Welcome and I am very sorry to hear what you are going through Deb. And dealing with work comp in the mix...been there done that and it is not fun.

I don't know how much you have researched RSD at all...but it really is an absolutely crazy disease. You do not need to have all the symptoms to have it. In fact...I always laugh when someone says "textbook case of RSD" because really there isn't any such thing. We are all different and not only have different symptoms (though many are shared in common it's just not unusual to be missing one or two) but we all get relief from different things.

Just two things that I feel you need to be aware of that I HOPE the doctors have already told you but maybe they haven't (as I have little faith in the medical profession after my own experiences). NO ICE and do NOT IMMOBILIZE/GUARD the RSD limb. Seriously...if you remember only two things please remember these. Ice and immobilization are two of the worst things you can do for RSD and it will only make it worse. Even if you cannot move much because of the pain (and believe me I have been there) you still need to move as much as you can. The longer you immobilze then the worse the pain will be and the harder it will be to treat. And ice can make the RSD worse as well (not to mention cause spread).

Heat is typically good for RSD and many of us get relief from it (like I said though everyone is different so there are SOME who get a bad reaction from heat or find no relief from it). Hot baths with epsom salts are a favorite of mine and I take them twice a day to help with the pain. I also like those stick on heating patches you can by at Walgreens or the grovery store.

I also have a TENS unit that helps me a lot with my RSD and an ultrasound heat therapy machine that helps as well. I found out both of these helped through physical therapy. Are you in physical therapy? That is (in my opinion) the absolute best treatment for RSD. It's hard and you really need to have a good therapist who knows what they are doing but SO worth it to get the function back.

And a newer things that I highly recommend looking into is tDCS. There is a thread on here about it and I think it should be the starting point for people with RSD rather than and afterthought after everything else. It is non-invasive (no risk of spread), little to no side effects, and it is relatively cheap as far as treatments go (cost me abour $300). I've been doing it a little over a month now and the sensitivity to touch and pain have been greatly reduced. Plus...I'm sleeping better and have had less flares since starting the treatment and the ones I have had last much less time than before.

But whatever you decide to go with in terms of treatments, please do your research ahead of time and understand the risks of each one. Aggressive, early treatment is really key and gives you the best chance at remission.

Oh...and also...definitely keep your doctor posted on how the meds are working. If you are not getting any/much relief then tell him. It is normal for RSD patients to be on a combination of meds and sometimes it's about finding the right combo that works for you. But you need to be really honest with the doctor about the relief you get from the meds and if it's not enough don't try to be brave...TELL HIM.

Good luck to you and take care. NT really is a wonderful place and I hope you get as much out of it as I have over the past couple years.