I sprained my ankle pretty badly on Halloween in 2023 and in the following 2 weeks or so ended up injuring it a lot more which the doctors think is what caused it even though I had thought it had fully healed. It originally started as just ankle pain that I just woke up with one day and has since spread to being my entire leg with the worst pain I’ve ever had in my life. I can’t walk well, I use a cane to get around if I’m not at home and limp when I don’t use it. There has been temperature and color changes, like I know sometimes it’ll look almost purple and it can be both really cold and really hot depending on the day. There definitely is swelling at times, and the pain can change but it’s always there in some form and even the lightest bit of pressure feels like needles on my skin. They told me it was CRPS because I had nothing show up on MRIs, nerve tests, blood work, xrays, etc. I have not tried a lidocaine patch but it’s been brought up, I’ll probably end up trying that. Thank you.

Have you noticed what makes your pain worse? I have had CRPS for 25 years and while it’s never been cured, I learned that managing what makes it worse has lessened the pain. I signed up for biofeedback classes at the hospital which used taught me to lessen my pain by controlling my reaction to it. Cold makes it worse, so I wear lined pants, my foot swells, so I always wear open back sneakers and clog like shoes. I also had a series of epidural injections early which dramatically decreased the pain. I did find that not moving my leg/foot made it worse. I was never totally pain free, some days it was nuisance and didn’t ruin my day. I thought my life was ruined too. I managed to work and take care of a house and retire. Each step in treatment is necessary to find what works for you especially because you are so young. Don’t give up hope!