Hi Pat,

So sorry to hear about your girl. It's hard enough when we suffer, harder when it's our kids. We all know how scary it is in the beginning, the fear, the feeling of isolation and the constant worry. Try not to panic. Save that energy for healing. A lot of the internet info is downright frightening and quite a lot of is NOT true. Consensus among experts is that 80% of people get better over time and with treatment. Kids and teens have the strongest healing capacity and best chance to kick this crap. Look for more knowledgeable doctors and ones that have a positive outlook. A doctor who believes this is a death sentence might give up sooner. I have done well with neurology and also with Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation who often get quite a few CRPS patients in their practice. Make sure nothing got damaged nerve wise in that injury via a nerve conduction study and get started on gentle rehab. If you have to travel for decent care then find a way to do it. My best doctors are three hours away from me and they are worth every mile on the road.

There are good meds and supplements for nerve pain and nerve health. It can take a few tries to find a good fit for that so be prepared. You mentioned an antidepressant, the old TCA meds are good for this, amiltriptyline can cause more side effects as it's first generation. I take low dose nortriptyline 20mg (I am little and tolerate this dose well) it helps and is given for migraine headaches too. Desipramine is the same family and also good. Some do well on neurontin. I always recommend a video by Dr. Pradeep Chopra on http://www.rsds.org that has lots of tips on meds and therapy and general info, talks about kids too. He gives a rational hopeful platform to start from. Advises against invasive treatments like spinal cord stimulators. Dr. Michael Stanton Hicks at Cleveland Clinic also gives good info on a continuing Ed presentation he did for pain docs. I can't get the exact link because it is really long but if you Google "Dr. Michael Stanton Hicks and Phenoxybenzamine" it comes up as the first hit. He also says CRPS gets better with time. The key is getting pain reduction and getting that limb gently moving. Blood flow = oxygenation = healing.

Hang in there Mom! There is help out there you just have to be stubborn about finding it and advocating for work up and whatever help or therapy your daughter needs. Don't forget teens have the best chance of coming out of this. I wish you all the best and will be praying for you and your family. Come here when you need to vent...

Sending Healing Love,
Littlepaw