Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD)

[Shianne]

Just out of curiosity how many of you would consider yourselves to have been more active than the average person before you got RSD?

[christine1003]

shianne i am 45 years old and by trade i am a restaurant manager salaaried to work 10 hour days which usually turn into 11 or 12 on my feet running from the dining room to the kitchen all day back and forth i ran circles around everyone who worked for me i mean not sitting for more than maybe 15-20 minutes a day the first thing i lost at work was doing grill i love to cook on the grill at work but because the rsd is in my arm i couldent do it anymore then it was i cant lift 10 lbs or more and it eventually got so bad that by 2pm i wanted to go home and lay down i was in such extreme pain, i love my job, my customers are wonderful i actually have a couple that had kids in their church make me a prayer blanket and they pray for me and my employees are like my kids sometimes i miss work i have been out 4 weeks and am hoping i am good to go back after I have my sstimulator installed I actually cant wait to have surgery

[Shianne]

I was a nurses aid and on my way through nursing school. As much as I loved my job, I could never go back to it, even if all the RSD in the world went away today. I got hurt at work and that is what resulted in my RSD. They had the nerve to fire me because of the RSD and then refuse to provide workers comp. I get it now but thats only because I got a lawyer. I could never go back to such a thankless job knowing that I am not protected if I get hurt. But I was also very active and pationate about everything else in my life. I just wondered if a certain personality type was more likely to develop this illness.

[christine1003]

you knowi wonder the same thing why me? i am a kind considerate independent caring non judgemental open woman but i guess i am lucky in some ways i have a friend, i guess hes my boyfriend now and he thinks of rsd kind of in the way of fibromyalgia but he is great he knows when i have bad days and is understanding, we are there for each other he dosent judge me and accepts me just as i am rsd and all he lives about 40 minutes from me but his house is my get away when i want to get away i go there he is great

[reruho]

The doctor that named this monster for me said type A people were a higher risk to develop RSD/CRPS. I am not so sure that there is any scienticfic study to support this but it appears pretty true.

I was very active before and even more since. I am actually working harder to maintain my health. I strive to exercise everyday. I eat better and remember to take my vitamins everyday.

Reta

[Pitzer33]

I was a great athlete, football, baseball, soccer my hole life. I'm now 33, I worked in a factory as a materal handler. The job was very very physical, I loved it. After I got hurt everyone told me you shouldn't have worked so hard. I'll tell you what they all loved me when I did my job and helped everyone else too. They said I was the best at that job they ever had. I was always giving 110%. Not anymore I pretty much lost the use of my hands.

Josh

[christine1003]

its so difficult to go from giving a 100% to wondering if you can get through that day and how you are going to do, I have been on kadian for 10 days and i was warned to take it easy while on this medication, well it was amazing for me and i did a lot of things i should not have I have family here from Boston and been running needless to say my rsd is coming back with a vengence I dont know I just we do what we can do

stay strong Josh

[lschlege]

Semi active....I worked with Special Needs Kids with behavior problems. So had to be able to run from time to time. But I have osteo arthritis so I would say I wasn't an athlete.

[puppyloverof2]

Hi ~ I was very active. Enjoyed bowling, horseback riding, playing cards, cooking, entertaining, camping, driving across the country, working on our home renovation. I had to cut back on those activities before my RSD due to severe carpal tunnel in both hands. I got the RSD after Carpal Tunnel Release Surgery May 2008. Good luck!

Terri