Hi, my name is Peter and I've had CRPS for 6 years in my left foot and leg. It took me 4 years to figure out that I had CRPS, so I ended up going to pain specialists who just prescribed opioids or whatever to try and keep my pain levels down.

Physical Therapy
I've discovered that for me, using the least amount of pain meds that I can get by with while working at PT to fully use all the small muscles in my foot and leg is what helps the most. Aqua therapy has been the very best thing for me. A one hour walk in the pool keeps my pain down for a few days.

Nurture Yourself
I have a small heating blanket from Amazon (Mind & Body Electric Spa Wrap) that I use to wrap around my foot/leg when I'm having a bad day. I get a massage with focus on my foot once a week. I carry around a seat pad so that I don't have to sit on a hard chair when I hang out in coffee shops. I'm in the hot tub most nights before going to bed.

Acceptance
It's taken me a long time to accept what I can and cannot do. I'm actively working at "getting better" while also learning to be ok with walking slowly. I know that many people have bigger problems than I do so I try to be thankful that I didn't do anything drastic during the high pain years that I went thru, so I appreciate the time with my grandkids etc.

Brain Games
I met a guy about 2 years into my CRPS that told me I just needed to learn to think of something besides my pain. That was almost impossible at that point for me, however, over the years I've learned that if I can find ways to stop focusing on my pain so much, it really helps. When I play piano I don't really notice my foot at all. I've also experimented with listening to some positive affirmations I recorded with some relaxing music in the background. I started jogging on astro turf while listening to "My legs are getting stronger and stronger... supporting you evenly, effortlessly. Everything is all... OK... My feet are reaching out and caressing the ground... gently... evenly.. it's SAFE.. " The idea here is to try and re-train my brain so that it can back off from thinking my leg should be in pain. I've had good results with this so far and am now able to jog on hard surfaces (that's super-slow jogging)

Mirror Therapy
I started with the bathroom mirror that I took off the wall and when my wife complained I upgraded to a $15 mirror from Amazon. I start off by keeping my CRPS foot still (behind the mirror) while making tiny movements with my good foot. My brain is able to see my CRPS foot move without the usual pain sensations. I try to do this once a day for about 15 minutes.

Devices
I used a larger TENS unit that my insurance company paid for to deal with break thru pain in my first few years, however I found a smaller unit on Amazon (about $30) - Pain relief machine electric pulse impulse muscle massage stimulator - that fits right in my pocket. I run the leads down inside my pants and put the pads on opposite sides of my ankle.

Food and eating habits
I've lost 35 pounds mostly by watching my diet and tracking my weight. With less weight to carry around I'm healthier and it's easier for me to exercise, etc. I'm currently on a "No coffee" and gluten-free diet. It's hard to say if this really makes a difference but it's an easy thing that you can try for 90 days to see if it helps you.

Pain Medication
I was on opiods for the 1st 18 months. In hindsight I should have gotten off them much sooner.. perhaps at 4 or 6 months max. My pain levels actually went down after I got off Oxycontin. I've had good results from Cymbalta, Gabapentin, Lyrica for nerve pain. I've used Nucynta, and Tramadol for break thru pain. I'm currently taking Pamelor which seems to be helping.

Placebo Effect
In scientific studies it's been shown that you can get up to 32% improvement just by the placebo effect. The nice doctor says to take this pill (which is just a sugar pill) and if you believe that it's going to help you, it does - at least a little bit. I've found that by trying a new medication or supplement I can usually get some sense of improvement for awhile. This is one example of the crazy brain and body effect with CRPS.

Hope
Elvis said that the secret to life is "Someone to love, Something to do, and something to hope for." I'm at my best when I'm eagerly hoping for and expecting that I can continue to get better. I'm a big optimist and I've slowly made progress over the 6 years of dealing with CRPS. This is despite having numerous Dr's and specialists tell me that I'm not likely to improve any further. The other side of this are those flare-up days when it feels like I'm getting worse. I think the secret is to look back at where you were a year or two ago so that you can see the improvements you've been able to achieve.

Chipping Away at Chronic Pain
For the first 4 or 5 years of dealing with CRPS I was looking for a magic solution. I wanted a pill or a device that would "cure" me completely. I've found that anything I can do that gives me even a tiny little boost in the direction of feeling better is helpful. (Take a deep breath.. and let it out... ) If you're able to combine enough of these tiny nudges in the right direction, you'll be able to keep your pain down below the threshold where it takes over your life.

I hope that you've found these ideas helpful to you in some small way. I'm excited to have found this forum and will do my best to respond to any comments or questions that you may have.