Rambling is okay. It goes with the territory. No worries....! Sorry to hear about your financial situation; it is so common here. I am now on disability myself because of the CRPS. Is only about a third of what I used to make, but I'll take it. Better than no income at all. Disability is a possibility here, if you decide to test those waters. Keep a very good medical records trail.
Physical therapy is essential, but must not be overdone. There are some therapists that know how to handle CRPS, and others don't.
ASK THEM IF THEY HAVE HAD EXPERIENCE! And be honest with them about your pain level. You must be blunt and up front with them. Too aggressive of a therapy
can set you back.
It took me a few months of very slow progression of physical therapy to get my foot back to a normal size.
The sensitivity you are experiencing is a classic symptom of CRPS.
What specific drugs are you using? For me, neurontin is the cornerstone of my pharmaceutical treatment. It is one of the first drugs that many doctors will try. It was originally for treating seizures (epilepsy), but seems to work pretty well for nerve pain as well. They call that "off label" usage.
I also use naproxen sodium (Aleve) 220mg, two of them.....twice a day. It helps with inflammation and ticks the pain a bit. I used to be on percocet, but weaned myself off of it because I got somewhat better and didn't want to be addicted to narcotics. That was fun with the withdrawal symptoms, but I'm doing okay without it.
I think the key for you is good physical therapy and finding the right mix of drugs. Your pain management doctor can be the key to the drugs, and you need to find the RIGHT physical therapist. If you aren't happy with the first one or the second one, KEEP LOOKING until you find one that you like. It is essential to your progression. I love warm water therapy. It feels great and loosens things up to allow the necessary physical therapy.
Some very good links. Knowledge is power here. Check them out.................
http://www.rsdfoundation.org/index.html
http://www.rsds.org/index2.html
http://rsdrx.com/
Good luck!