Lisa van Allen

About Lisa van Allen

In January 2015, Lisa tripped and fell while on vacation, breaking a bone and tearing two tendons in her ankle. The surgery to repair it all went well, but a few weeks later, the worst pain she’d ever experienced hit the top of her foot. Her doctor had no answers as to why Lisa was in so much pain. She began researching her symptoms online and discovered something called “CRPS”. She was referred to a Pain Specialist who examined her foot, asked a lot of questions, and agreed that Lisa met the ‘Budapest Criteria’, the standard for diagnosing Complex Regional Pain Syndrome, also known as Regional Sympathetic Dystrophy, the most painful condition known to modern medicine. Over the next few years Lisa was given medications, nerve blocks, and implanted devices designed to block the pain signal. She tried alternative therapies. Nothing worked. And the pain got worse. She developed dystonia, muscle spasms that twist her ankle and knee joints, and dysautonomia, where the autonomic nervous system regulating temperature, digestion, and balance becomes impaired. Then long haul COVID sent Lisa into a flare up of all her symptoms. She was no longer able to maintain her private practice and retired in 2022. Due to pain and fatigue Lisa uses a wheelchair when she leaves her home. Lisa has learned to manage the physical and emotional toll CRPS has taken through a combination of tools and techniques including Mindfulness meditation and prayer, an anti-inflammatory diet, pacing her activities, and medication. She no longer takes opioids, but has found certain antidepressants reduce pain. Ketamine infusions help dial down pain levels for a few weeks, so Lisa has infusions every 8-10 weeks. It has taken careful research to find providers who offer best practice protocols. Lisa has become active in offering advocacy for a group of people who often call themselves Pain Warriors. They are not fighting their bodies or the medical community, but fight against a disease that slowly robs them of the things they love. Working with the US Pain Foundation and the RSDSA, Lisa seeks to promote the following initiatives: 1 - Improved funding in the form of grants, donations, and federal funds to promote research toward a cure for CRPS. 2 - Improved access to IV ketamine for chronic pain patients. 3 - Improved access to support and information on CRPS through support groups with trained facilitators. 4 - Improved education of medical professionals on the diagnosis and treatment of CRPS through required CME courses. 5 - The development of AI to assist in the diagnosis of CRPS.

Experience

1. Co-chair of Advocacy for the Rsdsa

   Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy Syndrome Association Rsdsa

   Jan 2024 — Present · CT, US

Education

• Calvary University

  MS, Counseling Psychology

  1989 — 1991

• California School of Professional Psychology

  PhD, Clinical Psychology

  1991 — 1994

• University of California, Berkeley

  Credential, Learning & Behavior Specialist, Teaching Credential

  1980 — 1981