It sounds like it COULD be RSD. Hypersensitivity, burning pain, discoloration, pain not helped by many common meds...these are typical RSD symptoms. If orthopedic doctors won't help you this tells me there could be a couple of things going on. One is that they cannot find anything orthopedically wrong with you (which would be the case if it was RSD). The other is that if they suspect RSD then they would not want to do anything invasive as that would be VERY bad for RSD (which means they wouldn't want to do anything exploratory either to see if there was more to the pain than they could see on an xray, mri, etc).

I'm not saying you HAVE RSD...but it's definitely a possibility. Hopefully the rheumatologist can help rule out other possibilities and get you on the right track. A Neurologist would be another person to see for a diagnosis.

Things you will want to avoid until you know more are: immobilization, ice, and any sort of surgery or invasive procedure. These will make your pain worse and could potentially cause spread IF you have RSD. Definitely continue to try to get to the bottom of this. Physical therapy was HUGE for me in getting the function back.

As far as the brace...bottom line is that you need to be safe. I would discuss physical therapy with your doctors and possibly look into OTHER options besides immobilization to help you be safe when you walk (cane, walker, wheelchair, etc)...obviously discuss these options with a doctor before trying them as well as their advice regarding the brace. Depending on what IS wrong with you (RSD or something else)...the brace could be hurting or helping you. But the most important thing is to stay safe of course...as a fall won't help your situation no matter what is causing your pain.

Take care and keep us posted. If you do have RSD then this site can be an invaluable source. I cannot tell you how much better my life is for having found it.