally diagnosed with RSD (chronic pain syndrome) in my right arm. It is still very swollen and slightly discolored and they say this is all the better it will get and may actually worsen in time. Tomorrow I go to the pain clinic to find ways to manage the pain. This coluldn't happened at a worse time since my husband and I was building a home and both HAD to be working. Now I am buries in finacial woes and get depressed thinking that it is really going to be never ending since my earning capacity is knocked to nothing. My right arm is my dominant one and my job requires a lot of lifting and physical ability (when and if I ever can do it again). I was released to light duty before being diagnosed with the RSD but my job was done for the year . I usually spend every winter working part time at a clothing store, then in the spring return to the greenhouse. Does anyone have any idea how long a claim like this will take to settle? I hear when your done doctoring but in my case that will never be. What is a amount that I can expect from this claim? I really need to shed some light down this dark hole.
Posted: Tue Feb 19, 2008 07:03 pm Post Subject: RSd
Oh by the way I have done many searches on rsd just changing how i word it in my search and I have found many many sites that are so worth reading and understanding this, It does make me very sad and angry to think I probally will never have the same feeling in my rt arm as i do in my left and the pain I must endure evry moment, I even wake up several times in the night with pain and I must take a pain pill and the depression gets to be really bad my dr just added one more pill to my many others, seroquil as I feel so depressed and do not feel I have a quality of life now or in my future, I am trying so hard not to be angry my primary dr told me to just look foward and she is so understanding and compassionate to me I love her so much, It was hard at firt to go see her as I work in an urgent care with her and I ws so embarressed by the way I was feeling but so glad I took the stp to see her. Thank you for your kind words this place has really helped me stay stable also just talking about it helps.
thank you
keli
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 03:44 pm Post Subject:
I wouldn't even think about driving until I knew how it affected me. Actually you aren't even allowed to get the treatment if there isn't someone there to drive you home. It is scary and I continue to dread it as the days come closer but I have did some research and talked with the doc and they assure me that it is very simple procedure and that the side effects are short lived ( a few hours). Any life threatening ones are slim to none with only a 3% having an adverse reaction. Most surgeries carry a higher rate so that has calmed my nerves a bit. I'm scheduled for three so I'm going to chance the first and see if it helps. What really disgusts me is that there is a simpler answer and one that has a higher success rate for people with RSD. It is a TENS unit which is a alot of detail to explain but is actually more recommended. The insurance company will not pay for this until I do the blocks (Yes all three of them). It is definately less invasive but I guess even though it is my body I really don't have the say so in all choices.
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 03:59 pm Post Subject:
I am so sorry for your mishap and your health woes since. 600 calories a day may cause even more issues for you down the road. Eating healthy and getting enough calories is very important to your everyday functioning, especially your energy. Meal replacement drinks are always a viable option, one which you should consider.
Will the stellate ganglion block hurt?
The stellate ganglion block involves inserting a needle through skin and deeper tissues. So, there is some pain involved. However, we may numb the skin and deeper tissues with a local anesthetic using a very thin needle before inserting the actual block needle. Most of the patients also receive intravenous sedation, which can make the procedure easier to tolerate.
Well your tougher than me if you say there is no pain. The thought of a big needle makes me shriek. Good luck to you!
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 04:09 pm Post Subject:
I have been told there id pain involved. They do use a local anethetic but they do not sedate. I have a fear of needles to begin with. Living with everyday pain is worse than 20 minutes of it. At least that is how long the procedure is suppose to take. It just takes a few of them to keep on working.
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 04:22 pm Post Subject:
Keli449 Did you request that they put you out? I was rereading the papers on the block sent to me from the hospitol and called the pain clinic and they both say they do not sedate. Yikes I hope the local works. I am glad to hear you had at least some relief. After each shot it is suppose to get better for a longer period of time. They say they can usually tell in three. Please work on increasing your calories so you can be in healthier shape to fight this. I know your pain and it is hard to eat but keeping up your health is important. I get yelled at for my weight constanly by family members but I know the meds upset your stomach and sometimes turn it. Try taking priloc or zantec for your stomach if that is the problem. It honestly helps.
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 04:56 pm Post Subject:
Hi fireyone, I was not put out it for this procedure it was concious sedation but I do not remember anything at all, did not feel anything I just do not remember it being done, they say some people actually fall asleep which mabey is what happened to me, Its the same sedation one usually gets when they are having a colonoscopy. believe it or not the meds do not tear up my stomace and i do have protonix if i need it, as you know the pain is 24/7 and its just so hard to eat and I just do not feel hungry at all, is this what you are experiencing? I am just scared as I have lost so much weight and I feel like i am waisting away, I havent weighed myself for over a month as I did not want to be any more depressed it reminds me of my mom when she was dying of colon ca she had lost so much weight and though I am not dying I just am scared if I dont start getting more calories I am risking my health more.Any advice on what you do to eat? please let me know.I would do more injections as the five hours i was pain free were the best 5 hours i have had since the accident! I signed up from this other website and I was senta notice that katie couric did a story on rsd last night, I am going to try and find this story and i will let you know.
keli
keli
Posted: Wed Feb 20, 2008 05:16 pm Post Subject: car accident
Fireyone, What has your lawyer said about your case lately? has your lawyer handled an rsd case before? I asked mine and she said she has handled rsd cases before.Everyone keeps asking me when i will settle and I dont have the answer, I know we were waiting on a dignosis which i have had plenty, first i was told by my first ortho dr that it was a cervicle strain, I seen him 2x then i went to pt x 14 visits, then inbetween that seen urgent care dr 8 times I was sent to another ortho whom said brachial plexus injury seen him 2x pt 4 times which made it worse it was different pt for new diagnosis, then pain management never told me what they thought after 5 visits then my urgent care dr called pain management dr and threw out rsd and the pain dr said no as I was on lyrica and that is used for rsd but it wasnt helping me, then my primary dr said yes rsd and so did neuro dr and when i spoke to my new pain dr he said brachial plexus injury or rsd, I see pain dr on feb 28th and we will go from there. Oh 3rd ortho dr did not feel it was rsd though he said i have a few of the sx,s I really wanted him to scope my shoulder as my neice 2 years ago had a labral tear which did not show up on an arthrogram and then her friend saw same ortho dr as me finally had an arthrogram and found out she had a rotator cuff tear then he went in on same day as my procedure and found a 70 percent labral tear which also did not show up on her arthrogram she is now recovering at home after surgery and was told she has to be out for 8 months, so some test do not show up and i do not want to be treated for somthing I may not have, my neice asked the ortho dr to scope my shoulder and he just shrugged it off, what if i do have a labral tear? I guess I will see what pain dr thinks. have a good day all and thanks for listening I am here for you all also.
keli
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2008 02:16 pm Post Subject:
You should go have a QSART test done. I wa very fortunate on this matter casue after Pysical therapy for three months my arn just wsn't getting better, in fact it only worsened it. I went back to my family doc and refused anymore PT. They sent me to the hospitol for more e rays. The tech thought for sure I had a healed fracture but the tests showed nothing. Then I went for nerve testing. There are two types, one tests the larger nerves and that is the one I first had. That test came back ok too but yet my arm was twice the size of my other plus was still purplish. My family doc met with a counsil of other docs and after talking they belived it to be RSD. My family doc was already suspecting it. So off to the pain clinic I went. They set up QSART testing because I refused any more drugs until I had a definate diagnosis. Look up QSART testing on the net. It will give you all the details. This test will tell you 100% if you have RSD. The quicker you treat it the better off you will be. Al,though I could have started treatment as soon as I went to the clinic I wanted to be sure in my mind that these blocks were the right thing for my condition. Although I hate the thoughts of having it and hate the pain it causes I am glad to leave th second guessing behind.
I have a fear of any med. doctor. I am always worried that they are just out for the money especially when it comes to an insurance claim. Even though I have been with the same family doc for 13 years and do mostly trust her I figure it never hurts to question. After all its my body. As for my atty. I always end up talking to someone else assigned to the case but they are gathering up all my medical info now and we are waiting to see how the shots go. I just hope it isn't dragged out too long. My family and I have already suffered enough physically, emotionally and finacially. talk to you soon.
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 03:59 am Post Subject:
Hi , thanks for the info, So i searched and i see its for a sweat test? I do know a sx of rsd is excessive sweating, thats probally one item i do not experience, I mean I do get really hot but not sure if it excessive sweating, I know now i do have rsd with all the sx,s i have and 4 out of 5 docs also state the same, I see pain doc on feb 29th and we will go from there I also see neuro dr on 3/13 apparently out of all the docs she is the one whom is really going to treat me, though pain doc will also help. I really am happy with all my docs now especially after seeing many other docs. I will let you know what pain doc says. Good luck to you and hope all goes well, talk to you soon.
Keli
Posted: Sat Feb 23, 2008 01:49 pm Post Subject:
Sweating isn't something you will actually fee, although some do. What they do is put electric vibrations through each arm (thats where mine is) and measure the difference in each arms sweat response. The effected limb supposedly will have a higher, notable sweat difference. On me the even measured each finger on each hand and compared the difference. Usually between hands a normal persons temperature change is less than a degree. On mine thre was a five degree difference. My left was 91 degrees and my right was 96-97 degrees. As you know with RSD it can actually feel like icicles running in you arm. Thats because it can't get enough blood flow circulated to that area. Good luck with all your appointments. Mine is this WED. I Have been battling a pretty good cold and hope it clears up before then or they won't do the shots.
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