How this all started...Routine surgery to Complex Regional Pain Syndrome

For the year of 2008, I had been dealing with an extremely painful problem in my left thumb. When it got to the point where I couldn't move it without excrutiating pain, I went to see my Orthopedist. He informed me by doing some simple thumb movement test that I had "stenosis". For this I was given a shot of cortisone and told it would only last a month or so. I then began Bikram (hot) yoga which I found completely alleviated my pain. Then I got busy and had to skip a month of classes which meant another shot. So back to yoga I went and again no pain until the dead of winter set in and I opted to lay off the yoga and not go from the hot room to the freezing outside and back came the pain. This cycle was one year almost to the day and this time the doctor convinced me that a "routine" DeQuervain's release surgery would have me better than new in three weeks time. Reluctantly, I scheduled the surgery for February 9, 2011 and was told without a doubt I would be able to run my annual 10-mile first race of the season on April 10. And so it begins because today is May 11 and now I can begin to tell my story of the horrible affliction known as Complex Regional Pain Syndrome...