Hello Haywired and Welcome,

I am so sorry you are here with us. Hopefully, it will be a short stay. We know it is scary, but even if you have CRPS there are statistics from highly regarded CRPS specialists that indicate 80% of people improve over time. The fact that you don't have pain is great and IMHO bodes positively for recovery.

Two months out from ankle trauma and surgery is not very long at all. I am by no means saying you don't have CRPS but some of the symptoms (swelling, color change) are normal post-op but don't always resolve as quickly as doctors think they should. I have seen an article for CRPS without pain, it is a thing, but those cases resolved with PT and weightbearing. Let's hope that is the case for you too! If you are not very mobile yet that could be contributing and post-op swelling can certainly aggravate nerves and make them act buggy. I completely understand the driving desire to DO something. I encourage you to start with the least invasive options first.

A PT and exercise program is imperative. If you haven't started PT yet, now is a good time. Just be sure they don't try to push TOO hard. There is definitely a sweet spot of balance. Aqua therapy is great after lower limb surgeries. I rehabbed after 3 operations that way. Start low, go slow. Biobased recently posted a great article about the effect of spending time in the water on CRPS. For myself, it was the place my foot looked the most normal when I was at my worst and really had a positive effect on symptoms.

I took two rounds of oral steroids early on at the recommended dose for CRPS (10mg 3x day for 10 days) and found that helpful. Anti-oxidants help combat the inflammation that contributes to maintaining CRPS And keeping stress down will help too. The phenoxybenzamine was impossible to find when I was looking for it, perhaps that has changed. Production had ceased and I actually resorted to ordering it from Canada. The only time I've ever done that. I did have to send a prescription for it which was given by a sympathetic doctor willing to let me try it. For me it actually made things worse because the added blood flow increased pressure in an area where the nerve is wedged in tightly. But, I have a lot of scar tissue and compression so don't generalize my response.

Hang in there and try to be patient with your body. It has been through a lot with your surgery and is still healing. That process will easily take 4-6 months, longer for complete bone remodeling if you had a break of any kind. Give yourself credit for small gains, knowing they will build over time. Improvement can be slow and sometimes requires one to pull back after overdoing to start again, but it WILL come. There is hope and recovery and healing with CRPS. I hope it finds you soon!

Come let us know how you're doing. I'm sending thoughts of relief and healing,
BTW, you'll be able to send messages after a certain number of posts.