Oh Renee. Good grief, this thing just gives us no breaks does it?

My husband had shingles, and it's a nasty thing at the best of times. It tends to come out when we are under stress, and of course being in constant pain is very very stressful for your body... If you've had chicken pox, then yes the stress of CRPS could bring on shingles. I second Vrae on the evening primrose, and the ice thing.

Under no circumstances should you ever EVER use ice now you have CRPS. Your tissues and nerves aren't working as they should, and ice is nothing but bad for us. I so understand that wish to cool something so horrible as shingles on top of CRPS but the most I ever use to cool anything is a flannel dampened with water, and only then for a few minutes at a time. I'm not saying that you made it worse, but it's a risk factor you don't need...

I hope your doc appointment goes well and they can sort this out for you. I remember it took a while for my husband to get over it, and it made him feel generally crappy on top of the blisters and nerve pain aspect. Hopefully because you've had it a while you're nearer the finish line. Take the evening primrose, and definitely do some calming exercises regularly to try to de-stress your system a bit. You deserve a break like we all do, I hope it's over very soon.

Let us know how to get on. I'll be thinking of you.

Bram