Spoonie,

There are other meds that might help you. Many people find relief with neurontin or lyrica or with the old tricyclics antidepressants like nortryptiline given at a lower dose than used for depression. I also take something called PEAPure, a complex fatty acid that affects mast cell activity which is implicated in neuropathic pain. It is a bit expensive and I now have to order it from overseas as the US pharmacy that had it ran into some kind of import issue. Not sure medical marijuana would be any cheaper. Dr. Pradeep Chopra has a good talk on rsds.org right now where he mentions the PEAPure. I have taken it for the last few months, don't know how much it helps but hey... Dr. Chopra also cautions about nerve entrapment and I would advise if the ER docs gave the initial diagnosis and you go tell other docs that you may have CRPS they are likely to follow. ER docs are great, but their training is to make sure something is not going to imminently kill you. They are not necessarily geared towards the kind of thing you are dealing with. Just be sure you didn't get misdiagnosed again!

BTW, entrapment does not always cause numbness, can cause electric sensations and shooting pain as well as coldness in limb and circulation changes. Nerves do weird things and don't always behave as "expected". A nerve conduction study is non-invasive and easily accomplished...If stuff is ruled out and you have CRPS that's one thing. It's another if your doctors aren't checking out all the options that might affect treatment and outcome. Can you tell I worked in healthcare?
Good Luck! Littlepaw