Hi there folks!
It's been a little while since I've been able to get back to this journey I've started to share with you all, but there have been some family events needing immediate and in person care and support, which have been stressful, time consuming and difficult for all involved - things that have been made even less easy during this massive surge of the new Covid-19 variant...
If you want to check out my previous posts, here are the links:
@planetauto/the-struggle-is-real
@planetauto/the-struggle-is-realpart-2
So to continue! CRPS is a gnarly, mean little beastie, and isn't content with just causing pain. As I mentioned in my last post, it can spread...
I didn't actually know this until I attended the Pain Management Programme at The Walton Centre in Liverpool. The work they do there is cutting edge, and people have come over from all over the world in order to access the best neurological treatment available.
It can take a while to be referred to this place, and for me, it was five years. It's understandable, as you need to have exhausted the more obvious solutions before you wind up there (or have a different condition!)
The programme is - in it's essence - a way for you to learn to live with your pain. Most of the people who get to this point have been in pain for a long time, and are suffering from chronic, life long conditions that have changed their world. This is a safe space that can give you time, and access to specialist help, to find another way to do things.
Before I dig deeper into how this 6 week programme works, I will start with an overview...
After you have been assessed and deemed a suitable candidate for the programme, you will be contacted with dates of the next available run. When that happens, you need to commit yourself to it. When I completed the programme, it was before the pandemic, so we spent most of our time at the hospital during those 6 weeks.
The programme is split into two phases - Phase 1 looks a little like this:
Phase 2 shakes things up a little bit, and stretches you a little more:
As you can see, there is a lot going on here - especially when you factor in the hydrotherapy and physiotherapy. Also, the psychology and physiology of pain is fascinating!
In my next post, I will delve into what the programme does, and how it teaches you another way to do things, as by this point I had come to the horrific realisation that this CPRS wasn't going away anytime soon...
Thank you! 🖖
