RSD - My Journey Into Chronic Pain

You wake from a deep sleep to discover that for the last hour you've been laying on your left arm. As you sit up, the tingling beings in your numb hand. You know what to expect. It'll pass, but first it must come alive with electric ticks that threaten to explode your hand. Here comes the pain. You swear you can feel each and every nerve as it erupts from its sleep. Maybe shaking it real fast will wake it quicker? Perhaps making a fist over and over will end the torture? Within minutes the lightening stabs begin to subside and soon everything is as it should be. You take a deep breath, swear at yourself for falling asleep on your arm, and your day goes on as if nothing even happened.

All of us can relate to the above incident. Sometimes the hands, other times the feet. But for some of us it simply describes our daily life. Well, okay, maybe not all of it...that part about it going away after a few minutes...that part eludes those who suffer from RSD.

The body is an incredible machine. So many things have to happen just for us to blink that it could take a year to write out the procedure. And yet, sometimes the machine fouls up.

For me, that amounted to nothing more than one switch. One little, tiny, insignificant command from my brain to my body. My life got turned upside down because of a failed "OFF" switch!

Let me take a moment to explain the misunderstood feeling known as pain. We envision if backwards to how it really works. You see, pain is a defense mechanism. Put your hand on the burner and in reality, nothing happens (well other than your hand cooks to a burnt black). Pain is our brain's way of telling us that something is wrong and needs immediate action before we cause too much damage to ourselves. The pain is a product of our nervous system and sends the "pain information" from the brain so we will get our hand the hell off of the stove! Once done, our nerves go back to their holding pattern staying alert for the next time that the brain needs to warn us of an accident.

So; what happens to those with RSD is that the brain never sends the "all clear" command to the nerves which translates to your nervous system staying on in the pain position. How's that for a party game.

As the disease slows you down, other things set in to your body. One of the fastest spreading goodies in the United States is TYPE II Diabetes. A sedentary lifestyle accompanied by weight gain create the perfect environment for the onset of diabetes.

All of the things I swore would never be a part of my life, are coming to be as common as needing to shave. Needles. Damn! But there they are. Morning and evening. Afternoon if needed. I've gotten used to shooting up. Fill the syringe with insulin and take a stab at my belly.

Though this problem isn't associated with RSD directly, many of the medications I take for the RSD have made my apnea all the worse. Sleep Apnea is the blocking of your throat so that you stop breathing. This can happen hundreds of times a night so that it has the effect of not sleeping at all. Of course by not breathing, there are the problems that occur with loss of oxygen to the blood and brain. What fun.

The risks of obstructive sleep apnea include heart attacks, strokes, irregular heartbeat, high blood pressure and heart disease

RSD	Type II Diabetes	Sleep Apnea
RSDHope RSD Association of America	American Diabetes Association	American Sleep Apnea Association Sleepnet.com