Hi =)
I am still new to this world of CRPS. I had a work related injury 12/10/15 and now have the CRPS. I am still fighting to see a neuro, but besides all of that.

Do you have flare up's that come and go?
I find the Physical therapy is helping me move my arm, since I had a shoulder injury that kicked off all of this. It is weird, because my arm will move better, but I still have the pain and all the other CRPS symptoms. I keep asking myself if this is normal? Do the flare up's come and go like this??

I do have flare ups that come and go but am also ALWAYS in pain. Flare up pain is the worst and very debilitating. I often describe my pain as 3 types of pain.

1. Burning pain that radiates outward...I can best describe it as my bones being hot pokers and the burning radiates out from those pokers. This is my all the time pain...and it can intensify during a flare.

2. Burning pain on top of my skin...like someone running a blow torch on my skin whenever anything touches my skin. This can intensify during a flare where I just cannot stand anything touching my skin at all.

3. The bone crushing pain. This only comes during flares and it the worst of the three. It feels like someone is literally crushing my bones...grinding them down to dust. If I feel this in my hands they actually claw up or freeze in a fist and I cannot bend my fingers back without help. I cannot function at all when this happens.

My RSD came from a work related injury so I feel your pain with that whole process as well and am sorry you have to deal with that on top of everything else. As far as physical therapy...just remember to keep moving. You need to be careful not to over do it but immobilization will actually make the pain much worse. Flare ups can happen to me in my hands if I am not moving them regularly...like if I am holding something and forget to flex my hands. I do easier, smaller exercises when I am in a flare up but even then I have to make myself move or the flare up will get worse.

I, too am in constant pain but am still able to function most days. My flares can last from one day to a week. This is something else, again. I consider myself lucky because I've read many of the other members profiles and they have it much worse than me. What a rotten disorder to have.

What ended up happening with the work comp for you???
I mean really, they have all of my diagnosis and say I can't see a neur because my diagnosis is "UNCLEAR"....... So upsetting and negligent on there part I feel.

First...if you don't have an attorney then get one. If you have one then get them on it...if they have to take it to court to get them to approve the referral then they should be able to do that. The rules in every state are different...so a lawyer will help you navigate through all the various tricks that work comp pulls.

After several years when I was cleared to go back to work I ended up settling my case with work comp for RSD. There are lots of reasons not to...like continued medical treatment which you won't get if you settle. But in the end it was the best decision for me. Unfortunately I am dealing with work comp again after a fall off a ladder at work in October that has seriously messed up my shoulder.