CRPS – The Dutch Way: “Evidence-Based Guidelines CRPS type I” and possibly halting the early stages of CRPS in its tracks

The interesting part of living in a foreign country is seeing that there are different approaches to treating CRPS. Not that one country necessarily has the edge over another, simply that there are subtle differences in viewpoints that can bring forth an entirely different perspective. I am an Australian, living in the Netherlands, and have been here for years now. While some aspects of the Dutch medical system may seem somewhat lax at times and I've had many gripes with these sometimes infuriating differences; what I really found interesting was the research that they have done in the field of CRPS. Their approach differs somewhat to what I had been through, or found about about over the years. It has been getting great results in treatment of acute-stage CRPS, sometimes halting progression and even reversing the changes and the Pain!

"Mysterious CRPS condition hits home for INSIDE EDITION Reporter" (video link):

I saw this video on the facebook page of Chronic Pain Australia. It's a short piece showing the experience of two young people living with CRPS. What life is really like when you have this very rude fiend gatecrashing your party.

For me, it was uncomfortable to watch. I couldn't quite grasp why I felt this way; after all, it's what I live with too. It hit me suddenly - I don't view it from the outside. This is what my loved ones see. While you're the one experiencing it from the cheap seats, it becomes somewhat normal to you. For the ones who love and support you, I don't think it can ever become 'normal'. It must be horrifying for them to watch and would have a huge impact on them. It certainly had an impact on me too.

Updates and excuses PART II: THE BLAME GAME

Blame, faith and the peculiar perils of positive thinking...

In general, I try not to blame others or the world for things that go wrong. There seems little point; it doesn't achieve much, other than making you feel even more hard done by. I may have already mentioned before that my mother tells me all the time: Shit happens! That for years she has told me to tattoo it on my forehead so I don't forget! Shit does indeed happen; blame is pointless and doesn't always lead to action. And action is the quickest way out of the shit that is happening (or even away from the shit that's hitting the fans, or flowing in the creek you're stuck on without a paddle!)

In the aftermath of the CRPS spreading not only down to my right leg, but into both legs; I wondered for some time if I was to blame for this happening. Was it my fault for skating and cycling like a madwoman possessed? Was it my failure that Pain was beating me again? Could I have prevented this by taking more care? I should have known better than to go on the ice. I have CRPS; I knew that another injury/trauma can cause a spread. I was stupid to ice-skate in the first place! All this now: my arms, my legs – this is all my fault!

I think that when anyone has an illness or condition that is out of control, one of the first thoughts we have is: Did I bring this on myself? This implies that when shit happens, it must be because someone is actually doing the shitting. However, the shit in this increasingly unpleasant image, doesn't always necessarily follow from anyone doing this... metaphorically.