Hello. im new here and after posting in the new members introduction area, it was suggested i pop over to here. Ive done a little reading on RDS and CRPS but wasnt sure if i was the right fit. now im starting to wonder.

5 months ago today i was hurt in an explosion when a full can of spray paint was accidently put into a fire. I had burns to 20% of my body and half of that was mid to deep 2nd degree burns. this mostly being my left arm from the shoulder to the fingers, with just a 2inch strip on the under of my arm and the palm of my hand untouched. The back of my hand was the worst. some spots were close to 3rd deg and this is where my problem is.

Ive been back at work for 2 months and prob 4 weeks ago i noticed some swelling in between my index and middle fingers up above the webbing and between the two bones. I then started to feel some pain shooting down my fingers. I had read that with nerve pain you should rest it but i kept working after no one would listen to me. Should have listened to myself. Oops. So two weeks ago i had to drive my nan to Adelaide to see her neurologist (ballence problems) and after driving 7-8 hours in one day my hand was sore. The next day it was so painfull. the shooting pain had spread to all fingers and up my arm. I could barely hold anything. I stupidly worked two more days until i was in just too much pain and my entire arm became swollen.

I went to the doctor and she just told me to put my pressure garments back on and keep the arm up to reduce the swelling. Come back in 10 days if the pain is still there. Plus take painkillers and dont work. after 8 days the swelling had reduced, but is back today and now im left with an arm that has shooting pain down the fingers and through the wrist. plus deep aching pain in the arm. my hand function is up and down. Sometimes i can barely move it. It also numb, sensation feels slightly muted and the whole hand feels tingly.
After doing some reading about colour change, something that i thought i didnt have and thats why i didnt think it could be RSD. Today i noticed the return of a patch above the inside of my elbow. it looks like the start of a deep bruise just as it starts to show. I noticed it when it first started and it went away. Its sometimes hard to tell because of my burn areas, but this is in a clean area.

One factor that could have caused more damage is that my burns were not treated properly for the first 5 dys and i missed alot of initial care because the doc at my local hospital told me to go home and let it heal. After 5 days and another visit, where he again told me to go away (i doubted myself and though i was just being a baby so i left with a "suck it up" attitude), the nurse who was dressing my burns went over the docs head and got me into the Royal Adelaide burns unit. I was admitted with infection and what they called "dirty wounds". I had surgery the next day, but there were a few complications from having older infected burns.

Im back to the doctor in 2 days so if anyone has any thoughts id love to hear them. To me it seems that it is my nerves, but it seems to painful for basic nerve regeneration. Plus I dont think the swelling is the norm. Another thing is that im not sleeping. Its currently 6.30am and i have not been to sleep yet. this has been happening for the past few weeks. Partly from pain, but even the pain killers arent knocking me out when they normally do. But they could explain if this isnt making sence. lol. Also i feel like im starting to slightly get the shooting pains in my feet and other hand. Just sometimes as if they are sympathy pains? like when someone tells you about breaking their foot and yours hurts thinking about it

I guess this is my hello and if anyone has any ideas or has suddenly experienced nerve pain this long after a burn injury, or any injury i would love to hear. and if so how long for? I feel like this is karma in a way. At the time of my burns i kept saying at least i was smart enough to burn my nerve endings off so it didnt hurt so much. OPPS lol. thats come back to haunt me.
Thankyou, even if its just for reading.
Sarah