Hello,

New to this forum and wanted to get some feedback from others with CRPS.

My condition started at 26. I was in the fire fighter academy and two weeks from graduation. After coming down from a roof 30' up, I started to wring out my heavy leather gloves, when I felt a sharp pain in my arm, and my hand seized up and loss function. I was also working full time as a delivery driver, so ended up having to be medically withdrawn from the fire service and work for 3 months.

I went through months of PT and saw many doctors who initially diagnosed me with a crushed median nerve, carpal tunnel, and dystonia. My work forced me back to work, due to threatening me with termination. I was authorized to only do light duty office work. Needless to say after 3 days back, new management forced me back on the road due to staffing issues, and threatened to fire me(which would cause me to lose my insurance). After 2 days the same injury recurred, but worse. I have been out of work since then(3 years). I have had several surgeries, seen 20+ doctors, hundreds of hours of PT and been on over 20 medications.

I have had severe pain, emanating from my hand and shooting up through the elbow. It is in my right hand(I'm right handed of course) and my hand has lost all strength(less then 30 psi). My thumb stays clasped against my hand, and I have a hard time opening any of my fingers. Also had my hair on my hand/ar, fall out, and my skin has become very thin.

After about a year I was officially diagnosed with CRPS, and have been struggling to deal with it since. My pain level has steadily increased over time, and my hand function is worsening. It's very frustrating being in my late 20's, and being so effected by a condition that is hard to diagnose, hard to treat, and not much is known about. I have also been told the condition is somewhat rare in men my age.

Just wanted to see what others use to treat there condition, and if anyone else how has CPRS in the arm/hand has dealt with the loss of function. There's quite a bit more to the story, and I'm sure I could fill in more details, if anyone has questions. Thanks