For a long time I have been frustrated with my doctors. It seemed like they didn't listen to what I would say and wouldn't be open to treatment options they couldn't provide (aka make their own money off of). But this week I really stood up for myself with my pain doctor. I told everything that was going on and asked for what I needed and she listened and gave me a referral to an acupuncturist!

Also instead of giving in to pain and laying on my couch, I got on the elliptical for the past two days to prevent a flare!

My husband graduated from the fire academy yesterday and I was able to attend! I also got the great honor of pinning his badge on him something I was worried I wasn't going to be able to do. The only tears I cried were tears of happiness. After the graduation we went out to lunch and it was so wonderful to be able to spend some time with our family and friends. I was hurting really bad later that day but the excitement and love from the day made it a little more bearable. :D

Congratulations to your husband, NurseKris. Sometimes it is worth the extra pain to be able to celebrate special occasions. Take extra care for a few days as you recover to your 'normal'.

Dave.

What happy news on all counts! You must be so proud and elated. Oh and let's face it, a firefighter husband...:) Need I say more?

I'm glad you were able to do the pinning and celebrate after, that must've felt wonderful. Yes, extra pain at the end of day like that is well worth it.

Congrats to your hubby and hugs to you, :hug:

What a moment to be proud of. I am sure that the pain was well worth it to be part of your husbands ceremony. Congratulations to both of you, for his accomplishments and dedication to helping keep the community safe, and for you being able to be there and take part in the ceremony with him.

This weekend with hard work, proactive symptom management, and a hell of a lot of support from my partner and friends, I performed in a dance showcase!!! Everyone said I did wonderful and I felt wonderful!:D

That is some achievement, Whiteaa! I admire you, even when young and fit I had no rhythm:(

Be sure to keep managing your pain over the next week in particular to avoid flares.

Dave.

Whiteaa,

That is just great! Dancing is so much fun and I'm glad you were able to participate. It's wonderful to be able to keep doing the things you love and it's good for your recovery. ;)

:hug:

I feel alive!
 

Last summer, for the first time since I was 14, I went jogging in the exceedingly hot weather. Although extremely painful, I still jog and felt such a release!! I also began work two jobs (one standing one sitting) around the same time. I am so grateful and fortunate that I am able to do this, even through the numbness and tingling, my medication has helped me. Therefore, I am going to apply to medical school knowing that I can control my condition and it's not going to inhibit me pursuing my dream of becoming a physician! :):)

AnnaDC2016, Hello and Welcome to Neurotalk Support Groups :Wave-Hello:

Running in the heat, holding two jobs and looking at medical school? Wow! Whatever you're doing, keep it up.

I see you found the CRPS forum and there are many other places to explore here at NT. If you like, feel free to post an intro here at New Member introductions http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum88.html
or on the RSD/CRPS main forum where the most of this group can see you.

Many common questions on forum usage will be answered here
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/faq.php

This is a great place for sharing and support. Welcome aboard, :hug:

Anna, welcome to Neurotalk! It is so nice to hear that you are able to do so much with your life despite having to go through it while living with CRPS. I am happy for you and it is always nice to hear a success story from both new and old members. Please keep us all informed as to your successes in life. Don't let anything stand in your way.

Earlier this month I jogged a full mile outdoors PAIN FREE:) :) Granted my top speed wasn't exactly setting the world on fire, but that was the point... and MAN I felt completely and totally free. The funny thing is that I used to HATE running with a passion and hadn't run a full mile since the late 90's...but after RSD in my right leg three years ago it's such an absolute blessing to be able move around at all.

We seem to take for granted the things that we have always found so easy to do, until the day we can no longer do them. I am so glad for you Visioniosiv. Being able to jog for a whole mile is amazing, no matter what the pace is.:yahoo:

That is great! Sometimes I have to remind myself that every step counts. Isn't it funny how we don't miss something until we can't do it. Congrats on your success!

Visioniv, that's great! :) A mile is a good long way, especially running. That must've felt fantastic. It's amazing how losing abilities changes our perspective. I used to get bored when I went on walks in my neighborhood (same streets, same houses) but not anymore. Every minute is a blessing, I'm so glad you found something new you can do!

music makes my spirit sing
 

Spring is inching its way closer every day. Today we have the whole house open, letting in that fresh air. When I was opening the back door to a room we do not use in the winter my keyboard spoke to my heart and I sat down WITH my foot ON the floor :) and played a few songs, some a little rusty and some of the ones that I know by heart just flowed and made me smile inside and out.
It is really good for my brain to have something positive to focus on and good for that whole left hand right hand thing too, yup sometimes I pause and think which hand is that? Hey maybe that is a positive thing that my mind is working it out? It does make me happy music of any kind, I was folding the laundry and spotted my harmonica and music in a folder on the dryer. Why not? lol had not played it in a long time, made a joyful noise. The new cat had never heard such a noise, she thought I had a cat howling in my mouth. It was hilarious, I laughed and laughed at her. She was climbing all over me. May we all find some joy in our day.
:)
zinnia

Zinnia, it's very cute about your curious kitty.

That's wonderful that you sat down at your keyboard and played. Even better that you did it with your foot down! I have found piano very healing. Not only is it beautiful and a distraction from pain but that intense focus rewires you. Doing something like playing an instrument makes the "hand" portion of your brain spread. I say the less of it focused on pain and your foot the better.

Keep up the good work and thanks for spreading some sunshine. :)

:hug:

Cooked a complete corned beef and cabbage dinner, served it on my shamrock crocheted linen table cloth, put make-up on, wore a real " outfit" with a scarf and jewelry, set my hair and helped clean up afterwards. I even managed not to sleep in my clothes afterward, remove my make-up and brush my hair. Also, the PM doctor gave me a referral to Aqua PT to help me walk normally again. Whoo-hoo.

I went on a short vacation recently and had some trepidation about flying and getting around. Turns out I needn't have worried this time. I had no problems at all with the 2.5 hour flight, the security line or even the 5+ hour delay at the airport. The post-travel flare I normally had in the past didn't happen.

I had a ketamine boost a week before we left, took it easy for a while before the trip and didn't push too hard while there. I did way better than I expected. :) Being on the ocean was a real plus because anytime I felt that I was swelling I just walked barefoot in the surf - cool water + movement + osmosis = happy, happy foot.

Gotta admit though, I messed myself up once I got home because having felt so good I might have overdone it a wee bit on the bike. Whoopsy :p

Sunday the weather was beautiful here! It was in the low 70s and sunny and best of all no wind. Wind is so painful for me and just a light breeze is painful. I was able to sit on my porch with my dogs and soak up the fresh, warm. I have not been able to do this is over a year, maybe closer to 2!

It's amazing to see how something so little can have such a large affect on my mood.

I developed RSD after an ankle sprain and ankle surgery in 2012.

Symptoms were 7-8 level baseline pain, shooting intermittent electrical shocks, high sensitivity to ridiculous things like sheets and ceiling fans, extreme sensitivity to cold, swollen purple leg from the knee down, profuse sweating, 5 degree temperature difference between limbs, insomnia (of course), and the inability to walk. And all kinds of weird nervous system symptoms, spreading to other body parts, heart palpitations, shaking hands, gastric reflux, random numbness, and twitching/muscle spasms.

It's been four years since then and my immune system is fortunate to have somehow made it through to the other side. Just wanted to put another success story out there to suggest that full recovery is a potential outcome.

Visioniosiv

Thank you so much for sharing your recovery with us. We can all use some hope. I am happy for you and with you. So glad you are sharing your success story with us.
:-)
peace
zinnia

Visioniosiv,

I keep thinking about your encouraging words. It had helped me to do more, to stop babying my RSD foot, continually putting it up, my husband made me aware of that, as it had become a habit for me. So now I am putting it down some of the time. Using the cane a little less, it is all little shifts in my thinking, and way of doing things. I take a timer out to the garden with me, set it for 15 minutes, and pull, dig up weeds, and then STOP, that is the tricky part, stopping, I sit on a lawn chair, and my hope is, that doing these small things, will help my back to get stronger, and of course my foot is down on the ground. Slow and steady wins the race :-). Then I sit and pet the cats and rest.
The garden is way to big. I am not going to give up on it. Still trying to find a solution. I love being out there, it has always been my focus all summer. I will focus on NOW and what I can do each day.
:-)
peace
zinnia

Ketamine? Can you tell me more about this treatment?
 

Can you please tell me more about this treatment?

Chiropractor Adjustment and Nerve Pain Gone!
 

I haven't been on here for a while and wanted to give a quick update.
My son was diagnosed with CRPS type 2 (caused by multiple fractures, surgery and nerve damage) nearly two years ago.

Although he's had slow improvements, he hasn't been able to do much weight bearing on the CRPS foot.

I took him to the chiropractor, as sort of a long shot, in that ever elusive search for relief. The chiropractor adjusted his foot, my son felt something loosen, and amazingly, the nerve pain just simply stopped. I can't explain it, except maybe it was a trapped nerve all along, although a previous ultrasound of his nerves showed no entrapment.

He's been able to start walking on it and keeping it down more and is making real progress in physical therapy. He feels like the chiropractor "fixed it" and the muscle pain is so much more tolerable without the nerve pain added to it. :D

**I should note that this was a chiropractor with 30+ years experience who was very skilled. As with any medical profession, the right doctor can make all the difference.

Yay swimtime!!!

:Dancing-Chilli::Dancing-Chilli::Dancing-Chilli:

I am so glad to hear that your son is doing better. I know what a struggle it has been and the many challanges you both have been through along the way. Thank you for the update and the wonderful news.:D

Yes, maybe it was a trapped nerve after all, who knows.

Anyway. I hope he continues to do better!

Swimtime, this is just the best news! :trampoline: That is wonderful and amazing. I can only imagine how happy you both are. Kudos to the chiro for the expert care and kudos to Mom for keeping at recovery no matter what! I find it so encouraging that the improvement came even after a 2 year stint of signs and symptoms.

Nerve entrapment is the number one mimicker of CRPS according to Dr. Pradeep Chopra. Was it CRPS, entrapment, or CRPS caused by entrapment? Who could ever know. I am just thrilled that he is better, has finally gotten some relief and can start moving forward.

Take it easy on the recovery okay? ;) I'm sure he is more than ready to test his new foot out but it will need time to gain bone and ligament strength that he lost having it out of commission for so long.

Sending thoughts of happiness, healing and continued improvement :circlelove:

That is awesome swimtime :) :) :) So so happy for you and your son! :) :) :)