Tracy Brett Favre compression stocking

Thanks.

Tracy

Hi Jimmy,

I have sort of the opposite problem in that I can't stand pressure of any kind when I'm having a flare day: I don't think about this very much anymore, because it's been 2-1/2 years that this has been going on so I've pretty much winnowed all the tight, movement-restricting clothing and shoes out of my wardrobe. Metal zippers are a particular no-no for me on all but the best of days (cold to the touch and usually in a place that is particularly sensitive, such as the skin of my neck or abdomen).

Nevertheless, I think I must look to the casual observer much as you and the rest of ya'all in the compression garment crew do; I am except in very warm weather, covered basically from top to toe except for my face and maybe the tips of my fingers if I need to do a fine-motor task of some sort.

I wear thermal long-johns, a neck scarf, a hat, soft socks that leave no gap of bare skin between the long-johns and the socks. Ditto my hands: I wear cheapo gloves that have half fingers, but also a mitten tip that buttons onto the top of the glove if I need my fingertips free, as above. Sounds fancy, but I found them at the local discount retailer for a dollar a pair, so just stock up on them every spring when they blow out winter clothing items. All my clothing is soft, uber stretchy, and is finished in such a way on the inside that it doesn't chafe or bind. Tags usually get cut out of waist and neck bands immediately after purchase, because they feel like someone is taking a belt-sander to my skin, and that becomes the only thing I can feel/think about for a while!

Shoes have to be roomy, with flat soles, because my feet swell a bit as the day goes on. I need maximum contact between the ground and my soles, because of problems keeping track of where I am in space (proprioception, part peripheral neuropathy glitch, part central nervous system glitch) to reduce risk of falls.

Whether you need compression or just loose, soft cover, when it comes to hands especially: I found early on that when my fingers were turning red or purple, if I was handing money to a check-out lady at the store or whatever, people who didn't know me were hesitant to take anything from my hands because they had no way of knowing whether or not my "condition" is contagious! I just got tired of having that conversation, especially with fellow shoppers or diners, etc., looking at me as if I were a museum specimen in the Rare Life Forms exhibit

Jimmy, you bring up an interesting point regarding Reynaud's-type hand signs and symptoms... Don't know if you noticed the Reynaud's before or after the CRPS kicked in, but it can work either way: Turns out that many circulatory and autoimmune/inflammatory conditions that might be a primary diagnosis for some patients can be secondary diagnoses for CRPS or Fibromyalgia patients, to name just two pain conditions. And why not?? Once your autonomic nervous system is glitching over time, either peripherally, centrally, or both, all kinds of stuff can start acting up. You see an increased risk of (among many others) diabetes, arthritis, Lupus, Sjogrens, MCAS, and Fibromyalgia in the case of CRPS patients, CRPS in the case of Fibro patients. Someone with any one or more than one of these conditions has chronically-increased inflammation that can result in the signs and symptoms of many other conditions, which is why we often end up with a list of diagnoses as long as your arm. It would no doubt work out better for health and work comp insurance companies if this wasn't the case, but this is just human physiology at work for you. Don't let anybody tell you that you can have CRPS or Reynaud's but not both, because you sure as heck can, whether it's convenient for your insurer or not

Ofcourse, the problem for CRPS patients is that since what we have is relatively rare, it is usually much easier for doctors and others in the healthcare system to identify some of the secondary signs and symptoms we have as the primary disease state, and begin treating those instead of the CRPS. And the treatment may or may not be the most helpful or appropriate, when all is said and done.

Keep printing up those pertinent NIH peer-reviewed journal articles as needed, to update your medical staffers if they are still stuck in 1989... A lot has happened since then in the weird, wacky world of CRPS research: Looks like invasive procedures are on the wane (nerve blocks can do more harm than good if your symptoms are in more than one limb, for instance) and treatment for the inflammatory component is on the rise. That's from Harvard School of Public Health, and Anne Louise Oaklander, MD PhD, and her team at Mass. General Hospital.

Have a great weekend!