Hi Julie,

As all the others have been saying, keep things moving and keep with the PT. Everyone here has been giving great advice and getting into a pool is one of those pieces of advice that I too am seeking out. Foot and ankle surgeries are very difficult to recover from and even harder when dealing with CRPS. My first surgery, no CRPS involved at that time, it took 8 months of PT before I was able to work a full 8 hour shift, and I still found that I had to sit every once in a while. If you want to be able to do it bad enough, than you will be able to do it.

Memory issues can also be a problem with CRPS. Taking morphine can cause memory problems as well. I find that playing simple memory games helps with keeping my mind somewhat sharp. Even things as simple as solitaire can help a little.

Nerve blocks are one of the things that I have been asking others about as well so I can't really tell you much about them. Since you had surgery in June, you may benefit from them.

You mentioned that you were having pins and needles sensation going into your calf, hoping that it wasn't spreading. I wouldn't worry too much about that. CRPS does occasionally do what is know as walking. It doesn't hurt to bring it up with your doctor though, just in case.

Fight hard. Like -Spike- said, Your still early on into this and you still have a good chance of putting this into remission.

Thank all of yall for every bit of advice and pointers. I am trying everything I can. I was in pt today and I actually cried from him touching my foot. I've never cried before today in pt I am becoming more sensitive to touch. Is this normal? Will this get worse? He said that I am getting worse. I go to the dr on Thursday.
I also am curious of what type a dosage of pain meds everyone is on. I'm on morphine 15 mg er 2xs a day and 15 mg ir as needed.

Hi Julie,

Like you, my CRPS developed within the context of foot surgery as well. Your case sounds very very familiar to me. If I may, I'd like to encourage you to find a good Physical Therapist. At the early stages, which you are now in with CRPS, if you can hit this disease hard early on, you have a better chance of kicking it into remission. Since there is no cure for CRPS, that is he best any of us can hope for.

Now, here is the kicker, chances are, your Physical Therapist has never heard of CRPS. None of the many that I have worked with over the years knew anything about it prior to my walking into their office. So, they are going to need to be educated. My PT found what she needed to treat me, when I was first diagnosed, so I know the information that they need is out there. So after you find a good Pt, tell her / him to look for information among their sources for knowledge on how to treat CRPS. If they look, they will find it. I know mine did.

Here are some things that might be of help to you.

1. An efficient Pain Management Doctor and a good Physical Therapist
2. Proper Medication to help at least a little bit with the pain.
3. Water therapy
4. Mirror Therapy
4. Flash Cards for retraining the brain with different hand positions for you to identify. (Sounds easy, but is extremely difficult for CRPS patients)
4. Music Therapy
5. Chiropractors are beneficial to some (though it didn't help me)
6. Spinal Cord Stimulator/ and external stimulators
7. Spinal Nerve Blocks
8. And a Good healthy diet (This is essential IMO, since CRPS symptoms are tamed a bit by a leafy vegetable type of diet... Again In My Opinion

And one last thing. IMO-Everyone who has CRPS responds differently to different types of treatments. What works for one, doesn't work for everyone. And please remember, Your best chance of beating CRPS is to hit it early and hit it hard. There is no cure, but remission is possible, and your best chance for it is early on. I wish you well.