We saw a new pain management doctor today, who seems very thorough. He wants bloodwork done to rule out infection or inflammation as a source of pain. (My son has a history of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.) He left me scratching my head a bit though. He noted in the exam that his foot temperature was the same as the other foot. (Usually it's colder.) He's really big on using the Budapest criteria for diagnosing, and making sure to rule out any contributing causes.

Because he doesn't have allodynia (thankfully), and no temp difference (at least not today), he doesn't feel that he meets enough criteria for a firm CRPS diagnosis, even though 6 other doctors have agreed it is CRPS, and his foot is usually colder than the other one. He doesn't have swelling, either. But he does have extreme pain, and a purple foot. So he's calling it neuropathic pain and not necessarily CRPS. So I don't know whether to feel confused or hopeful. He's flared up pretty badly from the surgery still, and can't really walk on it right now.

I want to hope that the temp improvement is a sign that the CRPS symptoms are starting to reverse themselves with the hardware out. Yeah, let's just go with that for now. I need a little bit of hopeful. He'll start pool therapy again in a few weeks. Until then, back to the Y we go! (As I take a deep breath and tell myself we can do this again.)

On a funnier note, he joked that they needed to hire me to work there, because of how much information I came with about this whole ugly disease. I've only spent the last year researching all I can about it, often in the middle of the night because that's the only time I can have a complete thought in a house full of kids.

Blessings to all of you, and hoping for more pain free days.