Hi Tullis and welcome, though of course I'm sorry you have to be here.

Following the wrist surgery which was my precipitating event, my hand was extremely swollen and I could barely move my fingers at all. I know that sounds like an exaggeration but they really moved just a tiny bit that was barely discernible. I started physio straight away but there wasn't much we could do. If I remember correctly, it was mostly the physiotherapist gently massaging and moving my fingers (I say gently but it didn't feel so gentle). Once the swelling came down a bit, I started wearing a compression glove and as the swelling reduced further I moved to smaller gloves.

The swelling is much, much better now. My hand is still a bit swollen but I think that other people can really only see the swelling in my wrist. I can't say how much the compression glove helped because I was doing physiotherapy too.

One thing that is great about the compression glove is that the seams are on the outside. I am able to wear the glove without any discomfort. I still wear it under normal gloves because I wouldn't be able to tolerate a normal glove touching my skin.

I had a stellate ganglion block but got no relief from it. I also had a cortisone injection in my shoulder. It helped the swelling and I had an extremely dramatic, though very short-lived, increase in range of motion in my hand.

I still can't really make a fist but I'm almost there. I also work on a computer all day. My employer has made and continues to make any adjustments we can think of to make things easier for me. I am certainly slower than I was before CRPS but so far my employer has been very understanding.

Hang in there. I know it is a lot to try and wrap your head around. I don't think I've quite done that yet and my CRPS started in December 2012.

Kim