Hello all! I've been lurking here for a couple of weeks and decided I am finally ready to jump in.

I'm a 34 year old female with a sudden onset of crps on 5/1/13. I had no injury, no surgery, no nothing. Just sudden pain. Initially it started like I had hit my funny bone. My entire forearm and left hand was involved. The pins and needles in my arm was continuous and lasted about 3 weeks. The numbness in my pinky and ring finger is still there. They originally diagnosed me with ulnar neuropathy which made sense until mid May when my hand had no grip and was contracted. I had an emg test, mri's of the brain, cervical spine, and brachial plexus, multiple X-rays of my chest and left arm, and a stress test. Everything comes out perfectly normal. My primary doctor sent me to Cleveland Clinic where I got a diagnosis on 6/4/13.

You would think that with such a quick diagnosis things would be looking up, but they're not. It has already spread to my left shoulder, left leg (thigh all the way to my foot), and I've had chest cramping since early on. The medications I've been on were doing ok (minus a few I've had to drop due to allergic reactions) up until Thursday. I had been in so much pain that wasn't relieved I decided to call my neurologist Friday morning.... He never called back. I ran into my primary doc on Saturday and she said she'd send an rx for tramadol over to the pharmacy for me......again it never arrived at my pharmacy. The pharmacy tech suggested I go to med express and get an rx there. I did, but they gave me the "we don't just hand out pain pills" speech. I knew it was coming because I used to work at a hospital. I was humiliated, but I was in so much pain I had to do something. I got it filled right before my pharmacy closed at 9 and am feeling better nearly 6 hours later.

I've been going to physical therapy and doing what I've been told to do, so why is this moving so rapidly? Anyone else with a similar experience?

Welcome to the forum. Sorry you have to be here for this monster. I'm also 34 and have had this for almost 10 yrs. I know the speech you mean. Ive gotten it since mid Nov 2003. Its almost become a disclaimer for drs and pharmacies. Have you tried espom salt soak, and vitamin C 500-100mg a day? Also try to relax and use that arm. I know it hurts but continue using it. Use your leg also. With RSD the old cliche of use it or lose it is real. Also no ice. Only use heat or moist heat. The people on here are very helpful and friendly. They will try their hardest to figure something out. Keep positive, and smiling

Hi Doo glad you decided to take the plunge!

Welcome to the forum, but sorry you are dealing with so much. Spread is frightening, and must be even more so when there was no reason for it to develop the condition in the first place... Are bodies are strange things at times.

I'm 42, and developed CRPS after a left knee arthroscopy. In the 2 years and 3 months since, it's spread to my right foot and whole left side. My feet are particularly bad with the burning type of pain, my left leg and arm it's more that horrible icy cold bone pain fun experience

Yep, get some Epsom salts (unperfumed) and put a few tablespoons in a nice warm bath and try to relax, or wrap some in a damp cloth and placket on the skin for the burning pain. Epsoms are a good source of magnesium (which we all need, and tend not to have enough of!) and work to reduce pain by blocking calcium channel receptors. Well worth a regular soak!

Keep moving, and try to keep at a fairly continuous temperature. I find if I get cold, my pain ramps up, and then I find it very hard to warm up again. Then when I do finally warm up, the pendulum swings and I start to burn up. Oh the joys of this thing! Also watch your diet and try to eat healthy, as diets high in sugar, saturated (hard) fats and sugar put a lot of stress on our bodies. Take a multivitamin if you can, and vitamin C daily with meals (helps prevent spread).

Sorry about the meds dance of doom with your docs....it's very unfair. You haven't mentioned one, so ask to be referred immediately. If your doc won't do it urgently, refer her to the code of practice for CRPS patients - it states on there that you should see Spain specialist urgently. A pain doc should be able to do much more for you in terms of pain relief - many primary docs are reluctant to hand out anything much unless they have made you jump through the lower level med hoops first.

- Meditation is very good (I was a huge skeptic about this!). You don't realise how tense your whole body is from the pain until you consciously try to relax. The stress is very bad for us in all sorts of ways, so regular deliberate calming sessions are fab, and do more for me in terms of pain relief than my meds to be honest... You can download tracks from iTunes, or look for the Mindfulness course, which is very good. A few scented candles or oils help with the mood.
- Qi Gong exercises are also good, they are very gentle and designed for those with pain and mobility problems. They a calming too, and help keep your wholea body moving. Remember that inactivity makes your CRPS worse (oh the irony), and leads to weaker muscles and tendons, which then can make you more prone to illness and injury.
-I would also recommend massage if you can afford it (or have a knowledgable friend!). It needs to be very gentle and light to start with, and make sure they use plenty of natural (and warm) oil so that it doesn't irritate your sensitive skin. You can massage yourself, but it's difficult if your arms are involved. I found massage really helped with the de-stress thing, helped loosen my tight muscles, and just reduced the pain. I miss it - cant afford it at the moment, and my husband, bless him, is a hopeless clumsy bear at massage!!

Hope something helps, and that your pain is better today. Take good care of yourself, and keep posting

Bram

Hi and welcome.
I'm sorry you have rsd, and hope you start feeling better soon.
This is a great group for support and are always here if you need a friend.
Hope you have a good day today and take good care of yourself.

Hi and Welcome! This is a great group here!.
Can you get a referral to a good pain mgt. Dr. who understands RSD/CRPS? Sounds like you need to persue and start trying every type of treatment you can A.S.A.P! Nerve, blocks, SCS, Accupuncture, Calmare. There's lots of experience and advice here regarding treatments.

I was given good advice early on with this: "You must be your own best advocate with this". Please be as pro active as you can!
I'm thankful mine has not spread more than it has. I credit the nerve blocks. I've had 14 of them now.

Keep posting!