It feels like someone is twisting my ankle, stabbing inside my knee and suffering from extreme sunburn on my entire leg. Now imagine being told there is no known cure.
Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (also known as RSD) is regarded by many as the most painful condition, registering 46/50 on the McGill Pain Scale.
Given this you would expect doctors to have figured out a treatment plan that cures the condition. But sadly you are very wrong, doctors still haven't found a cure. This is extremely frustrating for sufferers as there is no clear way out or obvious return to how life was before the condition struck.
Ok, so there is no cure but, surely they must have a standard treatment plan that reduces symptoms and lowers the pain levels. The answer to that is no. There are treatments but none of them are guaranteed to work and often use drugs that you wouldn't associate with chronic pain.
I've been through all of the major treatments available to me including ketamine infusions, spinal blocks and different medications since my diagnosis in late 2014. As none of these treatments have kept my symptoms under control for any significant length of time, I and many others are now reliant on the very small studies that are being done with no guarantee of it helping, or success rate. This uncertainty is no good with a condition such as CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome) as it can be made worse by anxiety and stress. Not only that putting yourself through treatments which require sedation and long term medications have risks and nasty side effects.
Sometimes I want to give up and not put myself through it as there are no promises of treatment helping but if I don't try, then I may never get relief. People kept asking why I was in hospital for treatment on my birthday, well with the condition as it is, I had no choice, I was desperate for some relief. It is only until you experience it will you truly understand why I agree to treatment, but I hope you get some idea from this post.
Given this you would expect doctors to have figured out a treatment plan that cures the condition. But sadly you are very wrong, doctors still haven't found a cure. This is extremely frustrating for sufferers as there is no clear way out or obvious return to how life was before the condition struck.Ok, so there is no cure but, surely they must have a standard treatment plan that reduces symptoms and lowers the pain levels. The answer to that is no. There are treatments but none of them are guaranteed to work and often use drugs that you wouldn't associate with chronic pain.
I've been through all of the major treatments available to me including ketamine infusions, spinal blocks and different medications since my diagnosis in late 2014. As none of these treatments have kept my symptoms under control for any significant length of time, I and many others are now reliant on the very small studies that are being done with no guarantee of it helping, or success rate. This uncertainty is no good with a condition such as CRPS (complex regional pain syndrome) as it can be made worse by anxiety and stress. Not only that putting yourself through treatments which require sedation and long term medications have risks and nasty side effects.
Sometimes I want to give up and not put myself through it as there are no promises of treatment helping but if I don't try, then I may never get relief. People kept asking why I was in hospital for treatment on my birthday, well with the condition as it is, I had no choice, I was desperate for some relief. It is only until you experience it will you truly understand why I agree to treatment, but I hope you get some idea from this post.
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