Interesting post.....
I echo what everyone else has said about "how everyone is different. " Not everyone will have the same symptoms.
Also, mild/moderate/severe are somewhat subjective terms--- in other words, each person percieves things differently.

I have it in my stomache (confirmed) and (probably) in both legs as well.

With the RSD/CRPS in my stomache (a complication of abdominal surgery), other than redness, I never had color changes. What I did have was a feeling of "hot" , deep down itching, nerve pain (I have allodynia, so even before CRPS, I was familiar with how nerve pain felt) and burning. Because of the nerve pain feelings, during one of my neuro visit (for other neuro problems) I asked if there were any nerves running near my inscion site. It was almost as if a light bulb went off in his head--- especially after he asked me what me and my GYN (it was pelvic surgery) had tried. I had no clue, and he didn't really mention it in detail to me at the time other than a "hmmm and we can try Botox if another lidocaine injection from your Gyn doesn't help"...... It flares for seemingly no rhyme or reason. Diagnosed about 4 months after my surgery. Unfortunatly it seems to be getting worse....

My legs, on the other hand, are different. The suspected cause of that is the fact that I have broken both feet/ankles--- twice ( I was a gymnast from the age of 3 till 23--- 3 of my breaks were at least partially gymnastics related, at ages 10, 13, 14 and pathologic break at age 24-- unrelated to gymnastic) and countless broken toes, strains, and sprains. Some of the symptoms are the same, but, unlike my stomache, I do have color changes and it is much worse in the summer vs winter. However, I don't tend to have the deep down itchy-ness in my legs. Just recently suspected to be CRPS--- was, by previous drs, just thought to be part of my allodynia or muscle strain or plantar fasciites, etc by well meaning, but not so informed drs, after at least 7 yrs of dealing with it.

My treatments: for my stomache, after several unsucessful lidiocaine injections from my GYN, my neuro wanted to try Botox--- and I agreed (despite severe tactile defensiveness from sensory processing disorder). I was living overseas at the time, didn't have a car to take me from place to place--- so I walked everywhere, and was desperate for anything that might help and allow me to function with less pain. Thankfully, while it hasn't gotten rid of the pain, has been somewhat helpful. He also increased my dosage of Neurontin, which I was already on for Epilepsy and allodynia. For my legs--- I use a TENS unit (which I got before the CRPS was suspected) when I tolerate it, which helps some, and Neurontin does a bit too. I am also on Elavil for allodynia, which helps the leg CRPS (not my stomache), but doesn't do anything for my stomache.

As for the meds, I've been on anti convulsants-- (both for my epilepsy and nerve pain and CRPS) for 16 years. Understand that ANY of them take time to work and build up in your body, unlike a regular pain med. They also come with their own unique set of side effects, that typically fade in time (depends on the med though). I've been on Neurontin, which is similiar to Lyrica ( i did try Lyrica for a bit, but I had a parodoxical reaction to it and it made my seizures worse),-- at various doses, about 3 yrs now. The upside-- the higher the dose, the more it helps. The downside--puffiness (i didn't gain much weight, but i craved salty foods), and for me, cognitive effects. I am on a moderate dose right now to try to deal with a flare and spreading with my stomach and ward off flares in my legs--- hopefully my new neuro will have some more suggestions. In any case, one week is not enough time to give the Lyrica to work or to figure out if the side effects are going to fade in time, so don't rush to judgement based on one week (heck, it took me several weeks to even titrate onto Neurontin and dosage adjustments are made gradually, ditto that when I tried Lyrica as well....)

Keep asking your doctors questions. Keep seeking asnwers and don't hesitate to get 2nd or 3rd opinions or switch drs if your not confident in yours.

Good Luck and Hang in there.

L2L