old member back again...

[Esther]

interesting.  thanks for writing that.

I read somewhere that people who have been tortured
are a patient population that can develop RSD.  I
believe that groups like Amnesty International keep a
list of doctors who treat RSD caused by torture.

Esther

--- Thom <tcbloom2 at earthlink.net> wrote:
> 
> 

> 
> RSD, like most forms of Neuropathic pain are better
> prevented than treated.
> It's a complex problem, poorly defined problem.  We
> know it's associated
> with high impact injuries and patients who can't (or
> won't) move the
> affected part after injury/surgery.  There are
> associated psychological
> traits but I am NOT saying or inferring that this
> problem is "all in the
> head".  Six billion sets of chemistries are walking
> on this planet, many are
> prone to one condition or another.  Some people more
> prone to broken bones,
> some to infections - same for RSD.
> 
> We do know early use and PT, of the affected part,
> are associated with
> earlier and more complete recovery from RSD. Agents
> used for neuropathic
> pain are more successful with RSD because it's part
> of the nervous system.
> Opiates (narcotics) are not first round choices
> because there are no opiates
> receptors on this part of the nervous system (that's
> why chronic narcotic
> use for this condition raises some eyebrows). 
> However, if nothing else
> works, it's appropriate to treat the symptoms (pain)
> with a narcotics but
> again only if the more effective treatments have
> been tried and failed or
> not completely effective.
> 
> Do spinal cord stimulators work?  Yes, for some
> people.  I'm not being
> obtuse - just factual.  Nothing works for everybody.
>  Spinal cord
> stimulators should be trialed before insertion. 
> That is, a catheter is
> inserted through the skin and placed for maximum
> effectiveness.    If that
> helps, it makes sense to place a permanent system
> under the skin.  If it
> were not effective, permanent insertion would make
> little sense, right?
> 
> Whichever course - wish you best of luck
> 
> Thom
> 


=====
-- Esther 
on mailing lists: esther_llist at yahoo.com
in real life: esther_l at ieee.org

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