You may wonder why I posted this and I question it, too. But, I wanted to show a symptom of CRPS, or complex regional pain syndrome. Symptoms include the obvious pain, but also temperature change, swelling and hair loss. I have too much hair (thank you genetics), so if it's falling out it can't be missed.
During a recent therapy session, my therapist was mesmerized by my twitching nerves in my calf. I haven't given much attention to the back of my leg lately because the stimulator has dulled that pain. I began to watch and couldn't believe all the constant spasms that are always happening. Then I noticed the hair loss on my leg. I went over to a mirror to get a better look and I got weirded out. My right leg is going bald and it's smaller than the left, since I favor the other due to pain. I was happy being blissfully unaware of my grotesque right leg. I think I hate that leg more, now. YOU HIDEOUS MUTANT-LIKE DEFORMED LIMB! YOU'RE PATHETIC! LOOK AT YOU! I HATE YOU AND YOU ARE STUPID!.. but, please, get better.
For CRPS sufferers: I have had all of the symptoms of CRPS and it still took over two years to actually be diagnosed with the disease. In fact, last June a doctor told me that there hasn't been any swelling in my leg so he still didn't want to diagnose me with having the disease. I shared with him that my former physical therapist and a colleague doctor of his (who thought I had CRPS within a week of seeing me for the first time just after the accident) prescribed me a steroid which actually reduced the swelling over a month-long period in April of 2016. My ankle was swollen to about softball size. He didn't care, because all of the symptoms weren't present. Another doctor figured I just had a slipped disc, since I favored the left leg over the right. I had to get two more MRIs to show that I didn't have a slipped disc. Since CRPS is a clinical diagnosis of exclusion it can be frustrating for someone who has it, because your relief is put on hold until there is certainty by the medical community. They'd rather prescribe you opioids and leave you in a stoned haze, rather than get to the bottom of your issues. I can attest, though, that it is worth it to jump through hoops for the help that the DRG stimulator has provided for my pain relief. It's still not perfect, but it's much better than the first three years of living with the disease.
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