No, I understand why you hesitated to apply before. Have you already agreed to use the service the LTD co referred you to? If you really need hands on help, I would recommend that you use a local non attorney rep. In almost all cases LTD will pay regardless, although you can/should read your LTD policy to confirm this.

Ugh! I totally get the WC thing. It is set up for the insurance company's benefit and even with a lawyer the odds are stacked against you. My WC company has not paid for anything in 3years- no meds, not the surgery I had last summer, OT, etc though they accept my diagnosis and that I was injured at work. After a 2 1/2 year wait I just got the judgement back last week. It did not address the main issues like converting my pay to total complete disability, he didn't even accept the opinion of my pain specialist who lectures all over the country on CRPS (though he did agree that the doc should be paid), the judge only accepted the opinions of doctors that I saw for IMEs! Now I have to appeal and my lawyer said to plan on 3-6 years to appeal and during that time the insurer can continue to not pay for my care.

When I was first diagnosed with CRPS I did not have any sensation of hot/cold in my right hand. I kept taking hot things out of the microwave or oven without noticing. That symptom seemed to resolve eventually though it does come back from time to time but not as significantly.

As far as your doctor with the cold wipe. There is no reason for your doctor to be using a cold wipe (usually an alcohol pad) every time you see him (unless you specifically note a change from the previous visit). Documentation every 3-4 months using that technique (if it is even needed that often) should be plenty for WC and SSDI. You need to speak up and tell him that he is hurting you. Occasionally my doctor will touch the back of my hand to see how cold it is and he always looks over my affected area (and documents what he sees), but he doesn't touch me unnecessarily. When I first started seeing him he touched the area where my CRPS is the worst and I reflexively smacked him Ooops

I'm sorry your W/C is being so awful. You are now officially making me appreciate my W/C. Which is pretty amazing because I hate them. And it makes sense to wait to apply for SSDI if you will have help to do so. At least once you do get it they will back pay all the way up to the 6 months past date of disability.