RSD In the News : FWD:RSDS Symptoms Four Main Symptoms Criteria

RSDS Symptoms

FOUR Main Symptoms/Criteria



There are FOUR Main Symptoms/Criteria for a diagnosis of RSDS:



Constant chronic burning pain.

Starved tissue. High acidity.



Inflammation

Lymphatic Fluid trapped in body tissue - cannot leave via Lymphatic Capillaries.

Under pressure from natural inbound flow.



Spasms-in blood vessels and muscles of the extremities

Serous Fluid trying to move and can't.



Insomnia/Emotional Disturbance

Sufferers "Perceive light and sound as being much more important than they are." During

sleep, or while trying to get to sleep, your brain can't ignore the things it had learned are

not important.



Your spouse hears a bird on the window and her sleeping brain knows that it's not

significant. But yours can't do that. It's like it says, "What?!", "What?!" and wakes up part

of the way. You don't realize it is happening. It keeps jerking you up out of deep

restorative sleep.



An eye mask and ear plugs that block out all light and all sound at your head will quiet things

down.

Even putting the ear plugs in a half hour before bedtime is good.

It lets the brain "settle down and get ready for bed".



Not all four symptoms are required for a diagnosis but most patients do have at least three out of the four at any one time.



Congestion and acidity are changeable so the symptoms change.



The CONSTANT PAIN is described as burning pain as if a red hot poker were inserted into the affected area, also throbbing, aching stabbing, sharp, tingling, and/or crushing in the affected area (this is not always the site of the trauma). The affected area is usually hot or cold to the touch.



What else could cause throbbing? Fluid under pressure.



Tingling? Lack of circulation.



Crushing sensation? Congestion /swelling.



The pain will be more severe than expected for the type of injury sustained.

More severe than the physical injury, because it's not the physical injury that is causing the

symptoms.



Allodynia is usually present as well (extreme sensitivity to touch). Something as simple as a slight touch, clothing, sheets, even a breeze across the skin on the affected area can cause an extreme amount of pain to the patient.



Pain can also be increased by sounds and vibrations, especially sharp sudden sounds and deep vibrations.

Trapped fluid can amplify these disturbances, transmitting them to the already painful tissue.



This makes it especially difficult on the spouses, children, and other family members also; as their softest touch can now cause pain instead of pleasure. If the patient has not been properly diagnosed yet and these sensations properly explained, these symptoms can cause extreme duress and confusion to all involved.



The INFLAMMATION is not always present. It takes various forms, the skin may appear mottled, become easily bruised, have a shiny, dry, red, and tight look to it.

If muscles are moving or acidity changes enough to allow some HA to move along,

inflammation goes down. Unless this flow is sustained, however, the symptoms won't all

clear up.



An increase in sweating usually occurs as well.

Excess acidy fluid trying to escape can't get out the lymph system, so it leaves body tissue at the surface.



The SPASMS result in a feeling of coldness in the affected extremity

Body warmth cannot be distributed if fluids are standing still.



as well as body fatigue, skin rashes, low-grade fever, swelling (edema), sores, dystonia, and tremors.



Body fatigue - because there is not enough food to feed the cells.



Skin rashes - from excess acidity on the skin surface.



Edema - Lymphatic Fluid trapped in body tissue.



Sores - Lymphatic Fluid can boil up from deep under the surface.



Dystonia - insufficient lubrication and cell food.



Tremors - Lymphatic Fluid moving forward at an uneven pace.





The spasms can be confined to one area or be rolling in nature; moving up and down the leg, arm, or back.

Moves back up the arteries if the pressure in the tissues becomes greater than the

resistence to back flow (valve). It would spasm from the assault.



The fourth part of this square is INSOMNIA and EMOTIONAL DISTURBANCE. RSD affects the limbic system of the brain. This causes many problems that might not initially be linked to a disease like RSD. Chief amoung them are Depression, Insomnia and short-term memory problems.



RSD CAUSES Depression, NOT the other way around -

Depression - Like in FMS. This depression clears up completely on treatment. Your signals just can't give you the right feedback to know things are ok. Slowed flow of Serous Fluid starves the brain. Fluid has to move to clean and feed the cells and make signals happen. From Seritonin not moving the signals forward correctly.



Short term memory - long term memory is already set in your brain - from back when you were healthy. Your "right now" memory can't work because "right now" your brain is starved.



RSD causes insomnia by not allowing the body to drift into REM, or rapid eye movement, sleep. This is the sleep that allows the body to use its own healing abilities. Without it, the patients pain cycle continues and becomes more entrenched. As the body cannot heal itself, it becomes harder to achieve that sleep which makes the pain worse and so the cycle continues. Just like it says. You have to have signals working and Serous Fluid flowing during the maintenance phase of sleep.



Many patients can feel they are losing their mind as their ability to remember things, short-term, greatly decreases. Things like, what someone told you an hour ago, what you had for lunch yesterday, whether you took your pils this morning, what you were just talking about etc. You are NOT losing your mind. Loss of short-term memory is part and parcel of RSD.



Other signs of problems here would include the inability to think of, um, well, ah, hmm, just the right word. The patients ability to concentrate is also lessened while their level of irritability is increased. These problems get even worse as the sleep cycle continues.

You cannot think of the right word because the signals just aren't reaching far enough and

coming back quickly enough. They are stalling. You can get in the neighborhood of the

word, just not exactly it. So you say baby instead of bubble.



Concentration requires well fed and well maintained brain cells. It's like your water

pressure is just not high enough.



Irritability comes from the cells and nerves being "raggedy". Not being feed and

maintained, so are on edge.



Do these symptoms sound familiar to you ?



Do you also sometimes have an increase in your pain when your stress level is higher ?



Higher stress level increases stomach acid. Not the main problem in these maladies, but

adds to the overall acid load in the body. Using alkali and eliminating acid via prompt

urination work wonders. Also overall control of Serous Fluid acidity levels.



Or the noise level is higher ?

Raggedy nerves.



Do you want to crawl into a hole by yourself and pull it in after you?

Just the chemical depression that comes from Seritonin reuptake. It feels so bad. Hope

goes out the window and self doubt climbs in. Happiness cannot be found.



Does the simple rustling of a newspaper or the soft touch of your spouse send you through the ceiling in pain ?

Again - raggedy nerves and tissue.





Do you sometimes have trouble finding a certain word? Do you sometimes completely lose track of what you are saying ?



If these symptoms sound familiar, know this; you are NOT crazy and you are NOT losing your mind. You are also not alone, not anymore.