Hello Sully and Welcome,

I am so very sorry that you have had to come join us. CRPS is hard enough on oneself, I know it must be even harder as the parent. You will find many helpful and supportive people here who understand the frustration and fear that go with this diagnosis. Your family is not alone.

Hold on to hope, as I often relay, 80% of people improve over time according to Cleveland Clinic's Dr. Michael Stanton Hicks. Recovery is often much slower than anyone wants it to be but improvement does come. I am so glad that you have been able to get care arranged quickly for your son. That will make a difference. Much of the problem with CRPS relates to nervous system plasticity, so working on it sooner rather than later is beneficial. His youth and plastic brain and nervous system work in his favor. Keeping the pain flares down is vital and helps prevent him from getting stuck in a "pain ON" position. Do what you can for PT and aquatherapy without overdoing. Ten minutes is a great start. Pushing too hard is very tempting as many of us know and it can tend to backfire. When that happens, pull back a little, rest, then train a little more gently. Just like sports. The discipline of tae kwon do will be a big help here.

The pain psych is great. It is wonderful you are getting that started now. I worked with a pain therapist and it was a huge help in coping with pain and dealing with sadness and anxiety surrounding it.

Keep on those docs. You are doing all the right things. Workup is essential to rule out underlying contributors. I can personally attest to the benefits of ketamine and the studies on it with peds look good. I hope that all gets worked out. If you have any concerns about medications or interactions, especially with the meds for tics, consider a pharmacy consult. Pharmacists are underutilized in this regard and know the meds better than docs sometimes.

When you have time the following video has a wealth of info from a non-doomsday doctor and has sections on pediatric cases and therapy. Dr. Pradeep Chopra "CRPS Diagnosis and Management"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s3LKhOZ8mAM

Please come let us know how things are going. I hope that your son finds relief and healing soon!