Facebook Live with Steve Ariens, P.D. | Navigating the Healthcare System

Dr. Ariens has spent 52 years as a licensed pharmacist. Having a wife with chronic pain, Steve has been forced to deal firsthand with a system where those who complain about chronic pain are viewed with a great deal of skepticism. He has run the pharmaciststeve.com blog for the last 10 years.
To learn more about complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) and reflex sympathetic dystrophy (RSD), visit Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association (RSDSA)’s website at rsds.org.
#RSDSA #CRPS #RSD

[@sonyaj.6736]

Thank You so much for this information!

[@shannonsmith9683]

I'm so very happy I found this channel! My mom has been dealing, well trying her very best to deal with RSD for 18 years now. She was misdiagnosed for almost 5 years and told that it was in her head. She was in a wheelchair unable to walk, while being sent to psychologists and psychiatrists. Where she was prescribed massive amounts of antipsychotics and antidepressants which were actually truly and slowly driving her insane because she was in so much pain and basically being gaslit by the so-called professionals. Eventually after many specialists and mental health doctors she was told that she would never walk again because she started to have muscle atrophy in her legs and feet. Well as a last ditch effort she was finally sent for an EMG and NCS, which she ended up throwing up and passing out several times during the test, by a podiatrist who FINALLY believed her and was thankfully sent to a specialist that diagnosed her properly. This specialist immediately put her on a combination of anticonvulsants, narcotics and ONE antidepressant. It took almost a year to get the proper combination where she was not over medicated, nor under medicated but everything was FINALLY liveable and she re-learned to walk and live again. She had a life where her pain was tolerable and she had quality of life again! That lasted for a few years but then 2016-ish rolled around where anyone and everyone on narcotics was deemed an addict and treated as a criminal. Their progress and quality of life no longer matter to anyone in the medical field. And unfortunately since they cut ALL of my mother's medications in half and then in half again to get her down to the 90 MME. Which are the "recommendations"/ "guidelines" of the CDC that are being taken as hardlines in the pain management field and literally killing people. I have sadly watched my mother completely deteriorate and lose all quality of life while withdrawing from everyone because she is in so much pain every minute of every single day but she is absolutely petrified to say ANYTHING to her doctor for fear of him completely cutting off ALL of her medications at once. They didn't even have the decency to wean her down when they cut her, they just cut. So now all she does is sleep, try to sleep, cry and talk about the end of her life which absolutely breaks my heart. Shes only 64 which now is considered young but she has no life due to the CDC deciding that NO ONE should need to take narcotics for pain long term even if the pain IS long term. Its a very sad thing to watch and deal with on a daily basis. My mother is dying a very slow and very painful death right now due to these "guidelines" and "recommendations" from people that most likely have NEVER had to deal with any type of chronic severe pain or had to watch someone close to them deal with it, I honestly hope they never have to but man I wish they would learn and empathize with the people that do.

[@dawnsbuttcrack]

Bummed I missed this

[@RSDSA]

Sorry we missed you live, but happy you are checking out the replay!