I am so sad reading your story...it reminds me so much of mine. My RSD resulted from a work injury and I had terrible battles with work comp and got bounced around from one doc to the next until by chance I landed with a doctor who diagnosed my RSD and started treatment.

If your battle is anything like mine then you have a rough road ahead of you but rather than scare you with those details I will tell you that I am much better now. Not cured or in remission...but my life is much better now. I was so bad that I couldn't work, I was in a wheelchair, I couldn't walk or stand at all, I wasn't sleeping...life was just a misery. But now I am back to working full time, walk with a walker, and I am SO happy. Seriously...the pain is there every second of every day...but I have taken my life back and I am so grateful now for everything I have and everything I can do.

I know things seem crazy now like there is no rhyme or reason to your pain flares...but over time you will figure out what your triggers are and how to work around them. It helped me a lot to keep a daily journal where I tracked my pain level along with my daily activities, how long I slept, what meds I took at what times, what I ate, weather that day, etc. I've had to change a lot of things in my life like what I eat and what I wear. I have to sit and rest but balance that with being up and moving. I have tried lots of different meds and treatments. I've done LOTS of physical therapy (which takes a long time BTW but it did help me loads...the key was doing the exercises EVERY day).

You will find your way. Keep a journal and figure out what causes flares and what eases them. Go to doctor's appointments prepared with lists of symptoms, your journal, and any questions or things you want to go over with the doctor. If you have anyone to go with you that can sometimes help with the doctors as they will be on their best behavior when they have witnesses. If you hear about any treatments that interest you...bring that information in with you to the doctor and ask them about it. You cannot demand any particular treatment from your doctor but you can discuss it and maybe open the door to some options the doctor had not considered before. Unfortunately there are not many doctors who REALLY know about RSD and how to treat it. My best doctor was one that I could really have a partnership with. She had ideas about how to treat my symptoms and so did I and between the two of us we got all of the symptoms that were keeping me from functioning under control.

On the work comp front all I can tell you is that you need to work with an attorney and if you can find one who has worked cases with RSD then so much the better. They can do a lot for you on the treatment front if they are good...they can push work comp to approve treatments or to change doctors if necessary. They will know the rules in your particular state (because they are all different and you need to be careful that you follow them) and can advise you on what to do or not do. They are there to help you. If you don't feel your attorney is helping you or they don't answer calls or emails then change attorneys. Don't worry...attorney's are capped at how much they can get from your case and you will definitely get more from your case with an attorney than without one (and I don't just mean money but treatments and stuff like that too). Insurance companies will lie to you and mistreat you if you don't have representation...it's a sad fact but I have experienced it first hand.

Take care and if you have any questions, please ask. I have gotten so much help here while on my own journey with RSD...I hope you can find that sort of help here. Things can and will get better...stay positive and optimistic if you can. We all have bad days but things will get better.