'The pain is 24-7': Coping with chronic agony

It goes by a variety of names, but it is 24-7 severe pain for which
there is little or no relief.

Called Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD) or Complex Regional Pain
Syndrome (CRPS), but whatever the name, Carolyn Clemons of
Leitchfield, has been a victim since 2000. The burning, almost
unbearable pain began in her right foot after surgery.

"My foot felt as though the skin had been stripped away, gasoline
poured over it and then set afire," she recalled. "I tried many
medications, saw one doctor after another, but the pain always came
back with a vengeance."

Clemons said she was unable to function normally, because the pain
went on constantly, every day. "At one point," the registered nurse
said, "I considered severing the foot with an axe that was nearby."

Another Leitchfield resident with the disorder, Robert Kevin Clark,
died in May 2004. Clemons, who knew Clark through her work with local
support groups for other victims of RSD, says she is not free of the
pain. "It is tolerable, but every few months I must have numerous
nerve blocks, and I will be on medication the rest of my life or until
a cure is found."

With another RN, Nancy LaRue, Clemons is trying to raise money to buy
the book "Chronic Pain" by Hooshang Hooshmand, M.D., to be placed in
the local hospital, doctors' offices, and with physical therapists as
a reference book.

"One thing we've found," she said, "is that few doctors understand the
disorder, and patients with it lost hope that their lives will ever be
more than constant, nearly unbearable pain."

Estimates vary on how many people are affected by RSD, she said, but
the number is in the millions. People who have RSD can develop severe
depression when it becomes clear no one can ease their pain. Clemons
said it is estimated 20 percent of those afflicted with the disease
commit suicide rather than put up with it.

Both Clemons and LaRue say that any reader who thinks they or a family
member may have RSD or need more information on the disorder, can call
2 70-879-40 23 or 270- 259-4746 for leads on specialists and up-to-date
research on the disorder.

The RSD Support Group meets from 1-3 p.m. the first Tuesday of each
month at the library.

Taken from
http://www.gcnewsgazette.com/articles/ 2005/08/18/local_news/news9
2.txt<http://www.gcnewsgazette.com/articles/2005/08/18/local_news/news92.txt>


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