by A Morris

Created on: July 07, 2010

Just over three and a half years ago, I broke a toe. No big deal, I thought. Give it a few weeks and it’ll heal. Over time the pain began to get worse, and I developed various symptoms which exacerbated my condition. My foot began to swell up, turned red, blue and purple and was ice cold. My toes began to sweat constantly and my toenails became more brittle and ridged. I lay awake at night for weeks, crying, screaming and in unbearable pain. Unfortunately the days were much the same.

I visited my local hospital for almost 9 months, twice a month, only to be treated as if I was making the whole thing up. An initial x-ray had been impossible due to the swelling, but later it did show a break at the end of my fourth toe. The pain emanated from the metatarsal area, which sometimes glowed red and felt as if it was burning. The pain was constantly changing; sometimes burning, throbbing, tingling or akin to having a red hot knife stabbed into my foot over and over again.

My ankle became weak, and eventually I became so frustrated that I began to research my own condition. I read about Complex Regional Pain Syndrome and (much to the doctor’s disgust) I took a printout with me on the next visit. Following a medical agreement regarding the condition, I saw a podiatrist for orthotics, a physiotherapist for desensitisation techniques, strengthening exercises and TENS. The TENS worked well so I got one of my own, and continued to do at least 2 hours of physio a day to try and maintain the strength and muscle structure in my legs, to prevent atrophy.

For three and a half years I continued with the physio, found the orthotics to be useless and was prescribed Codeine-based painkillers and Gabapentin as a nerve blocker. I was not able during this time to return to work, and the combination of being stuck inside all the time, and the intense, increasing pain began to take its toll on my mental state as well. I became withdrawn, unable to socialise well because I couldn’t separate myself from the pain. When I began to develop mirror syndrome I was starting to become desperate. By this stage I had been on at least one crutch since the accident, and the mirror syndrome meant I couldn’t stand and had to hire a wheelchair.

Since relocating to a different part of the UK, I received far better treatment from doctors who had experience with my condition and who had the technology to help me. In May 2010 I had a spinal cord stimulator implanted, and everything

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>