8 April 2012
So what is CRPS? It stands for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (RSD is the American term and stands for Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy). Put simply, my brain is 'misreading' nerve signals from my affected limb (in my case, my left foot and leg) as pain. Even the simplest touch, a breath of wind, clothes, shoes, etc is read by the brain as pain. There is nothing physically wrong with the limb, just the brain misunderstanding the nerve signal.
Many GP's don't know about it which makes diagnosis very difficult.
Daily life for a CRPS sufferer is a battle of balancing pain against activity. Any kind of activity results in waves of excruciating pain. But either you stay in bed with little pain (sometimes the only choice) or you get on with life with a certain degree of pain.
This is my lot in life. But my friends and I battle on.
What Is CRPS Or RSD • Opuss № I