Hey There Original Cool!
 

Yeah, I have had a foot since my permanent nerve injury which has been HOT, don't stop neither. Often I try to take off socks and shoes in order to be a little more comfortable...... even have applied blue ice gels to my foot. It is just the way it is.

Anyway, I was thinking a good nickname for you might be Elvis..... theoriginalcool..... :)

Hope your doc has miracles a waitin for you,
Mark56:)

I have frozen foot, too.
 

Hi Bryan,
I wanted to tell you that I too have that frozen foot sensation, like your foot is stuck in dry ice & it actually freezes your bones & is impossible to warm up & really hurts. I didn't get the burning sensation until I was into it a ways & even then it was random, mostly at night in my attempts at sleep when it would feel like my heel was on fire where it touched the mattress but it was never as bad as the frozen feeling which I get most often. Winter is tough as is extreme heat. I used to live at the beach in L.A. so I had perfect weather but after 4 years of being off work I had to give up & move back to my parents in North Central Washington State & the temperature extremes of summer & winter are a struggle. I just hit my 6 year mark on Aug. 19th & you will find that we all have somethings in common but that there doesn't seem to be an exact formula for how each persons symptoms come about. I had serious color changes for the first year that got better or changed the second year & so on. Now I only get color changes once in a while but I have serious deep bone pain, stinging, cramping & sensitivity to cold & heat, cold is worse....taking a shower can be dangerous until you learn to find the right medium before you get in. I have passed out from the pain & shock of it in the beginning when the water was too cold or too hot. Don't ice it! Ice is bad for us & it took some time to figure this out, too, even for my original PT people. If you were athletic at all it is probably the first instinct to do for an injury but don't do it.
Good luck Bryan.
Darla

It's good to know there is support around
 

Thanks for sharing your story and thoughts about crps Darla. I was actually quite athletic before this happened to me. I am still trying to stay as mobile as possible. I've been using a cane for months now, ever since my physio therapist suggested it. My calf muscles on my affected foot/leg have been shrinking for a long time now. I've lost about 2 inches circumference as compared to my right leg. I've actually got some family up for a visit this week, and I'm planning to go float on a lake with them today. I know I'll probably have a horrible flare up tonight from doing so, but I have already found that a balance must be struck between my pain and my social life. If I lock myself up because I know I'll be in pain, then I'll never experience any sort of fun again. I just can't let my pain get in my way, or I'll be stuck dwelling on it, every minute of every day.

new to neurotalk
 

Hi my name is anita
I am 42 a registered nurse (was), I fell and fractured my right ankle May 29, 2009, had plates and screws placed and immediately started having senory issues. My surgeon didn't believe me when I told him, every step hurt and it hurt when things touched my ankle, and it felt like ice water running from my knee down. So in November I went and found another Dr. that was the first time I had heard of RSD. I cried when I read the signs and symptoms and looked at the pictures. Sincce then I had a second surgery, removed all but one screw and the dr. found that I had a large ball of scar tissue in the joint, arthritis and one of the nerves where scared down to the bone. Now I am being followed by pain management. We have tried sympathic blocks with only 7-10 days of relief. Neurostimulator with less then 50% relief. I currently use a rollabout, bedcradle and shower chair. Weather changes and stress are horrible factors. I have applied to SSdisability, but have not heard anything. Workers comp. dr. disagrees with all the other dr.'s on my diagnosis and says I can work fulltime with modified duties.

So sorry you are dealing with WC. What modified duties does workman's comp think you can do? Did your doctors advise you to apply for SSDI? If so, did WC review those recommendations?

Counsel
 

Dear Anita- Please consider being proactive on your own behalf. I was especially concerned regarding the reality of medical care for my situation over the remainder of my life since I was injured on the job. For this reason primarily, I hired counsel to protect me, go after the benefits I should receive as a disabled individual, and..... well, in general FIGHT for me.

If you are attempting to protect yourself by yourself it is possible you could be one of whom advantage is taken. This and this only is why I suggest you find counsel to view your situation and give their thoughts. Often the initial consult is without charge as they evaluate whether you would be a client whose case bears representation.

As for me, well, I am a lawyer and have been in court with some of the best, but so far as working on my own situation, I was not too fond of that euphemism of the "surgeon practicing surgery on themself." I am glad I have had representation and my medical team backing me up every step of the way. Social Security was decided in my favor and the Workers Comp case has settled in principal although we have waited for over six months for the folks at Medicare to give their blessing to the settlement.

Just food for thought Anita,
Caring deeply,
Mark56:grouphug:

Anita,

I was a nurse before I was injured also and dealt with Workman's Comp. They are complete idiots and they will battle this until the end since it's a life long disease. They don't believe in this disease at all and told me it was all in my head. I gave up after 2 years of fighting them and losing my car, house and eventually my Twin Soul in the process and with an idiot for attorney at the time and settled for a small lump sum. However, fight them for all it's worth is my advice. You deserve it all after being injured at work. Don't give up like I did. I'm currently in the process of getting ready for my SSDI hearing in October. It's a battle to get it and this time I hope I win as my CRPS has spread from just my knee area to almost my entire leg and it's now slowing creeping up my back. Get attorneys and lawyers to help you in the process of SSDI...and don't give up hope...I hope they find you a treatment or medications that work...*painless hugs*

~*~ Ky ~*~

Thannk you Ky
 

Anita- Ky brings up a valid point, that of needing to vet the selection of lawyer you may make. Of course, I had connections a many, and I was able to drill down to the right person..... traced him from large firm practice where he cut his teeth to the shared practice he has with his father. Others whom I know recommended him.

If you have any friend, think in your neighborhood, your church, your social gatherings, who has legal experience, ask them to check around for you as a beginning, then follow the trail of that person's practice to determine whether they emerged from large firm practice as a primer to do work comp and social security. This would be a good indicator. Then ask questions of your friend what their reputation is like, schedule and initial interview with them and size them up, ask about their success representing clients such as you, what their fee structure is [it is generally regulated in this arena], and do your best....... that is if you think in terms of pursuing protection as I did.

All the best,
Mark56 :grouphug:

life in ruins
 

Hi all

Can't believe I have only just found a group who actually know what I'm going through. 2yrs ago I could never imagine living how I am now. I was in the British army. Spent my life helping injured soliders, I was a front line combat medic. Then switched to doing physiotherapy in the military. I spent my spare time doing skiing, mountaineering, Kayaking, triathlons, teaching medical skills to people, scuba diving and crazy adventure sports.

My life changed when 5mins from my parents house a car driver pulled off a kerb from behind a bus stop. The car hit my motorbike whilst I was doing 10mph or less! My life changed in seconds. 2yrs later and I am confined to a wheelchair, can not move my legs. I am in constant severe pain. I struggle to get clothes on, I want to cry. I thought i was a really strong women but now question everything I was before. I am starting to get that awful stabbing in my right hand. Not sure what I will do with no legs and one ARM out of action. I live by myself and can not cope as things are. Trying to explain to my family what the rsd is like for someone. About 99% of doctors have no idea, here in the uk rsd seems not to be known about! I can not work. It is a real effort to pretend to enjoy anything. I don't really have any one to chat with about things. I feel forced to put a brave face on for family and freinds so just build all the worries inside myself. I am on a list of drugs, which do not work. I am caught up in an insurance case but in the UK I seem to be at the mercy of the othersides insurance. I have no money for help or a carer. Ant suggestions would be amazing. All positions are agony, I force myself to do everything I need to everyday. I hate the wheelchair and not having my legs. I fall trying to transfer a lot, then am stuck on tge fall untill I get it together enough to drag myself back into my wheelchair with one and a half arms in use. You all sound like you are dealing with everything much better than me. You are all so strong. I was assured by the doctors the rsd can not spread but really feels like it is. It is going further up my legs, now up to and in my bottom. The doctor just looks at me as if I am an alien or making it up. Keep the strength you all have. Take care. N x

Dear Hotddiver You Are Home
 

This is the special place for folks who with unrelenting pain can find like minded and like situated folks who KNOW what you suffer. Earlier on this thread, I wrote on behalf of my Sis Terri the story which became her lot after merely having knee surgery, not knee replacement, just a scope surgery. Yes, it did travel in her situation as you have read has been the case for others on here, and yes, her life has changed drastically from one of activity in the community she loved to wheelchair and many meds to help endure the pain.

She has come to realize the wheelchair is not a symbol of what she lost so much as it is her pathway to movement and freedom. Hers is electrically propelled, and when she has felt more strong, has been known in the small town where she lives to go out to the center of the street and pop wheelies with her wheelchair just to show she is not beaten down by the evil of RSD. Then that Great Big Smile she shares, not because she is putting on a face for me, because she knows full well my own issues, BUT, it comes from within her heart as God has helped her find peace in counting the blessings she has for now.

This is not intended as some rah rah pep talk, just an introductory hug to let you know here you will feel the care of others. My Sis will not get on the computer any longer, so I tend to be her "secretary" if there is a post to be made. So from Terri in Colorado to you, a special hug is given.

Blessings on you,
Peace,
Mark56:grouphug: