New guy with Spinal Cord Injury looking for answers

Greetings. I am a retired chef after 40 years in the food and beverage industry. I lead an extremely active and healthy life before I suffered an incomplete spinal cord injury four years ago. A large wave dumped me on my head while body surfing at the Jersey shore, but fast work by excellent lifeguards and a life flight to a trauma center in Atlantic City helped assure that God had further plans for me. I was completely paralyzed below my chest at first, but with the help of good doctors and great PTs I made big strides in my first 18 months.
I had a laminectomy to relieve pressure on my spinal cord and was fused from C-4 to C7. I have an intrathecal baclofen (muscle relaxer) pump that was implanted about a year and a half ago to keep me mobile as I battle against muscle tone. I can walk up to 300 feet with a walker, perform all routine daily activities, and can even stand long enough to do a little cooking.
Neuropathy comes with the territory with my type of injury, but two years later, after most of the nerve pain had subsided or was under control with Neurontin, my feet continued to burn. Then I noticed the redness and swelling that were particularly bad after therapy sessions where I was wearing running shoes. I had to discontinue aqua therapy because of the 90° water. My only relief came with ice water immersions or wrapping my feet with frozen gel packs. I haven’t tried to wear shoes in a long time, and only use sandals to get from my front door to the car door and back. I use compression socks to help with the edema, but I can only stand to keep them on for a few hours a day. Elevating my feet doesn’t help much; the pain and swelling are worse as soon as I bring them down.
The last couple of years have been a real struggle. My depression has worsened, and I lost ground in my physical rehabilitation because the foot pain limits my liability to walk (I could make 600 feet at one point) and exercise. We canceled our big plans for a family vacation a couple of months ago; I would have been too miserable to enjoy it anyway. I had to call our state’s Division of Rehabilitation Services to let them know I could no longer seek employment.
My neurologists have found no explanation with venous testing or arterial Doppler and, although I have limited sensation below my waist, my nerves tested as normal. I am using 150 mg Lyrica and 30 mg Cymbalta daily for nerve pain, which are not any better or worse than the gabapentin I had been taking until a couple of months ago. It was not until last week at my podiatry visit that anyone mentioned the existence of EM. When I read through the symptoms and treatments of the disorder my outlook improved immediately with the realization that there were others with the same condition, and there was a possibility of a diagnosis and treatment.
I’m truly grateful to have found your group, and I hope to learn much more about EM from all of you. I have found some great examples and possibilities to take to my doctors, and am encouraged by your resourcefulness and bravery.
Thank you.

Wish I could say “welcome” to our club but clearly this isn’t a club anyone want to be in!! I hope you find helpful things and support here . Keep strong!
Robyn

Welcome Drew I also tae Lyrica and am from 10 miles from Atlantic City…keep the faith