Hi Judy

Welcome to the site, sorry you have to be here, but there are some really good friendly folk here, and excellent tips and advice about if you explore a bit....

My CRPS started after a knee arthroscopy....standard fare afterwards, keeping it elevated and iced oh the irony of that well-meaning advice. Sounds like yours was a lot more dangerous though, I'm so sorry you've had this horrible condition started by poor advice and lack of proper care. The whole thing is so frustrating, but you do just have to get past that (well mostly, lol!) and make the best of things where you can. My first year was dark and grim, but I've just started my third year and things are slowly improving at the moment. Long may it last!!

Nerve blocks are controversial - some have been helped short term, but then seen no real benefit long term, others have had more obvious improvement. ,y pain doc repeated research I'd seen that said there was no real concrete evidence that the risks of the treatment outweigh the possible benefits. I'm sorry they didn't help you though. We all hope for a treatment that works!

After a few med changes I just take low dose Lyrica twice a day, and keep as active as possible. I did physio for a long time, and was lucky to end up with a good knowledgeable physio, but I don't have regular sessions now that I can do more anyway. If you are struggling with mobility then I think physio is vital, but if you can get about well and keep active it's not as crucial. I've struggled with finding pain meds that work, and tbh I hardly ever take them now because I hated being disappointed. I hope you have something that works for you when you need it most!

If you haven't discovered their delights already, try using unperfumed Epsom salts in a warm bath, or wrapped in a damp cloth and placed on your knee. They are great, and do actually work on your pain by blocking calcium channels (not exact science there lol, but it's something like that!). I find they work very well on the hot burning pain - I'm not saying its a cure but it helps.

Anyhoo....hope today is a better days for you, and keep posting. Hope to see you around on the boards.

Bram.