Stephanie Schiffman
Hello - I suffered a knee & back injury in 1998, I then underwent a Left Knee Scope. Either the initial injury or the scope caused my RSD. It spread to my left hip, back, and then my right side. After a year or so it spread to my shoulder. Now it is virtually systemic. I don't have much problem with my right arm, but the rest of my body is extremely painful. I also have intermitent double vision, increased spasticity, and "hyper-reflexivity." My body doesn't regualte temperature well either so I go from extremely hot to extremely cold in no time at all. I can't tolerate cold temperatures and weather changes cause increased pain. MY sleep is often interupted and I am stuck in bed most of the time. My hands are often shakey, making writing difficult, but this comes and goes through-out the day. I also get extreme weakness and exhaustion that sets in suddenly and lasts anywhere from 1 - 8 hours, it feels as if the gravity has doubled and it's difficult to even lift my arms. My immune system is affected as well - I get a number of colds & flus that linger for weeks, sometimes even over a month. It's even difficult to get in the shower, now I can only take 2 a week, 3 if I am having a really good day. I also get migraines that may or may not be related. Too sum it all up - this disorder has gotten progressively worse and even after nearly 5 years is still progressing. The main difference I can find between RSD and Fibromyalgia are that RSD causes allodynia (extreme sensivity to touch) and affects the Autonomic and Central nervous systems as well as the immune system (something patients have known for years but the medical community only recently recognized at an NIH conference in 2001). RSD is also caused by an injury or surgery while Fibro just seems to happen. It is a muscle/soft tissue disorder, while RSD is Neurological. Fibro is thought to be caused by chemical or hormonal imbalance but this has not been confirmed. The quality or type of pain is different with fibro as well. TO be diagnosed with Fibro you must have pain above and below the waist, whereas with RSD it can be limited to on limb or one side of the body. I hope this answered your question.