Raising Awareness of Painful Diseases in November

November is the awareness month for two conditions that can cause disabling pain: Dercum's disease and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Dercum's disease, also known as adiposis dolorosa, is a rare disorder in which lipomas (painful growths of fatty tissue) can be found under the skin on a person's trunk, upper arms, upper legs, and other body parts. Other symptoms include weight gain, swelling, depression, lethargy, and confusion. Occurring most often in women aged 45-60, the cause of Dercum's disease is not known, but it could be a result of the lipomas' pushing on nerves. Treatment options are painkillers, corticosteroid injections, and surgical removal of lipomas around joints, but these are only temporary solutions. For more information, go to https://rarediseases.org/rare-diseases/dercums-disease/.

CRPS is a type of chronic pain in an individual's limb for more than six months after an injury or surgery. There may also be changes in skin color, temperature, and swelling in the limb. More common in women at a peak age of 40, CRPS may be due to damage to the peripheral and central nervous systems. There are two types of CRPS: CRPS-I without a confirmed nerve injury (formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy or RSD) and CRPS-II with a confirmed nerve injury (formerly causalgia). Treatment options include rehabilitation and physical therapy, medications, and sympathetic nerve block. To learn more, go to https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Complex-Regional-Pain-Syndrome-Fact-Sheet.

 

The Dercum Society and RSDS Association logos

(images via dercums.org and rsds.org)