Hello everybody. I'm new here...basically just trying to see if anybody with crps can tell me if my symptoms relate to crps. I have watched some YouTube videos trying to see if I can find something similar to what I'm going through but everything on there seems to be EXTREME cases...or I'm incorrect in thinking that I have crps.
I broke my neck in 2005 when I was pregnant with my son. I was anemic from pregnancy..didn't even know I was pregnant..and I passed out, fell off a porch, and hit my head on a car. I was paralyzed from the neck down. The way it was explained to me is that my neck popped up and out to the side...my vertebrae catching on each other and locking. This is the only thing that saved my life. If it had moved 2 more millimeters I would have died or been paralyzed for life. They did a cervical fusion..put a titanium plate in my neck with a piece of bone from my hip..and thankfully I was not paralyzed but I had to learn how to walk again..and I had to do 7 months of occupational therapy to be able to use my hands properly again.
During my healing process I would wake up in the middle of the night crying and screaming because my hands and wrists were burning with pain. This eventually subsided but I still have nerve pain in my hands, wrists and fingers. I have had hip and back pain ever since as well. Every time I would complain about the pain they told me that I had a healing process to go through. My surgeon said that whatever pain I had after a year is what I would be stuck with. After a year, I had already had my son, I still complained of back and hip pain and was told that I had another healing process after having my son. A year later I was referred to a orthopedic doctor who told me that I had bursitis in my left hip. He gave me a cortisone injection and told me that I was doing it to myself in the way that I was walking..it happens a lot especially with women when they jut their hip out to carry their children..and carrying heavy purses. The injection seemed to work for maybe 2 months..then I returned to my family doctor and asked for another cortisone shot. He did this ridiculous examination moving my legs all around..putting me in obvious pain..then not understanding why I was shaking from pain..then he told me that none of my symptoms added up to anything. He did give me another cortisone shot but that one didn't work.
I switched doctors to one that my friend went to because she really liked him and he diagnosed me with fibromyalgia. None of the fibro medication seemed to help me..and he eventually told me both medications were maxed out on strength and that he could not up them anymore. After researching fibro more I do not feel like that's what I have..as I don't have most of the trigger points and I do not have the fatigue.
After that I quit going to the doctor because I could not find anybody that would help me or take me seriously and I could not get any medication to even help me get through the pain.
During this time I had numerous issues with my hands where they would swell up so badly that I could not bend my wrist back..sometimes I could not close my hand into a fist..and it would burn and ache and ITCH. Touching the little hairs on my wrist hurt..wind hurts it..touching it too much bothers me to where it itches so badly that I want to rip my skin off and scratch my nerves underneath. I was told numerous times I had tendinitis. Then it got so bad that I thought I had carpal tunnel so they sent me for a nerve conduction test..which resulted in my being diagnosed with crps in my hands.
I have recently started going back to a doctor because my back and hip pain has gotten so much worse. I have always had times where it would be so bad I could hardly stand up properly..or walk properly..or I'd wake up in so much pain I felt like I could hardly move..but this is so much worse. My right hip has started hurting..I'm having foot pain..occasional knee pain..now I am getting horrible burning leg cramps in my sleep..and sometimes electric shocks in my thighs and calf areas. My left leg is still worse than my right. I have had times where I turn my foot and I feel like somebody has hit me with a hammer and I cannot put weight on my foot for a day or two and then it goes away. My doctor sent me to another orthopedic surgeon who told me I had hip bursitis STILL. My knee X-ray..back and hip X-ray were all normal except for inflammation. This doctor gave me cortisone injections in my gluteus medius and hip..then when my right one started hurting the injections were just in both sides of the gluteus medius. She did 3 rounds on top of antiinflammatories, convinced that it would help, coupled with physical therapy..and nothing helped. So she then gave me a MRI of my lumbar spine..and it showed nothing but a slightly bulging disc on the left side that she says is not pushing on the nerves so it's not a problem. After the negative MRI her conclusion was that I need to change my diet away from starchy carbs..go on a low carb diet..and quit smoking. She said that my diet and smoking is preventing me from healing from the inflammation. Funny thing is, she never asked me about my diet previously..she just assumed. She is willing to do an epidural on me but after leaving her office I am wondering if it is crps I have in my back and hip.
I do not seem to have any discoloration of the skin. My wrists sometimes look a little weird but nothing huge. Most times my feet look purple. I do not have significant swelling usually. I cannot distinguish any other painful areas to TOUCH but I also do not think that I have proper feeling in most areas of my body since I broke my neck but I honestly don't know because I don't know what normal feels like anymore. My feet and hands do usually feel cold and I have noticed recently that both my left and right sides going somewhat into my back are cold to the touch even when I'm outside in the heat. I do not seem to have any abnormal hair or nail growth. Unsure about sweating. The pain and inflammation is my biggest issue. I have times I will get stuck on the toilet because I cannot stand up..I have gotten stuck leaning to the side to put dishes in the dishwasher..crying and screaming because I cannot move. It has gotten so bad that I frequently stand on one leg when doing household chores because my leg hurts to bear weight. My back and hip are constantly burning..there isn't one moment of the day that I'm not aware that I'm in pain.
I'm unsure if this is crps because the horrible parts of it are not constant. I want to ask my family doctor for a referral to a neurologist or pain specialist but I want to know if anybody else experiences the crps in this way before I look stupid suggesting it?
I also have experienced horrible tmj issues along with migraines since breaking my neck.
Sorry for the extremely long post but I tried to be as thorough as possible.