A long way for treatment for rsd (id probably do it if i had enough money and could get to nj-who knows

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A long way for treatment

Sunday, January 01, 2006 By BRIAN X. McCRONE

*Staff Writer*

For an estimated 200,000 Americans, reflexive sympathetic dystrophy (RSD) is

so debilitating that they cannot function, losing the ability to button

shirts, comb their hair or maintain a job.

For Danny DeFilippo, the soft breeze from a ceiling fan evoked such pain in

his leg that he would often pass out or throw up from it.

" It often originates from broken bones or even sprains, " said Jim Broatch,

executive director of the Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association.

" Eighty percent of people who develop this as adults don't get better. "

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More than 40 percent of RSD patients polled recently said they had

considered suicide at times as an escape from the intense pain.

Any injury related to the nervous system can spark RSD. Bone breaks are the

most common causes.

DeFilippo's RSD likely originated from the broken left leg he suffered in

the May 2003 car crash. Symptoms became apparent several months later as he

was healing from the multiple fractures in both legs. He was diagnosed after

his doctor at Hahnemann consulted one of the leading neurologists in the

field, Dr. Swartzmann, who also practices at the Philadelphia

hospital.

He tried everything to ease the creeping pain that eventually spread from

his leg and took over his whole body.

" I put a heating pad on it. I put the fire on in the fireplace. My fiancee

will put oil on me, " DeFilippo said recently. " I have days, especially

before the snowstorm like I'm fearing tomorrow night, I feel it so much.

Then there's days like this when I feel good, I can walk around. "

After months of suffering while doctors said there was no complete cure yet

available in the United States, DeFilippo decided last year to take a chance

on an experimental treatment in Germany.

In December 2004, DeFilippo spent five days in an induced coma while an

extremely large amount of a strong anesthetic called ketamine was constantly

circulated through his system.

Since then, DeFilippo said, he has felt much less pain, though some remains.

He continues treatment in the United States, receiving " booster " treatments

once every couple months to continue to keep the pain minimal.

But Broatch said it is still too early to begin promoting the experimental,

and dangerous, German procedure.

" It's not a cure and when you come back you need these booster treatments.

The high-dose coma is dangerous, it's done in an ICU, " Broatch said.

For more information on his foundation's next fund raiser, scheduled for

April 10 at Mercer Oaks Golf Course in Ewing, contact Danny DeFilippo at

or .

--

Happy New Year 2006

in N.C

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