Hi there, it has been awhile since I have been here.. Happy holidays to everyone, please excuse the long post.
I have been getting lidocaine infusions since May of 2008 and I fully recomend this for anyone with RSD/CRPS. I have full body RSD.
Before I started the lidocaine infusions I spent alot of time in bed and my clothes hurt me a whole lot more than they do now.. I could not tolerate a breeze on my arms or the water from a shower without my pain levels going sky high, the lidocaine seems to realy help these types of symtoms for me and it lowers my general overall body hurts.. it is hard to explain.. but it has been a real godsend for me.
I get lidocaine infusions every 3 weeks. They first start you out with a test dose to see how well you tollerate it, this is given in an IV procedure, and the symptoms can include headache, nausia and blurry eyes, tingly lips etc

.. you let the nurse know when you notice any symptoms so they turn it down and they know what dose to start you at.. it also goes by your weight.
Then they will take out the IV and it should help for a few days

or more, and they will ask you to return for an apointment in 3 weeks to a month.
At that apointment they should start the regular infusions, these are done via vacume sealed IV bottles that fit in a little fitted sack that clips to your clothing. My sac says "Pain Pump" some just have the name of what ever med compamy makes them, they are quite small and discrete as you will wear them home.
The Subcutanious Infusions were first placed in the fleshy part of my upper arm's (we switched sides each time) via a tiny needle and tubing, the needle was quickly removed leaving the miniscule butterfly tubing taped up and attached to the tubing that goes to the vacume sealed bulb of lidocaine (looks like a baby bottle with a bulb in it lol)
These infusions work on an infusion time vs weight ratio, they need to be infused slowly.. the slower it goes in the longer it'll last is what I have found, my infusions were suposed to last 10-12 hours (each one has a specific time aloted) but sometimes mine go through too quick and it dosn't last as long.
hope this helps,
Sandra