I think I'm getting worse....

Now, this is my first real winter with RSD, so I don't know if this is a winter thing, or if it's a "getting worse" thing, so can you help me please???

My right hand has always been worse than my left. But lately, my left has felt JUST AS BAD. Which stinks, cuz I at least had one semi decent hand that I could rely on. Now, I don't. It's just as painful now. Last night, I cried SO HARD taking a shower cuz it hurt SO BAD. I got home from work and I was in TEARS from the drive home. It's a long drive - 50 miles each way, so my a.m. commute is about 1.25 hrs and my pm commute is about 1.5 hrs. I drive with my wrists cuz it's too hard to hold the steering wheel with my hands. Before, I could stand to hold it with my left hand - now I can't even do that.

And to scrub my hair...again, before I could scrub with my left hand...now, I can't. It hurts too dam*ed bad. I mean BAD. And I had even taken a percocet 3 & 5 hours before so there should have been at least a little easing of the pain when it was combined with a fresh duragesic patch...yet it was still so bad it had me literally screaming in pain.

And...then another "twinge" that has me scared. And this isn't NEW so I'm not bringing it up when I first feel it. It's my ankles. I have this "urge" to move them in circles cuz they are "uncomfortable" - like restless legs but in the ankles. And in my left one, I feel this tug in a straight line...like there is a fishing line in there about a foot long going from where the bottom of my foot starts, up the side of my foot, over the ankle bone, and up my leg - for about 12" - I feel that when I do a circle with my foot and sometimes just when I stand up. And that foot goes numb a LOT lately. And no, I'm not sitting on it or holding it in a weird position. I'm making SURE of it cuz it is going numb so much. Thing is, that's how the rsd started in my upper limbs - cuz I have TOS up there, and those are TOS symptoms. The TOS surgery was on my right side....I haven't had the surgery on my left side for TOS cuz I got this rsd and I'm too scared t have the left side done now.

So do I panic? Do I start to think of spread? Or will you guys calm me down? Is it the weather that is making my hands feel so much worse? Does the cold weather REALLY make it feel THAT MUCH worse?

And what are your tips on washing yourself when you have this disease in your hands? heck...it's hard t do ANYTHING having to do with caring for myself. Cooking, the heat from the pan makes me flare even if it's SLIGHT. Getting a glass of milk, even a slight increase in COLD makes me flare. I'm extremely sensitive to any temp change in either direction - hot or cold. They found that out in PT. I mean, I get VERY flared up at the slightest change outside of "room temperature"

What do I do abotu caring for MYSELF if I can't even shower cuz it hurts so much????

Okay, my questions are all over the place in this post but I'm FREAKING OUT. Can you all help me before I go batty???

Hugs
LisaM