Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS), Reflex Sympathetic
Dystrophy (RSD), Fibromyalgia, Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS), Irritable Bowel
Syndrome (IBS), chronic pain, neuropathic pain… What do you think when you hear
these words? What crosses your mind when
you think about these conditions or syndromes?
Does ‘hope’ ever cross your mind?
Going through the ‘spin
cycle’, as I would call it, when dealing with any of the above mentioned
conditions (or even those that I left out that can fall into the categories)
leaves the patient and their family searching for answers. The problem comes when there is a lack of
viable information available to patients, family members and loved ones.
As patients we have to be willing to ask the hard
questions. We have to be willing to
stand up for our rights. As a patient
you also have to be willing to be your own best advocate. Yes, this is extremely hard when you have
chronic pain or any debilitating condition, but if you won’t who will…
The majority of people rely on their primary physician, surgeon or pain management doctor to convey information to them regarding their condition. This is a grand idea and I highly recommend speaking with your physician to gain information regarding your diagnosis and prognosis. Setting a proper treatment plan in place and following it. Yet, what happens when you’ve taken these steps and you or a loved one is still in pain or still having issues with their diagnosis?
Are you… the individual that states there is no hope for
remission? Are you… the patient that I
have been reading on the blogs that is only open to taking medications or
hoping that a spinal cord stimulator will give you enough relief? Are you… the family member that writes the
article stating that you are giving up on your child ever having a normal life
due to CRPS because there will never be any hope of the pain going away?
Let me start with a quote from Michael J. Fox
I know all too well that patients and their families are
conditioned to accept that they have to live with pain, but as an individual
that lived with chronic pain and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS) for about
seven (7) years I am here to tell you that there is ‘hope’.
When I was diagnosed with CRPS I too had problems finding
answers. I went through my own personal
‘spin cycle’ and had to find a way to
wring myself out. Life without remission
was not an option. I knew in my heart
that I had to find a way, with or without my doctors to regain my life.
I went on my own personal quest when my physicians had
nothing more to offer me other than to keep me on high levels of pain
medications. I was not willing to wait
for the answers. Instead, I went in
pursuit of them.
Research turned up many treatments that people spoke of
throughout the US and overseas. I tried
most of them, trust me. I was treated
with traditional medicine until my own physicians threw up their hands; I tried
hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT); mud packs for pain; ketamine; integrative
therapy in Frankfurt, Germany that included stem cell therapy, regional
hyperthermia, & much, much more…; and finally found remission through a
form of complementary medicine.
I am not here to say that my way is the right way or that
it is something that you have to do. I am not saying it is easy. What I am saying is, “There is hope if you’re
willing to seeking it…”
hope
noun
: the feeling of wanting something to happen and thinking
that it could happen : a feeling that something good will happen or be true
: the chance that something good will happen
: someone or something that may be able to provide help :
someone or something that gives you a reason for hoping
Finding hope while dealing with chronic pain or
debilitating conditions can be difficult, but is necessary to regain your life. Don’t allow your ‘hope’ to be stripped away
from you during your time of need. This
is the very time that you DO need HOPE!
If you would like more information on the author, Traci
Patterson, or how she got into remission please feel free to contact her. Traci@AdvancedPathways.com
Traci’s journey with CRPS
will be published in the near future.
