I guess mine was pretty "mild" at first. It stood my life on its ear but I didn't know that it was caused by my sore hand. The pain in the hand really wasn't that bad and I even used it at first but then I learned that usage would cause it to hurt the next day or the day after. So I started using it less. The pain wasn't high level but it was an awful pain that came with a sense of dread and pessimism. It was a persistent pain that I would avoid at all costs so I quit using it much. Since I was still doing a job that was considered extremely physical they wouldn't diagnose it or even tell me what it was. Of course it got worse but then I got off the medication and satarted making a little headway. I was using the hand again but favoring slightly. I suppose this was a partial remission though I was still pretty bad really.

But then I twisted my ankle and it was sharply downhill. It wasn't long before my mental condition deteriorated. I've achieved a sort of stability now with the drug regimen and avoiding all the stressors which are numerous. I feel more fragile than glass but have the pain under a some control. My life has shrunk to a few square miles which I can navigate in the mornings when symptoms tend to be much milder.

I'm way beyond feeling sorry for myself but can't imagine this being any worse whatsoever. But my heart goes out to so many here who seem to have it so much worse.

One wonders if this isn't apples and oranges; there are just different ways this manifests or maybe we're dealing with more than a couple different disease processes here.