I am just curious if anyone from or around Seattle, WA knows of the University of Washington Medical Center, Center for Pain Relief and Heather Tick, MD. That is who I will be seeing for my appointment. I am just curious about bedside manner, or anything at all about them really.

I am curious about how they work....do they do an in-patient program or anything?

I'm not in the area but I am reading a book she wrote and I am almost jealous you'll be seeing her. I think you'll be in good hands. Best of luck and if you will keep us updated. I would love to hear how the appt. goes.

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Angelina,

Toepain2013 is in the Seattle area, if I recall correctly. He's a young guy going through some similar issues.

http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/sh...13#post1064601

Hi Angelina,

I am in fact from Seattle! I'm a young, healthy dude with a perplexing toe / foot pain issue!

Let me tell you, it hasn't been a fun ride -- but the people here have helped immensely, as have the doctors I've come in contact with.

A few recommendations from my experiences:

1. Dr. Jason Attaman, Interventional Pain Doctor

Dr. Attaman is the first one who identified my issue and got me on track for treatment.

2. Dr. Oscar Benitez, Pain Psychology

I was referred to Dr. Benitez by Dr. Attaman. Dr. Benitez has extensive experiencing treating the emotional / mental aspects of pain. More importantly, the largest decrease in pain I noticed was achieved via his guidance.

Pain is immensely tied to our psychological state. I have no doubt that all of us have some underlying physical issue -- it's just elusive enough that it's beyond what modern medicine can understand via current diagnostic methods. Accordingly, it's irreparable physically at this point in time.

What's remarkable, however, is how powerful the mind is. There's clear clinical evidence of a link between our mental response to pain and bio-chemical changes that introduce things like heightened sensitivity, depression, anxiety, pain -- even Fibromyalgia appears to correlate with an "immensely stressful" experience.

Reversing the cycle seems so simple. It feels as though it should be immediate -- wake up one day with this epiphany and bam, my body will reset! The reality is that it takes months, possibly even years to reset the body once we're bio-chemically and emotionally off-kilter. Resetting our perception is however the best current intervention for the pain that we experience.

So, as you navigate this perplexing and frustrating disease focus on these things.

1. You are NOT sick. Your body is amazing, actually. You're healthy, and your brain and body continue to function despite a malfunctioning circuit.

2. Your brain will learn to listen to that malfunctioning circuit less as you train it that there is no associated threat. Our brains are trained to identify and respond to threats. Pain signals are our bodies mechanism of alerting our mental state of an issue that we need to be aware of. The problem for us is that we all have some type of malfunction associated with this signaling mechanism and even though there's no (remaining) threat, our body won't turn the pain off. We can however achieve some degree of relief by helping re-train our body.

3. In time you'll end up stronger both physically and mentally. Just remember how strong, determined and AMAZING you truly are for battling this issue every day. You'll look back in a few years and recognize how far you've come and be truly inspired and proud of yourself.

I know you can do this, stick in there!

ToePain - sounds like really good stuff! Thank you for sharing your experience and what you have learned. I am so happy for you that you connected with someone who can help you find your way through the challenge of CRPS.
Wishing you wellness ~ Lottie

It is pretty remarkable how amazing the mind is. You just have to learn how to use it correctly. I am a true believer in positive thinking and choosing how you are going to handle every situation. You can choose to have a good day or a bad day. It is hard, very hard to make the choice to stay positive and happy, but if you don't keep trying then what is the point? And if you do loose control one day and have a bad day or a negative day, tomorrow is always a new day and a new start!

I am happy that you have found some good docs to help you out and are doing well through this challenge. Thanks for the support. I sometimes forget to look at how far I have come and to be proud of myself, so I will have to remember to do that more often!