Hello, John:

Thanks for responding. Yes, I did read your posts regarding Fenugreek and Fennel. Although the first urologist, Dr. Foul-up, diagnosed my condition as epididymitis and both he and the second urologist treated me with anti-biotics, the post-epididymectomy pathology report attributed the inflammatory response to trauma and the presence of foreign body(ies), i.e. silk sutures(?), not infection. Unfortunately, the silk sutures "downstream" are still there, wreaking havoc with my spermatic cords.

Moreover, I also suffer from chronic inflammation and pain in and around my sacrum, throughout my pelvic region, down my right leg, and in my right foot.

I don't know whether the herbs you recommend will help with inflammation that is not the result of infection, but in my case nothing ventured, nothing gained, so I'll give it a try.

One important chapter I left out of my earlier screed: Before I became totally disabled, I was a book editor. Last spring one of the authors with whom I was working put me in touch with an aquaintance of hers who is a Russian emigree. This fellow hails from Buryat, a former Soviet republic sandwiched between Mongolia and Siberia. In addition to his book learning as an anesthesiologist, he also comes from a shamanic tradition and is well-versed in a variety of forms of acupuncture, acupressure, herbal medicine, etc. He also has a machine that uses concentrated wave forms to help open pain gates and get the body's "healing" energy flowing more freely. He worked with me for about six months, during which time he was able to reduce my symptoms considerably and teach me mind/body techniques that enable me to cope better when things get really bad. Unfortunately, we came to a point where there was nothing more he could do. RSD is an autoimmune disorder, and frankly, mine is the worse case he has ever seen.