Alternative treatments
Hello!
I haven’t really been on here since I was newly diagnosed a little over a year ago. It’s been a hell of a journey. I was diagnosed in july 2025, following a bunion surgery (lapiplasty) on my left foot in june 2024. The pain doctor who diagnosed me did 2 nerve blocks shortly after diagnosis. I wanted physical therapy but he was concerned about insurance not covering the nerve blocks if a pt order was put in. The first nerve block helped so he did a second. Simply put, it was a very unprofessional experience. The second block caused me to get exponentially worse, and he did not follow up. I had been on 50 mg lyrica, 750 mg robaxin 2x daily for about 9 months at this point.
I have had chronic digestive issues since childhood. When my CRPS became more severe, they also worsensed. In winter of 2025 I was living in a garage, and the cold made me essentially bedbound for 3 months. Digestion got so bad i wasn’t eating, started having severe pain w urination. Got diagnosed with gastroparesis and chronic gastritis early 2026. Scheduled for a colonoscopy, prep made me vomit uncontrollably. Got admitted for a week, my IUD was embedded in my uterus. Got it surgically removed. Lack of medical marijuana for that week meant i was on dilaudid. Discharged as soon as i could eat again (was severely malnourished when admitted) and had no additional support. That was feb 2026.
Since then I’ve been able to go back to work (2 jobs, 42 hours a week!), get back to some of my hobbies, and cut my lyrica and robaxin dose to once daily. Now on 40 mg duloxetine, 2 mg motegrity, 50 mg notriptyline, hydroxyzine and zofran as needed. I’m still in immense pain every day but it doesn’t consume my life anymore. I fought like hell in ways I still can’t comprehend.
I’m only 22 and I’m so grateful that I’ve been able to keep my condition from worsening. I know I’m very lucky. Having said that, the mental aspects of this disease are really starting to get to me. I’ve had CPTSD for as long as i can remember, grew up in a religious cult, sexually assaulted more times than i can count, medically neglected as a child, the list goes on. All I’ve known is pain and sickness. I finally have built a support system that shows me that there is more to life than that.
I hate being so medicated so young. I finally found a neurologist to upkeep my prescriptions (dropped by pcp due to missing appointments, new one didn’t want to), and when i tried to discuss other options to help me get off meds, i was told there are none besides surgery or more nerve blocks. I know this isn’t true. I tried to apply to a scrambler therapy (the only one i could find in my state) and was denied bc im on lyrica and cant just go off for 6 weeks beforehand.
My brain fog and memory is so bad. I’m so depressed and exhausted. I don’t know if i should try to see a psych to switch up the duloxetine because that also helps with my nerve pain. I just feel like i need to do something different and the only options i’m told i have are to increase medication. I hate america