Originally Posted by Sonny1

Very sorry to hear of your fairly new diagnosis, it is never a good thing to hear. BUT thankfully there are these forums full of people who do know what we are all going through daily and can offer suggestions.

I have CRPS in my hands and it is no where near the degree of seriousness from what I have read on here and other forums, but it is my pain nonetheless, a pain I never had before. I have endured 10 hand surgeries between both hands in 3 1/2 years, multpile cortisone injections (which caused more pain) tried many pain med's (which I refuse to take narcotics, to afraid of them) so i take Topamax and Cymbalta for pain. I see a pain mngmnt Dr. and have had 8 Stellate ganglion injections (which have helped some, but not enough to continue having a needle jammed into my neck). I was issued a Tens Unit which sends electrical surges through wires/patches to the affected area to stimulate the nerves.

I have the cold sensation in my hands but not all of the time. I have burning on fire feeling with pin prickling but at any given moment the hands go ice cold and numb. Although they hurt, I am told it is super important to continue to massage them and stretch them, to keep them from getting imobile. Some people cannot do that due to their pain level, I can, with extreme pain for the aftermath. There is no one right medication, no one right treatment as we all respond differently to everything. It is a lifelong illness, one that we have to mentally accept sooner than later because we need our mental strength to make up for the loss of our physical loss and cope with our limitations. It is a daily, hourly struggle, but as I said, thank goodness for these forums. Whatever you do, do not give up hope that you will find a way to manage the pain, it may take time, and there may be better days than others, but hang in there and ask any questions you may have!!! Good luck!