CRPS: Watch Your Step! You better watch your step . . .

This is sound advice! I love Elvis Costello, and I wish I had indeed watched my step that fateful night because I got some bad news from my doctor today.

The lovely culprit.

Well, if you've been following me, you are aware that I started this blog as a means of distraction during a period of bed rest following tendon/ligament/nerve damage in my foot from a klutzy near fall in my Tom's wedges. :) In between sharing outfits incorporating my stylish air stabilizer boot, I've been trying to document my foot woes in case this may be helpful for others out there with similar issues. :)

I've been dealing with pain, swelling, spasms, cold, numbness, color changes, and pins and needles sensations in my foot for 13 weeks. (Photo of foot at the bottom of this post.) Today I finally went to the foot specialist and received the diagnosis I feared -- Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) formally referred to as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome (RSD). Thanks to excellent doctors, it has been caught early, so my chances of beating this, or causing it to go into remission are much better. Lucky for me, my bones are unaffected at this point. A lovely side effect of this syndrome is loss of bone density and muscle atrophy.

My doctor got onto me for not taking my pain medicine at the full dosage, (I've been taking 1/2 a pill on an irregular basis, and a whole pill only when the pain is really aggravating. I hate how pain meds make me feel.) and he told me that I must take Lyrica to manage the nerve issues. My previous doctor suspected RSD, and prescribed Lyrica but I wouldn't take it. I mean, have you heard the side effects in those commercials? ACK! He reassured me about the possible weight gain with Lyrica, telling me that it is usually as a result of water retention and will go away when I stop taking the medicine. Of course, that's what I fixated on, not the "thoughts of suicide" part of the side effects. ha, ha.

Anyway, my doctor is hopeful that physical therapy coupled with Lyrica and nerve blocks, could have me looking at getting better in 2 or 3 more months. I'm to continue walking with the boot, but I did get a new, lighter boot. :) I start physical therapy tomorrow and will see a Pain Management Specialist to look at my next steps which possibly include sympathetic nerve blocks. He stressed the most important thing I can do right now is manage the pain, as pain sensations somehow tie into the whole wacky nerve response and this makes the RSD worse, as does stress.

I am naturally, very upset right now, but I will fight this and get through it as I get through everything through prayer and familial support, with a hefty dose of laughter and a side of goofiness. :D

Come back to me, V.B.!

After all, there are multiple rows of lovely, lonely shoes beckoning to me from my closet.

I CAN'T LET THEM DOWN!!!!

Yours truly, 

V.B.

Three Month Tendon/Ligament/Nerve Issues Foot Update

Three Month Foot Update:

If you read my posts for clothing reviews and outfit posts feel free to skip this one.
I'm working on a reviews post that will be up soon, but I wanted to do a quick update on my foot since documenting this process is one of the main reasons I started this blog. I searched all over google to find someone with similar issues without much luck, so I hope my story will help someone else in need of answers with tendon/ligament and nerve issues in the foot.

Sunday marked 3 months without being able to walk without the aid of crutches or my air stabilizer boot. The most aggravating aspect, besides not being able to WALK or wear cute shoes? Going to the bathroom at night. This involves crawling from the bed to the rolling chair strategically placed at the entrance of the bathroom, heaving myself in the chair from the floor and then rolling in the chair to the "throne" and then repeating the whole process in reverse. This is not conducive to a restful night's sleep. :)

The swelling has gone down since I've been staying off of it this week, but it is still painful and changes colors when I hang it down while sitting in a chair, etc. My appointment with the foot specialist is finally around the corner -- Dec. 27th. I hope to get some more answers and a more realistic healing time frame. I am on a 2 week break from work which will be spent primarily in bed or on the couch with my foot propped up. Not so much fun, but I have got to heal this stupid foot. Here's my advice, readers -- don't do soft tissue damage to any area of your body, but especially your foot. This has been a LONG haul.

Since I started this blog out of boredom due to my foot issues, I'm going to document my foot color changes at the bottom of this post for any readers that have stopped by with similar issues -- tendon, ligament tears and nerve damage (Also, RSD or CRPS have been brought up, but I don't think that is what is wrong. I don't have the burning sensation and sensitivity to touch, thank the Lord! My P.A. brought this up, and it is one of the reasons I'm seeing a specialist.)

Warning! Do not scroll below if you are squeamish. However, it's just a photo of a "normal" foot that is purplish-red.


























The scars are from my Skew Foot (Z foot) surgeries. These photos were taken after the swelling went down. My foot only turns this color now when it hangs down -- sitting, crawling, crutches, etc. It looks normal otherwise. The bottom of my foot also turns a deep purple, especially behind the toe area. The reddish-purple color extends a bit up my leg as well. When it turns this color, the prickly pins and needle sensations increase and it either feels internally and externally much colder or warmer than the other foot. This is the most disturbing part of my foot "issues." :)
Update: I've now been diagnosed as having RSD or also known as CRPS. UGH! More here.

CRPS in right foot after tendon and ligament tears.