Hello Everyone,

I've recently joined all of you, as a part of this great CRPS support group. Having done so, I just thought that I'd give you a little history of my battle with this very difficult disease. Back in 2008 I had what felt like a Planter's Wart on the bottom of my Right Foot. So, I went to a dermatologist and told her, "Ma'am, there is something on the bottom of my foot. I can barely step on it. It feels like a Planters Wart." She looked at the bottom of my foot and started laughing. She said, "There is nothing there." But she said she thought that she knew what my problem was. Not long after that another doctor affirmed her suspicion. I had a Morton's Neuroma (a nerve being crushed in between two bones) in my foot. A few days later my other foot began to feel the exact same symptoms. I had Morton's Neuroma in that one as well. But, something else was going on too. In the midst of Neuromas, I was having a deep prolonged pain in both of my feet. I could barely walk. In fact one time, it took me 20 minutes to walk 30' from the garage to the house The doctor was baffled, saying that there was something else going on, but he couldn't put his finger on it. Well, after some time, I went and had one of the Neuroma's surgically removed from my foot. I was supposed to be up and walking within 14 days. Three months later-I was still not walking. (Can you see where this is going? Sound familiar to anybody?) My then current doctor diagnosed me in 2010 with (you guessed it) CRPS. My left foot still had the neuroma at that time, and my doctor felt that as long as I had the second neuroma in my foot my CRPS would just feed off of that and my CRPS condition would continue to worsen. I had the second neuroma removed in the summer of 2010. My CRPS did not retreat. It only advanced. Since the day of that surgery (#2 out of 5 total), I have tried nerve blocks, Physical Therapy, Medications, Mirror Therapy, Chiropractics, and a Spinal Cord Stimulator among other procedures and techniques to battle my CRPS. My condition has done nothing but continue to advance, until now I have CRPS through out my entire body-including my internal organs. I went from working 60-70 hours a week to being flat on my back on full disability. I resigned from the Pastoral Ministry of a very large Christian congregation in the Spring of 2011.

As for me: I find that my greatest frustration is not with the excruciating pain that I experience daily. That which frustrates me even more than anything is the impact that CRPS has had on my brain's ability to work as it had previous to my coming down with this disease. I suffer in the executive functions of the brain with memory loss of various types, a lack of focus, an inability to initiate activities that I desire to accomplish, slurred and stammering speech, a loss of words (empty brain is what I call it), and an inability to get the words from my brain out through my mouth (some people might say that is a good thing! GRIN). Those things are worse, in my opinion, for me to handle than this unrelenting terrible excruciating pain. Further I also experience hot CRPS pain in my internal organs as well as in my chest, cold sweats, an inability to walk, at times-a tucking of one of my hands to just beneath my chin, and a deformed foot.

Regardless, I do believe that every day is a beautiful day and I make every effort to maintain a positive attitude, though sometimes this is indeed a struggle, as most of you can probably affirm. I've lost contact with many many friends and rarely get out of the house. My very good pain management doctor recently stepped away from her practice but I've found an effective one to help me currently. Though, I must admit, I really do miss the Doctor that I had. Not only was she a great doctor, but she was also a very good and close friend.

I hope each of you has a pain free day, and if that is not possible, I hope that at least you have a day full of hope and optimism. Have a great day!

Spike!