What is Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RPS)

October 18, 2010

What is Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RPS)

Trudy Thomas (N. Las Vegas, NV), host of the Living With RSD radio show. "Raising awareness of a disease affecting six million people."

Trudy Thomas lives in Las Vegas and has a call-in radio show called "RSD Radio." RSD stands for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy. This is a chronic, incurable disorder of the nervous system that you have to simply find ways to live with.

The syndrome can be caused by something very minor and can then affect your sympathetic nervous system for the rest of you life. Basically, your nervous system does not recognize that the injury has healed. Symptom are constant pain and heightened adrenalin and endorphin output that also travels to other injuries. Too much adrenalin can cause circulation impairment.

There has been some progress but the condition has not been well researched. 50% of RSD patients also have fibromyalgia. It can occur at any age and pain killing drugs tend to not help very much. If you do go into remission, a small injury can send you back. And like fibromyalgia, some doctors will not recognize RSD as a legitimate illness.

Because doctors know so little, self-treatment is critical. You need to take excellent care of yourself, learn as much as you can, eat well, exercise and drink plenty of water.

Trudy believes that the radio show is invaluable in sharing with others and not allowing the disease to define who she is. Although the suicide rate is very high, she had discovered that with the right attitude, although she has limitations, she can still do many things.