Belated Mother’s Day- Honor Thy Caregiver

By Guest Blogger Melissa Wardlaw As a patient who has been living with a multitude of painful chronic illnesses for over 15 years now, I have had to reluctantly rely on caregivers. Being a highly independent and self-sufficient person my entire life (even living in my own apartment at 16), this has been a very difficult pill to swallow! The most pivotal caregiver and unsung hero in my life has been and still is my mother Donna. So on this Mother’s Day 2018, I honor her! Further, I will share some lessons learned about honoring the caregiver(s) in your own life. Throughout my entire 20s, my focus was on my upwardly mobile and successful business career. But when I suffered…
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When Is Physical Pain Emotional Pain?

By Guest Blogger Deborah R. Brandt, PT, DPT, CMA   Twice, I have had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and chronic [complex] regional pain syndrome (CRPS) occur simultaneously.  In case other people may have PTSD associated with their CRPS, here are some insights and information I have gained from my healing process I would like to share with you. MY STORY I discover myself running on an unfamiliar path in Central Park and watch my 6 month-old Golden Retriever, Lily, ears floating out like wings, enjoying running with me.  Why am I running nowhere in Central Park on this beautiful fall day? Slowly, I remember.  I was playing with Lily in an area with other dogs and their owners when a…
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Safety Month and RSDSA- What Does It Mean

By Guest Blogger Jenny Picciotto Support groups are incredibly important to the CRPS community. RSDSA works to help make sure that these support groups are equipped with the tools that they may need. Jenny, a support group leader, writes about the upcoming Safety Month and what being a Support Group Facilitator has done for her. In June of last year, the RSDSA began an outreach program for support group leaders. I jumped at the opportunity to participate in their monthly calls. Having been the facilitator of the Oahu CRPS Support Group since 2013, I have faced many of the same challenges I heard described by other leaders; finding a place to hold meetings, getting the word out, selecting topics for…
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A Conversation With Our Newest CRPS Blogger

By Lorna Fortner Lorna is a member of the CRPS. As a new blogger, she wanted to introduce herself and tell her story before she continues on her blogging journey. We bet that many of you will be able to relate to Lorna. Make sure to give her a warm welcome. Hi, y’all, I’m Lorna Fortner.   I have CRPS2 since 1994, but it took about 7 years to get the diagnosis.   Since I new to blogging, maybe a little background would be nice for you to fill in some of the gaps.   I was born in WI in 1951.  Had asthma-first attack at 6 mos.  For the chronic sore throats, they once gave me penicillin, at age 3,…
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My Top 5 Strategies For Dealing With A CRPS Flare

By Guest Blogger Melissa Wardlaw As a person living with CRPS, Melissa has had to manage a number of full body flares and pain for almost two decades. Because of this, Melissa was able to compile a list of tips that work for her to deal with pain flares. While these may not work for everyone, it may be a great starting point. As a patient who has suffered with systemic CRPS/RSD (full-body) and multiple other chronic illnesses and pain for over 15 years now, one unfortunate factor I can rely on in my medical journey is knowing I will experience flares; aka, an increase or exacerbation of pain & symptoms. Flares can be mild or severe, short or long,…
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Finding Your Flashlight With CRPS

By Guest Blogger Morgan Trevithick Morgan experienced a CRPS diagnosis after doing something she loved. She was then surrounded by the darkness that CRPS can bring. What did it take for her to come out of the darkness? A flashlight. See what she means below. Most people have passions, and even if they don’t admit it, there is always something that secretly brings them joy. This, for me, was running. I could have suffered the worst day of my life, but the second I heard my feet bounce on and off the pavement, all my stress dissipated. On July 8, 2015 I suffered an extreme running accident that lead to nearly every injury one person could possess. After about a…
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How CRPS Is A Family Disease

By Samantha Anderson Sometimes, we get so wrapped up in our pain and our diagnosis that we do not realize that CRPS goes beyond us. Our families can be changed because of a CRPS diagnosis. While we have to focus on working on our own pain, it can be important to recognize some of the impacts of CRPS being a family illness. Last night, I was watching a television show with my mom. In it, the son was struggling with an illness. The therapist speaking to the parents explained that it is a chronic illness, which makes it a family illness. This does not mean that it is genetic, but it means that the family is affected by it. That’s…
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5 Things People With Chronic Pain Need You To Hear

By Guest Blogger Rachel Ehrenberg Often times, we discuss what we want to hear from our loved ones about chronic pain. It is not often we get to tell them the things we need them to know and to hear. Rachel took the big step to make this list happen. There are so many misconceptions about people with chronic pain. Unless you are living with it, nobody can actually truly understand what living in with it feels like. It becomes extremely draining emotionally and physically for us struggling with chronic pain. And for me, whenever I am having a rough time, there are a few things that I wished people knew about. I suffer from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD)/Chronic Regional…
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Not An Inspirational Blog About CRPS

 By Guest Blogger Melissa Lanty Sometimes, all of the positive, wishful thinking blogs can be too much, especially for members of the community that are feeling frustrated. Melissa is here to let you know that you are allowed to be frustrated and aggravated and that everything is not always sunshine and rainbows in the world of CRPS If you are looking for the positive, inspirational story then I suggest you stop reading, this isn’t it.  I am out of examples of ways I’ve overcome this illness, I have no “bright side” to share today.  Today I am mourning, today I grieve.  I don’t want the positive encouragement, I don’t want the pity, I just want you to understand that I’m…
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Being A Wounded Healer With CRPS

By Guest Blogger Gabe King "You come out of suffering sometimes scarred. But you come out, anyway, a stronger person...you become, yourself, a wounded healer." -Bobby Schuller As a chronic pain warrior, have you ever thought of yourself as a healer? Not a physical healer, by no means! If that were the case, we would not be in the state we are in currently. No, I speak of being what Bobby Schuller termed a 'wounded healer'. What does that mean? A wounded healer is one who is or has gone through a time of suffering. Instead of being broken by it all, they come out stronger and are able to aid those on a similar path. Though unable to heal…
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