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Old 08-11-2018, 11:53 AM
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catra121 catra121 is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Illinois
Posts: 1,785
10 yr Member
catra121 catra121 is offline
Senior Member
catra121's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2010
Location: Illinois
Posts: 1,785
10 yr Member
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I'm sorry to hear all that you are going through. I h avent used a pain pump...meds did not work for me and the last 3 years were pretty rough for me until I finally got the DRG spinal cord stimulator and it was life changing. I have a post on here about it...but the end result is that I can walk again. Went from 10-15minutes on my feet was my max and that pushed me to level 10 pain to now I can walk 20,000-30,000 steps a day...it's AMAZING. Unfortunately...about 2 weeks before I was supposed to get the DRG for my upper body too...my insurance change their policy and no longer cover it. I don't know what the future holds for that treatment but I know many Drs are working hard to get it covered by insurance because it WORKS for a lot of us when nothing else did. Doesn't help you right now but definitely something to keep an eye on as stuff is always changing. I also use Lidocaine patches...they don't help a LOT but they do help a little in my upper body where I don't get relief from the stimulator.

One thing I want to caution you on...try not to immobilized your CRPS limbs. Not saying you have to walk if you can't but gentle stretching exercises while sitting or laying down just to keep things moving makes a huge difference I've found over the years. I did warm water pool therapy last summer before I got the stimulator and I really feel that helped me from "losing" too much and made my eventual recovery a bit easier. The leas I move, the worse my pain is...so just keep an eye on that.

Heat also is a big help for me. So heat patches, space heaters, warm baths with Epsom salts...all of those things help a little. I also had a home ultrasound heat therapy machine I got off Amazon that helped with flare ups.

Again...I'm sorry for all you are dealing with and I know the other issue probably limit you as well...but as done someone who didn't respond well to many traditional meds and treatment I found that there were a lot of little things that helped my pain a little and made life more tolerable. Hopefully while insurance tries go sort itself out you can find some small things to help give you relief.
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BioBased (08-11-2018), PurpleFoot721 (08-11-2018)