I am so saddened upon reading your story. You are right, no one will ever understand the pain that we who suffer from severe, chronic pain are going through(am I making any sense?). I have been fighting chronic pain for eight years as well. My pain originated from a ski fall. I had the pain under decent control up to 2021 when it all came flooding back. Even then I was able to perform most of my normal activities with some exceptions. We moved to another state last year. I fought the move because I had lived in our home for almost fifty years. It turned out to be a good thing. My pain level is sometimes off the chart. Even in the last nine months I am experiencing many new symptoms. What is so discouraging to me is going into my pain docs office with all this pain, and he just sits there and tells me to contact my PCP. No empathy at all. I am nowhere near your condition but am afraid that I may be heading in that direction. I'm not afraid of passing away, but I don't want to burden my wife with a shell of a man who cannot do anything for himself. I can only pray that God will deliver you form your pain according to His perfect will. Try to have a Merry Christmas.

@creyn51, welcome. I merged your 4 discussions into one discussion so fellow CRPS patients can follow your story in one place.

It sounds like you might be looking for medical professional advice. If you are looking for a second opinion from Mayo Clinic, you can submit a request for an appointment http://mayocl.in/1mtmR63

I can't begin to imagine suffering from unmitigated pain for 8 years. I wonder if the Pain Rehabilitation program at Mayo Clinic or elsewhere might be an option for you?

have you looked into calmare/scrambler therapy? for some it has been miraculous. it is non invasive, non addictive, pain free, and the expense won't break the bank. there are several hospitals, military bases, va's, and private docs/chiros that have this device.

Calmare or Scrambler Therapy is a very remarkable non-invasive way in treating chronic neuropathic pain with NO side effects. The Mayo Clinic has conducted four studies while Johns Hopkins has done five studies and recently had an abstract published in Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine showing an amazing 95% reduction in pain on the average for patients with PHN with NO side effects.. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23838448?dopt=Abstract

The Mayo Clinic Nov. Health Letter featured Calmare. (see attachment) In addition, The Foundation For Peripheral Neuropathy put out a positive report on Calmare. The article was a collaboration between Johns Hopkins and The Mayo Clinic. https://www.foundationforpn.org/?s=scrambler+therapy :
The MCA-5A treatment is FDA cleared and creates a series of complex artificial neuronal messages that are transmitted to the brain via the body's dermatome pathways. Five independent channels are available to transmit the artificial messages via surface electrodes attached to the skin in the dermatome region of the patient's pain.

The perception of pain during the treatment is inhibited by artificial messages of "no pain" that replace those of pain. You know it's working because during the therapy sessions, when proper electrode placement is attained, patients typically report zero pain.
Calmare 52 patient study.pdf
Calmare New england Journal of Medicine.pdf

After a series of treatments, the patient may experience significant pain reduction for an extended period of time. The duration of time depends upon the underlying cause and intensity of the pain and other factors. It is usually between 3 to 6 months. After which the patients would receive a booster treatment of 1 to 3 treatments to achieve zero pain again.

Here is a recent PBS story on Calmare: https://calmaretherapynj.com/dr-michael-cooney-featured-on-pbs-pain-management-program/

The Mayo Clinic recently released a video about treating CIPN with Calmare. http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/2015/02/19/breaking-away-from-the-pain-with-the-help-of-the-scrambler/

Here is an article published in Pain Medicine News.
http://www.painmedicinenews.com/Complementary-and-Alternative/Article/08-16/Scrambler-Therapy-Found-Promising-in-Pilot-Study/37477
MD Anderson produced this video about Calmare:
https://www.mdanderson.org/publications/cancer-newsline/spring-2017/pain-management-with-scrambler.html?intcmp=Highlights5_ScramblerTherapyCancerPain
.
The Mayo Clinic is currently conducting several studies with Calmare. They published an abstract in May 2014 at ASCO showing both a reduction in pain and durability of the treatment 10 weeks later. https://meetinglibrary.asco.org/record/93592/abstract

The Massey Cancer Center announced the completion of a back study with a sham device. The study showed a significant difference in pain reduction between the Calmare patients and those treated with the sham device.http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/results/NCT01896687?term=calmare&rank=3 (This study shows Calmare works for back pain and is not a placebo)

There are multiple studies that have been done by both The Mayo Clinic and Johns Hopkins (see attachments)

RSDs.org talks about CRPS and Calmare: http://rsds.org/calmare-scrambler-therapy-crps/

Dr. Thomas Smith from Johns Hopkins talks about Calmare: http://nationalpainreport.com/researcher-says-calmare-scrambler-provides-pain-relief-8821495.html

The US military has purchased 20 machines for several U.S. military medical facilities in the U.S. and overseas including The VA, The US Army, The US Air Force and The US Navy.

Calmare is currently in several hospitals and cancer centers including MD Anderson, The Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn, Johns Hopkins, Dignity Health in Phoenix, Providence Regional Cancer Partnership, Seattle, Regional Health in Rapid City, Mercy Hospital in St. Louis, Walter Reed in Baltimore, Andrews Air Force Hospital in Washington D.C., Stony Brook University Medical Center, New York, The Hartford Hospital in Connecticut, The Medical University in South Carolina and The City of Hope in Los Angeles. And recently UCSF.

Here are some links to media coverage about Calmare , also called Scrambler Therapy: (including the" Doctors Show")
PBS: https://calmaretherapynj.com/dr-michael-cooney-featured-on-pbs-pain-management-program/
https://www.ksl.com/article/25506361/fda-approved-device-offers-non-drug-option-for-pain
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=35487450
https://www.ksl.com/article/13770113/teen-hit-by-lightning-trying-out-new-device-to-deal-with-pain
https://www.ksl.com/article/16580318/medical-device-gives-new-life-to-utah-boy
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lsk6vTU9TcM (Doctors Show)
http://sharing.mayoclinic.org/2015/02/19/breaking-away-from-the-pain-with-the-help-of-the-scrambler
https://www.facebook.com/1737083399933677/videos/1766148400360510/
Here are some Calmare websites:
http://www.calmarett.com
http://www.cprcenters.com
https://calmaretherapynj.com
Conditions treated by Calmare:
https://cprcenters.com/conditions-treated
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Your story and heisenberg34’s story are so disheartening as they highlight the recurring theme in so many stories: doctors who don’t seem to care and no or little access to drugs that might help for patients who have struggled for years with no relief. I don’t have any answers but I pray for solutions. Merry Christmas to you all!