Hi, Everyone,

My name is Bethanna and I am new here.

Last Monday I was diagnosed with CRPS - but I'm a little confused concerning the pain. I'm not sure if I've been diagnosed correctly . . . and now that I'm on the pain medication, there really isn't any way for me to tell for sure one way or the other.

The pain I felt before the doctor diagnosed me was pain that mimicked a broken ankle. It wasn't burning, it was almost impossible to walk on, and it ached. My ankle wasn't broken, one of the bones in my foot was, but it was healing by the time my ankle started to hurt. I do plan to talk to my doctor more . . . but everything I read describes a very different kind of pain.

I do have chronic pain in my hips, legs and back due to nerve damage and spinal fussion (L-4, L-5 and S-1) and sometimes it gets pretty bad, but it doesn't burn any longer. . .I think it's only burned twice like it did before my surgery since the surgery two years ago. Once was a few months ago, and it burned at me knee, but the burning went away with some significant stretching.

The Elavil I'm on has relieved all of the pain in my back, hips and legs, and most of the pain in my ankle. It aches every once in a while, but I've been up on it and have been doing my normal routine. Because of the diagnosis I make sure I get into the hot tup twice a day or soak it with epson salt, one, and I message it several times a day, and put it up often.

This is a pretty horrendous diagnosis . . .but there are symptoms that I just don't see. My nails and hair have always grown very fast, there is nothing abnormally fast about them now - not compared to what they've always been. My foot was pale compared to my other foot in the doctor's office, and it was colder than my other foot, but it's winter, and I had a sock over that foot and a sock and shoe over the other foot.

He did take x-rays of my foot and looked at them for a long time, and he picked out changes in the bones in my foot. I used to be an athlete - heavy duty - so stress fractures were the name of the game as a constant. I was always dealing with those things in my shoulders, feet, shins and hands.

I don't know. Part of me wonders about the pain. . . and the other part of me checks myself as possibly being in denial of such a hiddeous disease.

Are there different types of pain with this? Or am I right in wondering if this is the correct diagnosis?

Thanks!

Hi Bethanna welcome to NT though I am sory you have been disgnosed with this nasty RSD, but very kool you have found a medicine that helps.. and us lol

RSD/CRPS can range from mild to very severe and the types of pain are diffrent for everybody.. I get a deep ache in the area I injured (rt ankle) and have very little if any burning in that ankle I remember at first I thought there has to be a bone or somethin outa whack, sharp pain that ran up the outside of my ankle, but burning wasnt a problem then, for me there was alot of bugs under the skin feelings and stabs an jabs (or mabie that was later).

How about swelling?
Do you (or your new hubby) ever notice a temperture or color change?
How about foot sweating is it worse on one side than the other?
What symptoms do you have?

Again welcome you will find a very helpful bunch here feel free to post as many questions as you can lol and if theres anything I can do to help please just ask.. I usualy post alot of links that I think might be helpful, researching distracts me from pain.

Couple important things "avoid ice" and learn as much as you can about whats happening to your body.
And start taking antioxadents.. vitamin C it has been proven can actualy stop RSD from happening if taken early after a break or injury happens.

be well my new friend.
hugz,
Sandra

Hi Bethanna,
Welcome to Neurotalk, I am so sorry about everything you are going through ((hugs))
Please let me introduce myself:
My name is Alison, I am 12 years old (nearly 13) and I suffer from RSD in my left leg and right arm. I first developed RSD in my foot on the 16th March 2007 after an ankle sprain. I was diagnosed with RSD/CRPS 4 months later. 1 day after diagnosis I had a Guanethidine nerve block which caused me to "lose my balance" (my left leg shoots out in front of me)
I was later prescribed 'Amitriptyline' to try and help me sleep, but I suffered from a nasty side effect of 'blurred vision' this resulted in a knock to my right arm, I was diagnosed with RSD 2 weeks later. My arm as been in remission, but I have flairs every so often and my arm still hurts.

What other symptoms do you have?
Do you have swelling?
Is your limb painful to the touch?
Do you have colour changes?
Muscle spasms (you don't always have to have these)
Do you have temperature changes?
Nail and hair changes?

These websites might help you:
http://arthritis.about.com/od/rsd/a/rsd.htm
http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/r..._dystrophy.htm

I hope we have helped you
Speak soon

Hi Bethanna.. just a quick note to sugest you read Lisashea's post here:
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread36109.html

Sandra

Hi, intuition is always a good thing to listen to. RSD like anything could be misdiagnosised. However, if you do have rsd my feeling is you would know it. if the pain is beyond imagination, if you can not function, have had to give up your life, if you are having atleast 3 or the major systmes, severe sweating, temp changes, PAIn, shooting , stabbing, aching-severe even with nacarotics, on fire during flares ( this is when the burning is most severe for me)which are increaseed pain espisodes other than the regular unbearable pain then I would say you have RSD. If you do not have severe pain with these or some of these symptoms your intuiton is probably right. I would definitely not want to be on the major medications required to make life bearable for RSD if I did not have to be- it is a major health risk in itsself. I would go for more opinions to make sure. I hope this will mean good news for you. Perhaps you could discuss titering down on your pain meds so you can "check in" with your pain , both the level and what types of pain you are having.Good luck to you, I pray that you do not have RSd.Sincerely, CZ