Since being diagnosed with CRPS, I have done a lot of research. Research as to what CRPS is, what is the best treatment out there, why I got this, what could I have done differently to not get this? Every aspect of this journey, I have researched and sought input from physicians along the way. It’s amazing that most physicians know less than you do about CRPS. There is no known cause of CRPS, therefore treatment isn’t really well known. It’s kinda, try this or that and hope it helps!
But one thing I have run across multiple times in my research is the idea that a high dose of vitamin C, taken orally, could help prevent CRPS. Harvard medical school suggests taking 500mg of Vitamin C daily may prevent CRPS following a wrist fracture. And another trial, in 2007, suggested that taking 500mg for 50 days after a wrist fracture reduces the prevalence of CRPS. Considering CRPS typically comes on following trauma, including fractures and surgeries, this is huge! And could, possibly, help prevent others from getting this horrible disease!
After my surgery I decided to try putting Vitamin C topically on my chest. I hadn’t, at this time read anything about it and hadn’t even been diagnosed yet, but just thought I’d try it to see if it changed anything. I didn’t notice any change while using it topically. My CRPS initially spread from my right neck to my inner right arm, right upper back, across my chest to my sternum. I have often wondered if I knew about oral Vitamin C sooner, would it have changed things? What if I had taken it before surgery? Would I even have CRPS? But I honestly believe that I have CRPS for a reason. I think this is exactly what God is using me for. Using me to get the word out, using me to help others. I guess in a way, getting diagnosed with CRPS has allowed me to find a new purpose. By no means does this define me or is this my only purpose in life, but just another layer. Unless there is a cure, I will have CRPS forever. Which means that I will forever go out of my way to try anything that I can find to help me and help prevent further spread. And I will continue sharing my journey so that others may learn something from me, to help them. ❤️
“Acceptance doesn’t mean resignation; it means understanding that something is what it is and that there’s got to be a way through it.”—Michael J. Fox
References:
https://www.health.harvard.edu/a_to_z/complex-regional-pain-syndrome-crps-a-to-z
Ami’s Journey 