Hi- I haven't been around b/c I was on my annual trip to NYC. I arrived a week ago, saw some great shows, then they closed it down Sunday in anticipation of the Hurricane. (WAY too early as we weren't hit until Monday, mid-day.) My BF and I were ready. We had a suite at the Sheraton Times Square, were told to prepare for power outages, evacuation, etc.

We were very diligent. We bought water, bread, pb&j, food, batteries, extra flashlights, etc. I was there during the blackout several years ago so I knew what we'd need. We kept our laptop, cell phones and Kindles charged at ALL times, returning them immediately if we had to unplug them for any reason.

Sunday night we went to bed. Before that we had a good dinner, listened to some wind, and watched TV. ALL NY network channels covered the storm, no shows at all. But we had Showtime and Lifetime and other channels. We woke Monday (after a great sleep b/c it was SO dark and SO quiet!) to see a bit of rain. The flooding you see on tv came from the rivers & bodies of water. We didn't get much rain in the Times Square area. No thunder, no lightening. No electricity or tv loss. It was kind of like a snow day back home, except you couldn't go out.

Monday we heard about a crane that fell partially from a building and was just hanging there in the winds. We were told that they were evacuating buildings near there for safety. We could see the emergency vehicles come and go but a huge building was blocking our view. So we assumed we were safe and continued to follow rules.

About this time, my RSD foot was starting to ache a lot. I say ache b/c that's not normally a word I use. I say "hurt". Now, with weather changes, my body does feel more pain, and that storm sure did her best to make me say "ouch!" I tried to hide it from my friend as we were so stressed already. She had to return to her home in RI for work and I had to FLY home on the 30th of October. Well, that flight was cancelled, As was every flight I rescheduled. I travel for a living so I know how it works. And I spoke to the people on the Platinum line and got info I was not happy to share. Such as, Newark Airport (the one I use to fly in and out from DTW) was w/o power and having terrible problems with flights even after power was restored. But I'm jumping ahead...

So the storm hits, we prepared, (over-prepared) and we were amazingly lucky! No power outages. Not even a flicker! We did lose ONE TV channel, an HD version of one of the networks. So we really didn't lose the network, just HD. NOT a problem in the LEAST! MILLIONS of people were out of power but not us!

On Tuesday it was quieter and we KNEW we weren't going home. But we both had high hopes for Halloween. We spent the 30th walking around a closed Times Square. A few drops of rain that afternoon but Hurricane Sandy was over in the weather sense.

Then came the worst part. We could NOT get home. No trains or buses or planes leaving. They opened JFK partially on the 31st but not Newark or La Guardia. No flights to DTW from JFK available. My airline is telling me to keep booking for the next day, then when cancelled, book again. Reports said most of us were going to stay there through the weekend.

Then my back and shoulders went. My stomach, too. Acid reflux 24/7. My RSD leg was on fire despite the fact that I was resting and taking meds on time. If I did drift off I would have nightmares. So no sleep from the 29th till I got home.

So after the hotel extended our stay (no discounts but no price gouging either!) we talked about getting a car. Long story short, we hired a car service on Halloween to drive us from NYC to Connecticut, where my friend's parents were waiting to take us the rest of the way! My pal got home and I got dropped at the airport where we had discovered a one-way ticket home (via Baltimore) that was UNDER-priced! (NOT my airline, of course, that would be convenient. It was Southwest. Dull but functional!)

It all went SO smoothly that I wish I could tell people back in NY that if they're stuck, they have other airports to deal with. After about a 3 hour ride (seemed like LESS) and no traffic or downed trees, I arrived at the airport! Then many hours later I arrived in Baltimore and then HOME by 840pm!

Now that's the story of what happened traveling. What happened with my body is confusing. I am stressed out of my MIND! I feel as if I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. We found out the day after the storm that the crane that was swaying in the wind, was literally out my window with a huge, tall building between us. It was so close. But again, we made it.

Now I'm SAFE. But my leg is twitching, my stomach is churning, I cannot sleep, I cannot relax, and I feel like crying every few minutes. Yes, my RSD pain IS worse, as are my non-RSD bursitis and pinched nerves. But I've dealt with RSD pain for 16 years. So WHY am I so stressed? I'm HOME!

I thought maybe anyone out there had info on extreme or immediate stress as relates to chronic pain? I can deal with the pain and I see my CP doc next week. But I have a 3 year old who missed me SOOO much and I him, and I hate having to tell him to be careful with hugs, etc. And he sees me crying at the drop of a hat.

I have nothing invested in NY- I feel terrible for the people there, but personally this should be over. I slept in my bed last night and am writing from there now. I cannot sleep and that alone could be causing the pain to worsen. But I'm not used to this much stress. Or how it manifests itself. I've been self-reliant for so long that I am confused by my reactions. All the bad things we heard did NOT happen to US. We were safe. It was terrifying, but we were safe, warm, fed, etc.

WHY am I still feeling this way? And is THAT causing me the extra pain? I'm just so tired, so confused. My birthday is Monday and my hubby suggested THAT might be stressing me but that was a joke.

CAN stress like this make RSD/CP worse? What to do about it? .Anyone?