I am very sorry to hear everything that you are going through. I'm sorry that I cannot be much help with doctors...but the suggestion of checking rsdsa.org is a good one.

As for the cause...this can often be hard to pinpoint. There are many people who never end up figuring out the cause. Other times it is something as stupid as stubbing one's toe or bumping into something. Other causes are easy to pinpoint, when RSD follows a worse injury or surgery or something like that. I try not to think too much about the cause of my RSD. I KNOW what caused it and could spend my life blaming those responsible...but it won't make me any happier or my RSD any better.

If you do have another underlying issue, however, I hope they are able to deal with that as soon as possible. If you have a trapped nerve in your neck then that could be causing many of the symtpoms. But if the doctors highly suspect RSD then you should be cautious with any surgeries or invasive procedures and make sure to weigh the risks with the possible benefits carefully. Don't let anyone push you into something you aren't comfortable with because you are deserate or feel like you have no other choice.

I hope Dr. Prager is able to help you. If not...I hope you find the right doctor soon. Good news is that you are still fairly early into this and therefore have a decent shot at remission if they can get you proper treatment soon. Take care.

Could my occipital nerve be trapped in any place other than at the spine? Because I had a cervical MRI and it showed that it was not trapped at the spine... there was no finding. So either my occipital nerve is just somehow angry because of all the things I have been doing to my scalp and this is CRPS absolutely or it is trapped by some other means that a normal MRI cannot detect. I wonder if I should get a neurography but no doctor is suggesting it. They just offer up all these blocks...and that's not really solving anything now is it.

Did you see Dr Prager yet?
Was he able to help you?