[kevinmcf]

Occasionally during the day I can feel my hands getting very sore, and I know whats about to happen! I will have trouble showering, and sometimes cannot hold a toothbrush with one or the other hand (very rarely both one is usually worse then the other). As soon as I lay down to go to sleep the pain becomes excruciating! It feels like when your hands get too cold and put them in hot water. If I get up and walk around it subsides somewhat and I try to get to sleep before it comes back, within 15 minutes I could almost scream the pain gets so bad. Last time this happened by 4am I went and sat in a chair with hands hanging down although still painful I at least got 2 hours sleep. This was while taking 2 Advil PM some pain killers I had, and aspirin nothing seams to help. After these episodes at least 2 or 3 fingers piny 2nd and middle are numb for a few days. On one severe episode on both hands these fingers were numb for weeks with middle finger numb for 2-3 months. A few doctors said it was CT so 6 months ago I had surgery on the most problematic hand but no difference
I do not know if its related
Last year I woke up and felt I sprained my foot, the next day it felt like it was broken (on crutches for 2 days) then disappeared, had all the symptom of gout, extreme pain even w/light sheet on toes. I was tested but all came out negative.
Please any help would be appreciated it gets hard to function when these attacks occur! It went away for 6 months but just came back 2 nights ago. I still cannot make a fist (close my hand)

[Brambledog]

Hi Kevin

Sorry your hands are so bad, it's awful when you can't get decent sleep, it makes you feel even worse... I hope it's eased a little bit by now.

How long have you had CRPS in your hands? Has it been under control before but got worse suddenly? Do you have a good paint management doctor? Sorry for the interrogation lol, just interested you can find lots of good advice on these threads if you have a look around. It's Christmas so the boards are unusually quiet!

Do you take Vit C daily? It's proven to help reduce the risk of spread to new areas and is worth taking. Try using some unperfumed Epsom salts - a few tablespoons in a warm bath, or wrap some in a damp cloth and put on your hands when they burn. It works quite well if you use it fairly regularly - magnesium is needed for all sorts of functions in your body and most of us don't get enough... it is absorbed well brought the skin, which is why it works well in water.

A couple more things that work sometimes for me are gentle exercises (maybe a soft ball to squeeze?), general aerobic exercise of whatever kind you can manage, and meditation. I was skeptical about it at first, but deep breathing exercises and a meditation are very calming, and stress is one of the worst exacerbating factors for CRPS. It really does help - I use the Mindfulness Body Scan - you can find it on YouTube. Give it a go, it's amazing how much stress we are carrying when we are in pain all the time... Whatever you do, stay away from ice on your skin as it is very bad news.

Good luck with finding something that helps a little, and keep posting It might be quiet right now, but we are a friendly bunch, honest

Take care of yourself, and Happy Christmas!

Bram.

[alt1268]

Sorry, for the painful hands. Do you have a pain dr? This is not a easy disease to deal with and when we have bouts/flares it is even worse. I can't tell you how many tears we have shed over the pain this disease causes. All I can say is don't give up. Keep pushing the dr.s until you get relief.