My Intro :o)

[Guest guest]

Hi.. My name is Georgianna and I would like to introduce myself to the

group. Thanks so much for the warm welcome! I feel at home here already..

Here is the short story of me..

I had a fall at work..June of 99' (I am a beautician) and struck both of my

knee's. My left knee immediately got swollen and started to 'click' when I

walked. I went to the ER, they wrapped it in a ace bandage and sent me home.

A few days went by and the pain increased and the swelling never went down.

Because this was a work related injury..I was referred to a Workman's Comp

DR. (who turned out to be nothing more then a nurse practitioner) who for

ten weeks insisted there was nothing wrong, that if I had 'real' knee

problems she would know...after all she HAD knee surgery before. mind you

all of this time I am still working on my knee. Finally, as she was getting

ready to discharge me, I insisted on an MRI.. she ordered one..but stated it

was for my peace of mind only..she really did not see a problem. Well.. low

and behold, I had a broken cartilage. I was immediately put off of work and

scheduled for surgery .. it was now November. I got the flu, that was then

followed up by a bad case of bronchitis which delayed the surgery until

March. I was still having a hard time getting around, but managed. (I am

also the mother of four children including a newborn we adopted in November)

The surgery day came and went and immediately, I started to have problems. I

called my surgeon, who called me to come in.. I was having extreme burning

and pain in my calf, bad swelling, Charlie horses constantly when I laid

flat. He told me I had no tolerance for pain and to take extra strength

Tylenol, he wanted to schedule me immediately for physical therapy because

we were getting behind the 'line' with Workman's comp' So much for the

patient coming first eh?? . My husband was with me and livid by then, and we

hired an attorney to help us find some decent medical care. Workman's Comp

is unreal! For months...(Yes, months) no other workman's comp Dr would see

me! They were all related business wise to this Dr n one way or another and

refused my care, stating I was getting adequate medical treatment.. I was

getting NO medical treatment! In the meantime, I was having more and more

symptoms.. (Of what I had NO idea) constant pain and burning, swelling,

shooting pain that was running up and down my leg.. I also have a dead spot

right above my knee where there is NO feeling what-so-ever, Even the skin in

this area is dry and brittle. I was not being treated, therefore had no pain

medication to help me. I have also not slept more then 3 hrs at a time since

the surgery. I am up and down all night long. I cannot even walk through a

grocery store without being in extreme pain for the rest of the day and

night. My leg has totally given out on me on several occasions. It took till

May till I finally seen a DR and he uttered the words RSD to me. He wanted

to rule out a blood clot first, and there was none. I was 'officially

diagnosed with RSD about a month ago. This has been pretty hard on me

emotionally and physically. Up until this fall, I was an active full of

spunk beautician, and now I am grateful to get through a day with my four

children. I know I am depressed, but there is also little sympathy or

offered treatment for that. One of the worst things for me has been managing

the constant Insomnia.. I can take enough pain meds where I don't hurt, but

no matter how much I take I cannot seem to get any restful sleep. And I

don't even want to discuss the 30-40 lbs I have gained...((ugh)).... Since I

have been diagnosed, it seems that WC has been fighting most of my

treatment... I am supposed to go in for a series of nerve blocks that have

been pending approval for three weeks now..

Well..that's my story..so far ) I was glad to run across this group and

hope to find some support and treatment idea's. I live in ville

Florida. I am on digest for right now... we are planning a weekend away with

the kids and are leaving tomorrow.. Wish me luck! I'll talk to you when I

get back.

Thanks for listening!!

)'s Georgi