Life is difficult with a severe illness like RSD/CRPS. It can take years to figure out how to find a balance that works for you. Returning to work was an impossibility for me--I tried adapting and considered many career options, but none were ultimately realistic.

We're all different and you and your doctors will need to figure out if you're capable of doing any type of work. If you're not, you'll want to consider applying for SSDI (or SSI if you don't have enough credits). And, if you loved your job, this will feel like another blow, another thing taken away, but this doesn't mean you can't achieve happiness (or at least contentment) with a new path.

If you don't have a company or personal long term disability insurance policy, it makes things trickier. CA, HI, RI, NJ, and NY all have short term disability that are very easy to qualify for if you're lucky enough to live in of those states. Different states have different policies on collecting unemployment and filing for SSDI at the same time... If you need help or direction, please visit the SS disability forum or even pm me if you like.