Are there any pain treatments for Ehlers-Danlos that work? Any cures?
My 28-year-old nephew has been suffering for about 7 years; misdiagnosed, undiagnosed, but now everything points to Ehlers-Danlos syndrome.
Drugs have done nothing but make him need more drugs. He's had physical therapy, chiropractic therapy, massage therapy, traction, and acupuncture. Nothing has worked, and the acupuncture treatment he had was very painful.
Anyone have anything that works, or know of any studies which he could be considered for? As he is too old for his mom's health insurance and is unable to work, he has no medical insurance and no income, and has been turned down for medicaid (although an appeal is pending).
We're looking for something in the Detroit area, if possible.
Top 10 Things NOT to Say to a Fibromyalgia Patient 
7 Conditions Often Mistaken for Fibromyalgia 
7 Surprising Causes of Back Pain 
8 Conditions That Often Accompany Back Pain 
I have EDS 3. The problem with effective pain meds is that pain is your warning that you are injuring yourself. If you have an effective pain medication, then you risk injuring yourself. Injuries take much longer to heal with this condition i.e my broken finger took 5 months to heal when normally it takes 5 weeks. The only thing that has worked so far is Prolotherapy. As I understand it, because the pain and injury is chronic, our body has learned to ignore it and treat pain/injury as "normal". In Prolotherapy, they inject an irritant such as sugar water, into the injured site. The irritant spreads out to that area and fools the body into recognizing the injury and the body begins to repair the tissue. I had it done in 2 areas: The sac joints and my ankles. It only lasts 9-12 months because of the genetic component, but it helped a lot. In a normal body it may have been a permanent fix. It was recommended to only have it done in a couple of areas or the body might ignore it. It is not a cure-it does not help the other untreated areas, the muscle pain, or the hernias etc,--but it kept my ankles from swelling and my sac joints from dislocating as bad as they were. It cost a couple hundred per site and was very, very painful because the areas were injured and sensitive. Still worth it. Hopefully, health insurance will start covering the costs soon and recognize its merits.