Living with RSDS: Your Guide to Coping with Reflex ... (ISBN 1572243554)

This is an Excellent Book for people afflicted With RSDS.:
It goes chapter by chapter explaining this horrible disease to family members and the medical community.This is an illness that not only affects the patient, but their marriage, relationships, children, and their caretaker.No matter what your situation, it affects your whole life. It gives examples of personal stories of people's lives that have changed forever.Although all stories and lives differ, all complain of pain in the upper or lower limbs. The Hallmark symtom is PAIN, unrelenting PAIN. Most of these victims turn up in the E.R., where if you are fortunate one or two professionals have heard of RSD and will medicate you and refer you to a pain clinic. Usually, patients are given medicine and told not to bother the E.R. staff with a chronic illness.Unrelenting PAIN is Hell on Earth.The suicide rate for this disorder is 20%. Although women have the highest rate of illness-it can strike men and even chidren. People are sick and in pain but because so little has been written of this disorder, they must fight to get S.S.D or help of any kind. RSD( reflex sympathetic dystrophy)is a neurological disease the way Multiple Scerlosis is also neurological. We also know very little of coping. Coping has been defined as the ability to deal with a situation.Trying to cope with pain,suffering,and disability creates emotional distress-the daily life of a person with RSDS. Fortunately, the internet is bring patients closer and people are demanding attention and a cure... This book reminds you not to become your disease.If you are in great pain, you will become angry at that statement. If you are being treated and have some good days, I agree. If you find friends on the net you can exchange ideas. Also,you can build a friedship of similiar interests, books, movies,sports, recipes,decorating,etc. that take your mind off pain and validate you as a person. There were some palliative measures not mentioned that disappointed me.Patients are now recomended to have aquatherapy in a heated pool. It is easier on the body and more beneficial to a damaged part.There are many new drugs and research not mentioned that show promise. I agree with Keith, sympathectomies are usually not done because the ganglion of nerves grows back after giving a person relief for 12 to 18 months.When the nerves grow back they are angry and more painful.The disease process may also spread to other parts of the body. On the whole, this book gives some comfort issues at the back-although I question the one of putting clothes in a freezer, because ice does so much damage, but maybe it is a special case. Keeping a pillow with you is almost a necessity. There is a good chapter on isolation. In the beginning everyone tends to isolate,because of the pain. Music in Church makes you hurt,large groups of people and noise all cause more pain, so you gradually eliminate your favorite places and people. Later,if you have some control of pain or do better at different times of day, do become active.If you can only distribute fliers or put up posters for RSD-let that be your contribution. A little charity work goes a long way.Send a card. Let someone know you think of them. Some people are too overwhelmed just getting through the day but you can let them know you care. Space yourself and your time and you will find you can enjoy life more. Share this book with your family and they will understand that people with RSD can sometimes spend time with you and other times cannot.They will feel less rejected.

One of the first steps to understanding:
I was injured on the job Jan. 2004 and since that time have been diagnosed and treated for RSDS. It has limited & possibly stopped my working life, however, being lost in a workman's compensation buracracy, I had to begin to learn myself how to talk to the doctor about RSDS. Not every patient reacts the same, not every patient is limited in what they can do - BUT - every patient will see their life change somewhat due to pain. This book was my beginning as far as reading material to help me to understand RSDS. It is very informative, easy to read & understand and offers insight on taking control of your situation. It doesn't talk as much as I'd like about treatment plans and options. I have never taken so many drugs before and this book calmed my fears somewhat of becoming an addict. I will continue to learn about this pain syndrome because if I do not, I can't depend on the medical world to do it for me. A very good book to start off with if you have been diagnosed with RSDS.

RSD in real life:
I am a kid who has rsd. Life with rsd is as close to hell as it gets. My doctor couldn't explain it, I couldn't explain it to my friends, I couldn't explain it to me: until I read this book. If you have rsd, kid or adult, I highly suggust READING THE BOOK! (It hurts a lot less than having a sympathedic block :)

Knowledge IS Power:
Anyone who has CRPS (aka RSD or RSDS) MUST buy this book. There is so little accurate information available on the Internet, and what is available can sometimes be confusing or involve too many words that you need a PhD to comprehend. This book does a good job of explaining the basics of the nervous system and CRPS, and spends a lot of time discussing how to live with the disease. I will say that there isn't that much in depth information about treatment options, which is unfortunate. However, that's the only drawback, and with Living with RSDS to start you out, you can find reputable sites on the Web and start an intelligent dialogue with your doctor.

A Review of LIVING WITH RSD by Lang & Moskovitz:
For all those touched directly or indirectly by reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome (RSDS), LIVING WITH RSDS by Linda Lang and Peter Moskovitz, M.D., is a must-read. In a thorough but entirely clear and readable manner, this guidebook illuminates every aspect of RSDS. A chronic pain disorder, RSDS not only changes--often drastically--the lives of sufferers but also affects the people who care about them. For the patient, LIVING WITH RSDS is a valuable tool, a combination of medical information and practical advice. For the patient's family and friends, it's a much needed doorway to a keener understanding of just what the RSDS patient is up against physically and psychologically. For every reader, patient and nonpatient alike, the interwoven personal story of Linda Lang, one of the authors, has staying power. An RSDS patient herself for the past decade, she shares her own experience and hard-won insights in an appealingly intimate tone that affirms the possibilities of a life well lived in spite of illness.