Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD)

[Truth Seeker]

To understand why RSD gets worse at night time, we need to comprehend, light, verses darkness.
In the morning, when we open our eyes, light triggers a flood of activities, a sense of vision, the ability to pick figures out of the background, and the ability to use motion for navigation, in a sense, light is the like the master body clock that alerts the other clocks within us to reset and begin their daily rhythms.
When light is no longer present and darkness sets in, our planet, as well as the human system, turn off some of the clocks and the "cooling" period begins, which naturally will increase the pain.
In a healthy system, the cooling period is the rest period, but this does not apply when the system is unhealthy.
The human brain is very much like a computer, it installs and repairs things at a reset time, than shuts down and restarts automatically.
There cannot be any doubt, that the reset systems do not respond to medication, further surgeries, nerve blocks, stimulator's or any other foolish suggestion, because they are merely diversions.
We need to have more faith in our own system, even if it takes years.

Truth Seeker

[reruho]

Truthseeker,
I have to agree that our reset mechanism is not functioning properly. I also think pain increases at night because we have exhausted the tools in arsenal to battle pain during the day and we have none left by night time. In some ways it is like we have no pacing guide/internal system to help us. We throw everything at it in the beginning and in some of the most ineffective ways.

And I agree that we need to retrain our brains. I think this one area of pain management that is poorly understood and not utilized. I think pain mangement needs to be more holistic and look at the total package. We need to address all the little things because the little things have cummulative effect on the whole body.

I think many people are leery of mental side because of the stigma of mental illness and a lack of understanding. (I will also say a lack of desire to understand.) It is improving, but it still has a long way to go. It is just like the use of medication, many stereotypes are perpetuated by the medical community which should know the difference.

Reta

[Truth Seeker]

Hello there,

Your response is right on target and beautifully stated.
It is correct, that we must retrain the brain, which does not happen naturally, but rather requires a learned skill.
When we find the willingness to except reality as it truly is, than we will also know how to confront our fears of the unknown and only than will we reach the level of comprehension to understand the complexities within.

Thank you reruho

Truth Seeker