Hi Donna,
So sorry you didn't get much response before, sometimes (not often!) we all seem to need to take a break at the same time...don't know how you slipped through the net...
I can't be much help on the blocks, but just wanted to say that for me RSD *was* hard and fast in the beginning; but it was brought on by injury. Others whose RSD started from different causes may well have a different experience.
And sorry to hear you're getting these problems, just FYI, there are other conditions with symptoms similar to RSD, here are some:
arachnoiditis, MS, some forms of diabetes, TOS (as you know), discogenic disease, deep vein thrombosis, cellulitis, vascular insufficiency, lymphedema, erythromelalgia (this one's so similar it may even be a form of RSD, research will tell eventually), Cauda Equina Syndrome....
Hope others can help more.
all the best