Want to talk with others. Have you found relief from CRPS?

Posted by mam14 @mam14, Feb 4, 2019

I was diagnosed with complex regional pain syndrome a year ago. It has since spread and I am experiencing a decline in my health at an alarming rate. I am hoping to talk to others that may have found relief.

Interested in more discussions like this? Go to the Chronic Pain Support Group.

I have CRPS in my legs/feet. I'm strongly encouraging you to stop ALL refined sugar. I gave it up last December and now I can walk again, and I'm walking a lot! Keep moving. I'm completely amazed at the change! I now do 6000-12000 steps a day and it's incredible how easy it was to give up sugar once I realized it was like a "Poison" for my body. Drink water and follow a good diet, like the Mediterranean one. The biggest issue I currently face is the heat, so I stay inside and use a treadmill and a recumbent bike. I also have a Boston Scientific spinal cord implant, and I'm grateful for it. I've lost 34 pounds, and my cholesterol and triglycerides have reduced. It's a win-win! Wishing you the best!

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@delia74

Can you share just exactly where the block was done? I've had CRPS of left ankle/foot (which has crept up the leg, making for constant burning nerve pain of the appendage) for about 2 1/2 yrs now... "officially" diagnosed by neurologist to whom I turned after doctors in another practice were clueless and useless. He referred me to PM doctor who wanted to inject into my lumbar spine, telling me that it would well stop the pain in the appendage especially in the traumatized and damaged ankle/foot. I said no thank you, returned to my neurologist who supported my decision. Found a highly recommended PM doctor not too far from us, and he fit no push got yhr spine ijrvyion, trdprvyinh my grit go vsudnih gutyhrt tolrmd in yhs strs z9dlipprf divd, odyrostyhtiyid, nrtbr iddurdz0. Ordered PT for the CRPS, stating that PT (effectively done) is the first line of treatment for CRPS. My super excellent podiatrist agreed. Underwne nearly 20 weeks of PT with a great therapist, and the pain in foot/ankle subsided from a constant 7 to 9 (out of 10) to a constant PL 6 --- so much more tolerable, but the leg up to above the knee is still symptomatic. I stopped PT. $40 weekly co-pays became a factor, and besides, couldn't just keep going for PT to avoid the higher pain levels....continued the stretching and foot exercises at home, but CRPS is NEVER going to just disappear. There definitely is no cure, as stated in medical journals and voiced by my neurologist, podiatrist, and PM doctor. Podiatrist put together a formula (for a pain cream) that was filled at a compounding pharmacy out of state. A bit expensive but SO WORTH IT. A metered pumpful rubbed and massaged around the entire ankle/foot does relieve the bite o the pain. I cannot take pain meds (high sensitive, reactive). Elevating the leg, applying heating pa, and an Aleve as needed all hel. I am quite aware of the burning nerve pain since it is 24/7...it is what it is, and I'm grateful for days when I manage an hour standing so I can do errands, etc., and bake/cook. I've gained a bit of weight since I am not as active/mobile as I was prior to the nasty fall that inflicted the damages to my left leg (torn meniscus and damaged tendons in my knee), my entire left arm and shoulder (but those have "healed" thanks to tons of PT and OT, as well as help from incredible orthopedist).
I'm happy for you that you were able to do the sympathetic block and that it was effective. I have found ways around life with CRPS. Not happy about it, but it beats just being resentful for how it has impacted my life. And yes, I have way too many other more serious medical issues that require my attention. What most affected me was being told by several medical professionals (who DID have knowledge about the condition) that there is no cure, and that indeed it could "creep" into other areas of may body --- and it has. But I have not allowed the condition to get in the way of living as best a life as possible, along with my supportive husband.

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Cannot decipher the sentences after you said
“ I found a PM doctor- “
go back & read how spell check scrambled your words.
I had CRPS & Top doctors were stumped. The only event was a steroid shot in the ankle & my foot and ankle turned blue & mottled with a white giraffe like pattern all over & it was ON FIRE but felt cold!
After a few sympathetic blocks every 6 months next to the lumbar spine, the shocks, jolts & burning subsided forever!
That foot & ankle is still hypersensitive to touch, even like a small pebble in my shoe can cause burning sharp pain!
These sympathetic blocks were not available at Mayo in Jacksonville, so I went to Rochester Mayo.
In regard to the PM “shots” they could have been steroid shots & not a sympathetic block.
Steroid shots cause weight gain, affect your adrenal glands, high blood pressure & can cause damage to your body. Those can help a few days to a few weeks.
The Sympathetic Block lasted half a year!
So 2x a year to get full relief was a good send. Mayo said the TEST for sympathetically maintained pain, is also the treatment!
It worked in minutes!
My foot turned pink, warm & no shocks!
I did all the treatments you tried, none worked to stop the sudden burning shocks except the Sym Block.
(For others reading this, sympathetically maintained pain, just means your fight or flight response to an injury never shuts OFF!”
It wants you to get off that injured area, to prevent further damage.
“It continues well after the initial injury has healed.”
It does NOT mean, you want sympathy or it’s in your head. Thats why physical therapy doesn’t last & some PM shots often don’t last & can even create the sympathetic system to increase pain due to another jab with a needle into a very vascular area,
Anyway that’s what I learned about CRPS.
To me, it was worth the pilgrimage to Rochester to figure this out. They did.

REPLY
@sommerreign

Cannot decipher the sentences after you said
“ I found a PM doctor- “
go back & read how spell check scrambled your words.
I had CRPS & Top doctors were stumped. The only event was a steroid shot in the ankle & my foot and ankle turned blue & mottled with a white giraffe like pattern all over & it was ON FIRE but felt cold!
After a few sympathetic blocks every 6 months next to the lumbar spine, the shocks, jolts & burning subsided forever!
That foot & ankle is still hypersensitive to touch, even like a small pebble in my shoe can cause burning sharp pain!
These sympathetic blocks were not available at Mayo in Jacksonville, so I went to Rochester Mayo.
In regard to the PM “shots” they could have been steroid shots & not a sympathetic block.
Steroid shots cause weight gain, affect your adrenal glands, high blood pressure & can cause damage to your body. Those can help a few days to a few weeks.
The Sympathetic Block lasted half a year!
So 2x a year to get full relief was a good send. Mayo said the TEST for sympathetically maintained pain, is also the treatment!
It worked in minutes!
My foot turned pink, warm & no shocks!
I did all the treatments you tried, none worked to stop the sudden burning shocks except the Sym Block.
(For others reading this, sympathetically maintained pain, just means your fight or flight response to an injury never shuts OFF!”
It wants you to get off that injured area, to prevent further damage.
“It continues well after the initial injury has healed.”
It does NOT mean, you want sympathy or it’s in your head. Thats why physical therapy doesn’t last & some PM shots often don’t last & can even create the sympathetic system to increase pain due to another jab with a needle into a very vascular area,
Anyway that’s what I learned about CRPS.
To me, it was worth the pilgrimage to Rochester to figure this out. They did.

Jump to this post

Thanks for responding with your insightful info.
Initially, I had corticosteroids shots into the ankle, bilaterally. Even with injection to numb the area, it was helluva painful, and I swore off any future shots into the foot area. When numbing pain wore off, the ankle became the focus of level 10+ pain that made the fibromyalgia grip my entire body, gave me chills and shaking --THAT is how powerful the pain was, to even feel it viscerally. And the steroid did nothing for the pain. The CRPS pain is 24/7 --- as in constant, never stops, always THERE. Hot nerve pain is ever present. Pain level depends on so many factors, but the lowest is about a 5-6, with the highest being 8 to 9 (out of ten). My constant companion, whether sitting, standing, walking, lying down....and it has traveled to include the lower leg up to above the knee. But the most painful is the ankle, bilaterally, encircling the entire ankle front to back, and top of foot.
My research revealed that sympathetic injections are not effective with everyone. You are fortunate that you benefited from them. Not that I enjoy the CRPS -- just can't undergo what you've encountered with being injected in lower spine area. That's what the first PM doctor proposed and it is definitely a big "no" for me since major issues exist in my lumbar area. I did not want to mess with that.

As for PT, the purpose is to keep affected area from atrophying, and I'm all in for that. The incredible therapist provided relief, and I purchased a slanted board like the one at the PT centers, to stretch the calf muscles and ankle area several times a day. The board is conveniently located in the family room right next to the kitchen. I also continue the foot-ankle moves/exercises at home. You are correct that "...PT doesn't last...", at least not to the same degree as what's accomplished while undergoing the skillful manipulation, etc of a highly experienced therapist. That's why I continue with my own therapy at home.

I wish that I could turn back time, back to June 2021, to when the harsh fall onto the hard concrete floor inflicted such a change in what was my life at that time. But I can't...

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Those steroid shots into the very vascular areas of the foot and ankle was the cause of the CRPs for me.
In fact the CRPS info stays that often is the root cause.
PS: I also had spinal surgery in the lumbar area years before so no I didn’t want any shots.
But I needed relief, so I could work again & enjoy my life.
I felt 0 pain from the CRPS TEST at Mayo and got up after & walked. No other specialist in my city knew what this was, or how to treat this.
The “TEST” is just to see if part of the central nervous system is maintaining & spreading the pain, that’s why it could be “moving”
That’s all.
If you get full relief, then they (Mayo) knows what to do to get you functioning again.
Theres all kinds of new treatments today, from a patch that dulls the pain to an implant.
You know what’s best for you but I’m just sharing how easy & painless that test was & how much relief I had. To me, I got my life back ….Good Luck ☘️

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I too had a sympathetic nerve block which removed pain in leg for CRPS test. If you have an excellently skilled PM doc as I do you wouldn't fear his treatment. My problem is most of what is done is a Workers Comp case and getting approval keeps me in pain longer than I need to be!

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