LOL No......you're so normal that if you were any more normal I'd question your sanity! Yeah....I'm the same way so let's hear it for normal,bitter women! ROFL

ICE! YIKES!!!! I'm soooo happy to hear you've stopped that and I can almost guarantee it's why you had so much burning. I, just like everyone else, did what the doc told me and used ice because of the swelling. All it ever did after the rsd started was increase my pain level out of the stratosphere. You have that pressure feeling too?!?! I would say cool or awesome, but they would only be used in the context that Thank Goodness I'm not the only one who feels that after having my legs down for a little bit.

Getting an EMG would be the only sure fire way to find out for sure if there's any nerve damage in the foot or ankle. Of course that particular little test can really hurt some people. I've talked to enough people to have figured out that those with touch sensitivity usually HATE the emg. When I had mine done I was only sensitive to air so it wasn't as bad as I had feared. The doc that it, neuro, did it from my lower back, down both legs and feet. For about 3-4 days after I felt like I'd been stabbed repeatedly(which I had LOL), run over by a very huge semi many times and went a few rounds in the ring. I was sore....well more than that but close as I can come up a word.

Hugs,

Karen

"I would say cool or awesome, but they would only be used in the context that Thank Goodness I'm not the only one who feels that after having my legs down for a little bit."
No.....go ahead and say "cool"......I, too, am glad I'm not the only one!!

"Getting an EMG would be the only sure fire way to find out for sure if there's any nerve damage in the foot or ankle. Of course that particular little test can really hurt some people. I've talked to enough people to have figured out that those with touch sensitivity usually HATE the emg. When I had mine done I was only sensitive to air so it wasn't as bad as I had feared. The doc that it, neuro, did it from my lower back, down both legs and feet. For about 3-4 days after I felt like I'd been stabbed repeatedly(which I had LOL), run over by a very huge semi many times and went a few rounds in the ring. I was sore....well more than that but close as I can come up a word."

And the purpose of this excruciating test is what??? To determine for sure that I have actual nerve damage??? I have RSD......isn't that technically more serious than "nerve damage" anyway??? I think I would simply have to physically hurt anyone that poked (or touched) my left foot or leg. They would be in a headlock on the floor and wouldn't know what hit them. (this may technically be "beating a dead horse" but I call it "someone trying to send nerve impulses through (as if I don't feel enough of those anyway) or sticking my hurt leg with needles (and those too)" getting what they deserve!!) I think that would pretty much convince them that something was seriously wrong. I could probably walk away with most any diagnosis I wanted!!! LOL!!! Interesting thought though!!!! I'll keep that one on the back burner!!!

Yup that's the whole purpose of it! LOL (Love the emoticon and it is appropriate since I know what it means lololol)

Some docs want to know if there is nerve damage, others figure, rightly so IMO, the rsd is top priority...especially if they can't "fix" the nerve damage. I think if you do have any nerve damage in that spot in your foot, there's most likely nothing that anyone can do to fix it anyway. It doesn't seem as if it ranks up there with say carpal tunnel or something. Surgery isn't anything you'd want to have happen again....especially now....if it wasn't a life or death, absolutely necessary thing.

Hugs,

Karen

Hi Mom in Pain

From the way you describe your symptoms, to some extent they don't sound too different to mine or to the path mine are taking. They have not followed the extreme symptoms that a lot of the people on this site describe and mine have changed and become less intense rather than more intense over time. That said I have fairly extreme movement problems which started 6 months after my CRPS started, developed over several months and have become completely disabling. None of the ususal drugs have worked for these (diazepam, baclofen, dantrolene) and I wouldn't be surprised to find that eventually the pain largely goes away but I am left with these disabling spasms, tremors and so on.

I got CRPS after surgery to repair my right, ruptured achilles tendon. I was in a series of casts for 10 weeks after the surgery and it took 12 weeks for the 5 inch incision to completely heal up. I can reassure you about one thing - the numbness you have after your surgery around the incision is totally normal. This happens because the tiny nerves in your soft tissues are cut when the incision is made and then they work to re-grow. The numbness tends to decrease very, very slowly over time (nerves re-grow incredibly slowly) but it is also completely normal to be left with residual loss of feeling in the scar area. I am 16 months post surgery and still have numbness in the incision area.

If you had sustained damage to an identifiable "major nerve" then it would probably be more apparent and you could expect to have a larger area with loss of feeling, or control. You would have been diagnosed with Type 1 CRPS. This area would correspond to the area of the limb served by the specific nerve rather than the incision site. Even then, it is still possible for nerve re-growth and some or full recovery to occur over time.

The EMG and nerve conduction studies that are used to assess nerve damage are uncomfortable and unbearably painful for some CRPS sufferers but by no means all. I think for some of the people on here who have much more extreme symptoms it is more of a problem. I had them done about 5 months ago alond with a raft of other tests because I developed severe movement disorder problems as part of my CRPS symptoms and it was essential to rule out any other neurological problems, such as MS. It was absolutely fine. It is not exactly fun but the worst I had was a little discomfort even when the needles are stuck into the muscle round my CRPS affected area. They are short, very sharp and very thin (even thinner than acupuncture needles) so its painless. These studies show up other causes of nerve damage or lack of signal conduction than the sort of damage that exists with CRPS Type 2. If you have Type 2, then you can expect the results to be normal even with quite severe symptoms. If these tests are suggested then get them done - you can stop them if it is too unpleasant but the chances are you'll be OK.

You should also take heart from the fact that anyone who has surgery, especially orthopaedic surgery to an ankle or foot can expect stiffness, soreness and swelling post surgery. This can last for a very long time too and is generally aggravated ny normal rehab activity like movement and weight bearing - however necessary the rehab is. In the case of achilles tendon ruptures the swelling and pain can take the best part of a year to completely subside even with a completely normal rehab and no CRPS complications. Remember that much of what you are experiencing may well be a feature of a realtively recent, normal underlying surgical recovery rather than the CRPS itself.

I found that I only had the colour changes when I stood up or sat with my legs down. I was prescribed an alpha blocking drug to help keep the blood vessels dilated which has worked well for me. In the UK the drug is called alfuzosin (Xatral) and it's licensed use is for men with benign prostate enlargement - helps them urinate! This has stopped a lot of the dramatic colour changes and significant cold temperature problems. I still have some problems on this front but its nowhere near as dramatic.

I also made sure that I didn't let the swelling get out of hand - I kept my leg elevated at night when in bed and on medical advice continued to use the air walker (that was used for my last 4 weeks of casting) at night in bed. It can be tightened or loosened to control oedema. That way I didn't compromise the need to keep moving my leg but I did give all of the swelling a chance to completely subside every night. I have found that over time the swelling has become less of an issue partly because of the underlying post-surgical swelling going away and partly becuase I am at least able to walk about more albeit with crutches.

From day 1 my pain was never present 24 hours a day and was only rarely burning in nature. I generally have the deep, cold aching pain. The sympathetic nereve block was useless for my pain although it changed the color and temperature to virtually normal for a while and eased the stiffness so diagnostically it confirmed CRPS. I have accepted the need to take a full package of meds from day 1 on the basis that there is nothing at all to gain from not taking drugs that help. I have had considerable pain relief from the meds. I also found that the meds reduced the allodynia too.

I think you can probably take heart from the positive progression of the symptoms you have. Nobody can predict what might happenbut at least your situation is positive for now. Have you researched the "normal" post-surgical outcomes, rehab timelines and symptom experiences for the specific surgery you had? This might give you some idea of whay you could have expected if you hadn't had the complication of CRPS.

Good luck anyway.