Life is just one ‘wheely big challenge’! 🤣

Those of you who have been following my progress will know that I had my amputation in April 2019 for CRPS in my left foot. Since the surgery I have struggled with phantom pain, and overcome that. But also Ive had alot of stump pain. Yet to recieve an official diagnosis, but this pain does mimic what I felt with my CRPS. So personally, I think that this may be back in my stump. I am struggling to wear my awesome new leg for more than a few minutes at a time, and then it will be left hurting for hours. On the plus side, even if this is the outcome, im still glad I had the amputation. Why? I hear you ask? Well, its simple. I was in limbo land before. With an agonising foot. Not wanting to use a wheelchair. Disabled, but not. People dont understand what they cant see. So when you tell them your in alot of pain, unless your sobbing uncontrolably or screaming or gurning like a cabbage patch doll, then they dont think your pain is ‘that bad’. Infact I even had a friend tell me that one thing. That my pain couldnt be that bad because im never crying, or flailing about like a horizontal Michael Flatley. Well, I dont like to make a show, and if Im bad, I dont go out. I dont like fuss, or sympathy. I just want to get on in life with as little resistance and hastle as possable.

So here we are. Strong CRPS possibility. Lots of people have asked me what CRPS is, so I thaught id explain it in the best way I can.

CRPS (Chronic Regional Pain Syndrome is a poorly understood condition where a person experiances persistant, severe and debilitating pain. ‘Most cases of CRPS are triggered by an injury’ (NHS). However the bodys reaction to the injury is much stronger than usual and may affect more of the limb than the original injury did. The pain usually only affects one limb, but it can sometimes spread to other parts of the body.

Doctors sometimes make a distinction between 2 types of CRPS.

TYPE 1: Follows an injury such as fracture or sprain or surgery but with no nerve damage.

TYPE 2: Follows damage to a nerve in the limb.

I have type 1! Anyone can be afdectes by CRPS (although it seems to be more prevelant in women). It most commonly affects the hand & wrist, foot& ankle, or knee. Although sometimes the whole limb can be affected.

CAUSES? No one knows exactly what causes it, bit a fracture or other injury sometimes seems to act as a trigger. It’s thaught that the nerves of the affected limb are much more sensative than normal, and that pain pathways between the affectes limb and the brain may change so that pain continues long after the origional injury has healed. The pain and other symptoms also affect a wider area other than original injury. CRPS can occur after other problems such as a stroke or operations to a limb. In about 1 i 10 sufferers it develops without any obvious trigger factor.

So there you have it. In a nutshell, Its awful and no one know why you have it! Maybe we did something wrong in a previous life? I have to say that all other pain does seem tiny in comparison. I hope that as its early on this time, I may be able to get some help. Time will tell.