RSD

Many of you have been praying for my wife Dawn for a while. I so appreciate your concern for her, but I probably haven't been very good at explaining what's going on. Dawn has RSD. It started after she had surgery this past November to remove a cartilage tumor in her left ring finger. Her cartilage tumor came because a bit of cartilage in that finger never turned to bone. The tumor was benign and they took a small bit of bone from her wrist and put it where the bone in her finger should have been. Dawn should have been better within weeks, but the pain never went away. It actually got worse and moved up her arm and across her shoulders. After going back to the doctors a many times we found out that she was exhibiting all the signs of RSD (also knows as CRPS or Complex Regional Pain Syndrome). I’ve included some descriptions below of RSD. You can see this and more at http://www.rsds.org/index2.html. Not too many people are aware of RSD. We sure weren't. I'm wearing a small orange RSD Awareness wrist band on my left hand. I hate to have things on my wrist, but if Dawn is going through this constant pain in her left hand and arm, the very least I can do is have this supportive minor annoyance on mine.

Thanks for your concern and your prayers.
Tom

RSD (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) is a chronic neurological syndrome characterized by:
* severe burning pain
* pathological changes in bone and skin
* excessive sweating
* tissue swelling
* extreme sensitivity to touch
There are Two Types of CRPS - Type I and Type II
* CRPS Type I (also referred to as RSD) - cases in which the nerve injury cannot be immediately identified
* CRPS Type II (also referred to as Causalgia) - cases in which a distinct "major" nerve injury has occurred
* CRPS is best described in terms of an injury to a nerve or soft tissue (e.g. broken bone) that does not follow the normal healing path
* CRPS development does not appear to depend on the magnitude of the injury. The sympathetic nervous system seems to assume an abnormal function after an injury.
* Since there is no single laboratory test to diagnose CRPS, the physician must assess and document both subjective complaints (medical history) and, if present, objective findings (physical examination).
Criteria for Diagnosing

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type I (RSD)
* The presence of an initiating noxious event, or a cause of immobilization
* Continuing pain, allodynia, or hyperalgesia with which the pain is disproportionate to any inciting event
* Evidence at some time of edema, changes in skin blood flow (skin color changes, skin temperature changes more than 1.1°C difference from the homologous body part), or abnormal sudomotor activity in the region of the pain
* This diagnosis is excluded by the existence of conditions that would otherwise account for the degree of pain and dysfunction
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome Type II (Causalgia)
* The presence of continuing pain, allodynia, or hyperalgesia after a nerve injury, not necessarily limited to the distribution of the injured nerve
* Evidence at some time of edema, changes in skin blood flow (skin color changes, skin temperature changes more than 1.1°C difference from the homologous body part), or abnormal sudomotor activity in the region of pain
This diagnosis is excluded by the existence of conditions that would otherwise account for the degree of pain and dysfunction.