So far, I don't take any regular medication but that is primarily because I need to keep a clear head for work. I don't think anyone should feel bad about taking the meds they need.

I sometimes get frustrated with the comments made by well meaning people.

People will say how much better my hand looks, and it does. It looks so much better than it did when I first returned to work. The pain is also not as severe as it was when I first returned to work but I am still in pain. But there is another aspect of this pain - it is chronic pain. So, while on any given day I am in less pain than I was at the beginning of the year, I have now been in constant pain since December 2012. That is exhausting. It wears you down. I also haven't slept through the night since then. I know that most of you have been in pain for so much longer and that both inspires me and breaks my heart for you all.

Or, people will relate my CRPS pain to something they have had. For instance, I recently bought wrist warmers. I have started wearing on one my right arm to keep it from getting cold. Now, I don't need to tell any of you how insanely painful a CRPSy limb is when it gets cold. However, people will say things like, oh yeah, I broke my (foot, arm, whatever) years ago and now it gets sore when I get cold. And I'm thinking...no, not like that at all, not even close. But I can't say that. They are trying to be nice. Still, in the back of my head I'm thinking...is that what you think I'm experiencing? Do you think that is all that is wrong with me?

I try to find the balance between explaining and not whinging or appearing to be a whinger. I know I don't post very much but I do read all the posts. I'm just not always up to posting. But knowing that all of you understand what I am going through is such a comfort to me.

I don't know what I would do without my CRiPSy Crew.