Oh i am in California. Be glad you dont have cold weather, and NEVER GO TO THE SNOW... you will thank me. lol.. i learned the hard way... Well I had it for over a year before I had ketamine which made me 100 times better. I actually had the ketamine because I spilled boiling water on my hand which caused my rsd to spread... (rsd is the old name... crps is the new name... its all the same thing except the crps is type 1 and 2... one without nerve injury, two with nerve injury. So, my rsd was in my right arm, and i the hot water caused the rsd to spread across my back and into both of my shoulders and neck... and being young he had to stop it from spreading more as nerve blocks stopped working on me a long time ago. But when I first got diagnosed, I was working for surgeons and they did some blocks on me which saved my crps from progressing faster.

Yes stress is bad... It is something we just have to learn to manage... I no longer talk to quite a few people because they just cause my emotions to get too high and its too much for my health. My mom knows, and understands and has seen what happens when we get into arguements so we for the most part can avoid them all the way, or I just walk away or say I have to go to anyone who upsets me. AND BE SELFISH you have to do this for our own good!!!!

Yes rest is horrible... keep it moving... I know water is the best because we cant get hurt in it. After having my infusions I am considered in remission, but i still have bone aches, but not nearly the amount as before. Once it is under control (well... it never is under control... but as much as we could with the power we have with treatment meds, etc...) I do have better days than I used to. I think that we learn how to know our limits and not to push ourselves. I still dont have the energy that I had before I got crps, but I have come a LONG way. My right arm is affected and I am right handed and I sew and use it alot, and right after I take a bath or put a rice heat pack ( the kind you put in the microwave) on it and it tends to relax all the muscles)... I actually have an article that would be interesting for you to read... if you pm me your email address i can send it to you

Dont look at it as a curse, yet a blessing to live a more zen life... hehe I have learned ALOT over the past year, and if its one thing-- count your blessings not what you dont have, and take care of yourself first

ps... and your PT said beat it into remission... but we do that slowly, and we build up to it... especially since you just had surgery your body is trying to heal 2 things