Lisa
I got RSD from two stress fractures in my foot.
I wore one of those big "moon boots" on my foot, and was on crutches, no weight bearing for 10 months. Still had pain. Then, some weight bearing, but still crutches for another 6 months, still in a boot, and then no crutches, still boot -- I was in a boot for almost 2 years. Then, got an AFO that went to my knee, wore that for over a year. Still no real improvement. Fractures healed, but pain didn't. They bounced around RSD, but I wasn't sensitive to touch, so thought it couldn't be RSD - well, now we know it was. I went to physical therapy because so much crutching hurt my shoulders, and in the exam for PT, they had me do some movements to test my range of motion, and I hurt my left shoulder, and RSD hit it right now, and HARD. It is my worst spot.
After the AFO on my foot for so long, and the cast boots, I was loosing flexability in my ankle. So they then made me a foot plastic cast thing that lets my ankle move. I still wear that when ever I am going to be on my feet alot. I broke my foot in 2001, so you can see that it has been a long haul.
My foot no longer turns color, the toenails have returned to normal. The skin still gets shiny sometimes, and foot still swells, and it still hurts 24/7 but not quite as bad as it once did.
Bad part was --- I over used my left foot when my right one was casted--- and so 2 years ago, had stress fractures in my left foot. RSD now in that foot too.
Good thing is -- I hardly limp now, cause they both hurt.
I don't have any advice, other than the AFO was a lot better for me than the cast boot.
I wouldn't let anyone talk you into a regular cast. When I broke my left foot, now that we are 100% sure I have RSD, I went to a foot ortho specialist... and he said NO CAST! wear cast boot so that you can take it off for swelling, at night, and loosen when sitting so not to aggrivate the RSD.
Best of luck to you on this....
OHHH---- if you have not tried them, Birkenstock shoes, although expensive, have been a godsend to me. Ones that lace work best, but all of them are wonderful. I love the sandals with lots of straps, as they adjust really well to swollen feet.... and you can loosen the area over where your foot was broken.
Jules