May 2011

Well we have our first visit at the U of U Pain Center.  They take a different approach to pain treatment then other clinics.  They treat the whole body and mind.  So the first visit he see's a psychologist, physical therapist and a group of dr.'s.  The have 3 main MDs in the clinic and then each MD has a few fellows under him.  The usual plan is you visit with all and then come back a week later and get the plan of treatment.  They felt Travis's case was severe enough to start treatment same day.  So he gets put into a therapy program and meds changed.  The add a new one that will help boost his bones and up his other nerve  drugs.

Everything goes great until the" bone booster" drug has a rare side effect and sits in his esophagus and rubs it raw.  He starts with acid reflux issues and within 24 hours is having full spasms in his esophagus.  He ends up dehydrated and 2 trips to the ER.  Tells me that our small town hospital has NO idea what CRPS is.  I almost had to deck the ER dr. after I tell him to not touch Trav's right leg due to hypersensitivity from CRPS and he grabs it 2 times.After no improvement we have a scope done in Davis Hospital which is where our primary care dr. is at. Its about 50 miles from home.  They have a more of a clue down there.  Yes he has road rash for a esophagus.  They give him some more meds but the next day he is still  in so much pain he can't even swallow his own spit without spasms.  So we go back to Davis Hospital and check him in for a 2 night stay.
That problem solved we go back to the  U of U pain clinic for a full epidural.    This gives him a few hours of pain relief.  The pain came back but he was able to do a little PT while it was numb.  So they decide to try a different type of epidural where they leave the catheter in a week and dose it everyday.