Hi again Brandon,

Geez. Poor foot. It has been through a lot.

I am always concerned post procedure about the possibility of nerve injury, especially with hardware in and out. I am skewed by personal experience in which a minor ortho procedure injured my calcaneal branch. My foot felt like it was made of broken glass and was worse after surgery than before. Many months later I finally saw a plastic surgeon who specialized in peripheral nerve repair. He suspected a neuroma and was right. I had a positive "scratch collapse" test as well as 40% reduction of signal on a nerve conduction study. We decided to go in - I ended up with a 3.5 hour nerve repair and neurolysis and major releif. My CRPS came after a later, different procedure. I ALWAYS believe it worth checking for nerve injury after surgeries. Sometimes they can do something about it.

On general info I like Dr. Pradeep Chopra' video "CRPS Diagnosis and Management". He is highly regarded, gives lots of info on treatment, therapies, etc. It's 2 hours long so just take it in chunks. http://youtu.be/s3LKhOZ8mAM

Also a thought for new diagnoses when the case is not super florid is the following article. "Peripheral Nerve Blocks Relieve Symptoms Mimicking CRPS"
http://www.pain.pitt.edu/paincontent/news/PMNews.pdf

This may or may not apply to you but I am for anything that potentially gets someone out of this mess. I myself have had quite a bit of relief with local steroid shots specifically aimed at reducing my scar tissue.

On sympathetic blocks, first I have not had one personally but I am not sure how it would tell you what kind of CRPS you have. Did the doc mean figuring out 1 or 2? I don't see how it could show peripheral nerve injury but maybe that's not what he meant. BTW, a "positive" response in limb warming does NOT necessarily diagnose CRPS. Anyone's limb warms with a sympathetic block. The important thing is if it brings pain relief. If it does and allows you to start rehab then great!

I am with Lit Love on the pool. I spent many months walking in the pool after my procedures and credit the water for a lot of my recovery. Non-painful weightbearing is important. I also spent time on an exercise bike and on an elliptical since that doesn't stress the heel to toe motion but does allow weightbearing. It is okay if your recovery is slow and starts out low-end. The important thing is gentle gradual increase. A lot of us get over-aggro about getting better and that can just make things worse with CRPS.

I too would have no pain if I would just sit on the couch all day and not use my foot. Like that's gonna happen. Do as much as you can but minimize flare. Go for a bike ride instead of taking a walk if that keeps you active. Maintain muscle strength in alternative ways. Remember that the foot is exceptionally complicated. You have had major mechanical changes and those take a long time to adjust to. I don't know if orthotics might be helpful for you. If some of your pain is scar related on the socks, sheets etc. discomfort you might try a topical.

I hope some of this helps. Come see us and let us know how you are doing. I hope you find relief soon.
Sending Healing Love,
Littlepaw