We started out using CRPS because that's what the doctor called it - he said it was the newer name. He pronounced it "crips" instead of just saying the letters. However, I tended to see more info on RSD, plus my sister said she hated hearing something that sounded like "crypts", plus frankly, "Complex Regional Pain Syndrome" has the same "feel" as Chronic Fatigue Syndrome - the first sounds like you just kind of hurt all over a bit, instead of the terrible, devastating pain that it really is, and the second sounds like you're just a bit run down, instead of the terrible devastating fatigue that it really is. I think RSD, when you say what the letters stand for, just sounds more impressive. It's hard enough to get people to understand even an inkling of what this is, so whatever help we can get, I use. We've switched to RSD.

I might start using the muscular dystrophy explanation - that might help, because people understand that MD is a terrible disease.