Oh the pain

[MRG]

Woke up with a big pain in my left shoulder, really bad pain. Spent several hours in the ER, and they finally kicked me out. I was no better than when I went in, I'm actually worse from positions they xray tech made me do. Xray is negative the CT told them I still have cervical spine issues and need a MRI. Of course my insurance company is needing a prior authorization when I'm suffering.

They gave me IV fentanyl and valium which did nothing. A dose of steroids and a 10mg hydrocodone also did nothing. He sent me home with a script for steroids and 20 more 10mg hydrocodone. It's not doing anything yet, not sure its going to.


I was unsuccessfully attempting to use biofeedback while I was there. You do deep breathing with biofeedback and my ability to breathe was compromised from pain.

Really an unpleasant experience, DW was experiencing anxiety and the ER doc was pretty ignorant in helping to reduce it. He helped increase it.

 

[eytonxav]

Maybe a pinched nerve? Hope you get to the bottom of it and get some relief.

 

[MRG]

Maybe a pinched nerve? Hope you get the bottom of it and get some relief.

+1

I've had 4 prior experiences, at C6-C7 this doesn't feel like that. Normally C6-C7 makes my index and middle finger numb and burning, this is hitting the heel and little, ring fingers. Kinda bizzare as it's numb but extremely painful at the same time. Sometimes it comes in waves of pain and a brief period of relief.

 

[capjak]

I had this (see link) but yours sounds worse....took a little over a month to feel better...hope yours get better quicker.
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/disea...rapment-at-the-elbow-cubital-tunnel-syndrome/
Ulnar nerve entrapment occurs when the ulnar nerve in the arm becomes compressed or irritated.

 

[Scrapr]

muscle relaxant help? I remember Flexeril helping me a lot

 

[zinger1457]

Had a similar issue a few years ago, regular doctors were a waste of time, their fix was to take a pill and see how it goes. Went to a chiropractor, he took some xrays and diagnosed the problem. Provided almost immediate relief after a few adjustments.

 

[haha]

Had a similar issue a few years ago, regular doctors were a waste of time, their fix was to take a pill and see how it goes. Went to a chiropractor, he took some x-rays and diagnosed the problem. Provided almost immediate relief after a few adjustments.

Chiropractors often get a bad rap, but the right one can sometimes really help.

Ha

 

[Bamaman]

You got top of the line drugs for what they allow emergency rooms to give out. Your dose pack of steroids should begin to help you greatly, and the hydrocodone should also help take the edge off the pain. Take them exactly as prescribed.

Follow back closely with your doctor to make sure you get that MRI scheduled. The sooner it's done, the sooner you and your doctor can get a plan of action together.

Many don't realize how painful shoulders can be, especially when you rollover in the middle of the night--no sleep. Shoulders are physical therapists most dreaded injury to deal with because the (1) take a long time to heal and (2) many patients are not willing to go through the pain to properly exercise the injury.

Unfortunately politics and opioid abuse has tied the hands of doctors--and many don't prescribe anything.

(My wife's got a shoulder injury and going to therapy trying to improve so she can go on a trip to Europe next week in better condition. Surgery will happen upon our return.)

 

[Marita40]

I’m having rotator cuff surgery next week and dreading the long recovery...

 

[cbo111]

Speaking from shoulder-problem experience, don't let it drag on for too long. I had a shoulder bone impingement that developed over several years and eventually I was unable to move arm above shoulder level. The surgery was straight forward, but the long period of not really moving my arm through the full range of shoulder motion caused a bad case of frozen shoulder. The physical therapy for that was much more painful than the surgery.

 

[Mulligan]

Had a similar issue a few years ago, regular doctors were a waste of time, their fix was to take a pill and see how it goes. Went to a chiropractor, he took some xrays and diagnosed the problem. Provided almost immediate relief after a few adjustments.

Well at least you validated my thought. I woke up one morning 2 years ago with right shoulder pain. I didnt do a damn thing to it. It got so bad I couldnt lift weights even small weight workouts. Fortunately Im left handed so I could still make a decent golf swing. After a year it suddenly went away and am back to lifting weights again. Still dont know what the hell caused it, but I figured it would heal itself and a regular Doc wouldnt do any good.

 

[jimandthom]

Our Chiro has an advanced degree from a big 10 college in Kinesiology and been involved with Florida college sports programs, before Hubby wanted to move back north.

Her belief is that many joint/nerve issues are an exaggeration caused by muscle not providing the proper support for alignment etc. Massage, stretching and manipulation are part of her procedures. There have been appointments with no adjustment but with massage or stretching instead.

Just a thought.

 

[Just_Steve]

I had this (see link) but yours sounds worse....took a little over a month to feel better...hope yours get better quicker.
https://orthoinfo.aaos.org/en/disea...rapment-at-the-elbow-cubital-tunnel-syndrome/
Ulnar nerve entrapment occurs when the ulnar nerve in the arm becomes compressed or irritated.

I had that also but required Ulnar nerve anterior transposition to resolve my issue.

 

[MRG]

You got top of the line drugs for what they allow emergency rooms to give out. Your dose pack of steroids should begin to help you greatly, and the hydrocodone should also help take the edge off the pain. Take them exactly as prescribed.

Follow back closely with your doctor to make sure you get that MRI scheduled. The sooner it's done, the sooner you and your doctor can get a plan of action together.

Many don't realize how painful shoulders can be, especially when you rollover in the middle of the night--no sleep. Shoulders are physical therapists most dreaded injury to deal with because the (1) take a long time to heal and (2) many patients are not willing to go through the pain to properly exercise the injury.

Unfortunately politics and opioid abuse has tied the hands of doctors--and many don't prescribe anything.

(My wife's got a shoulder injury and going to therapy trying to improve so she can go on a trip to Europe next week in better condition. Surgery will happen upon our return.)

+1

I'm seeing my PCP today to ask about the MRI. In a prior episode I spent 3 weeks in pain waiting for the wrong MRI.

I'll be talking about pain management and showing her the dairy I'm starting on pain and meds taken. DW did that for her headache and the doc lit up that she was documenting her pain management to share.

 

[pacergal]

MRG-- so sorry this is happening to you, unresolved pain can be so damaging to the soul!
My prayers to you that you find the source of pain and are able to heal quickly.

 

[Helios]

Chiro - - crawl in- - strut out!

 

[MRG]

Met with my PCP today. I have a cervical MRI, that my insurance approved, scheduled on Tuesday morning. After that, hopefully a cervical epidural, but the MRI is needed prior. Of course there's a chance they won't be able to perform an epidural and I don't want to think about that.

I've been trying to test the amount of hydrocodone needed to manage my pain and had an estimate. It was less than the last episode 4 years ago but more than my PCP is allowed to prescribe in her facility. She won. However she did give me a bunch of Gabapentin to help. I'm not sure it's going to do anything but am going to try.

My advice is not to need pain management until the legitimate providers are not being punished for the actions of a few idiots.

 

[Scrapr]

Met with my PCP today. I have a cervical MRI, that my insurance approved, scheduled on Tuesday morning. After that, hopefully a cervical epidural, but the MRI is needed prior. Of course there's a chance they won't be able to perform an epidural and I don't want to think about that.

I've been trying to test the amount of hydrocodone needed to manage my pain and had an estimate. It was less than the last episode 4 years ago but more than my PCP is allowed to prescribe in her facility. She won. However she did give me a bunch of Gabapentin to help. I'm not sure it's going to do anything but am going to try.

My advice is not to need pain management until the legitimate providers are not being punished for the actions of a few idiots.

Gabapentin will help....but it takes a while to work. Maybe a couple weeks. It's a nerve block and you have to dose up the amounts.

I'll tell you which Docs freely prescribe opoids. Oncology. Mrs scrapr went in for a biopsy and came out with a script for like 8 pills. Prescription was 4x's a day. Called over to Oncology...how many you want? 90 enough? LOL

 

[W2R]

MRG, I am so sorry to read that you are experiencing so much pain! And Marita, I hope your shoulder recovery turns out to be at least a little less painful than anticipated.

You all are making me feel lucky to just be dealing with a badly sprained right knee.

 

[Oz investor]

MRG, I am so sorry to read that you are experiencing so much pain! And Marita, I hope your shoulder recovery turns out to be at least a little less painful than anticipated.

You all are making me feel lucky to just be dealing with a badly sprained right knee.

i disagree on knee/ankle injuries compared to shoulder/arm injuries , unless your residence is wheelchair friendly or you have an amazing carer , the lack of mobility is both uncomfortable and dangerous ( but falls can distract from the original pain )

a pain that resists chemical intervention , hmmm !

inflammation in the nerve pathways , perhaps ??

the scans SHOULD have picked up bone chips , most foreign bodies , sounds too rapid for joint deterioration , pinched nerves are possible but the medications should have measurably reduced that .

soft tissue damage should be displaying tell-tale signs by now ( swelling and bruising ).

hope all those painful shoulders and knees recover quickly

 

[MissMolly]

I once had unbelievable pain in my arm from shoulder to elbow. Just horrible. Could not sit or lay down, could only stand. Couldn't sleep for 2 days and nights. It was during my SIL's funeral and I was hosting family and just had to deal with it. After we dropped the last person off at the airport, my husband took me to the emergency room. They didn't know what it was but gave me dilaudid (8 pills!) and sent me home with instructions to call a neurosurgeon. The dilaudid finally knocked me out (what a wonderful pain killer). Went to a neurosurgeon the following week and after several tests determined I had carpal tunnel. I never, ever would have guessed a problem in my wrist was causing such unbearable pain in my shoulder/arm. Had the surgery and pain was gone. Pain in shoulder/arm/neck can be any number of things and the problem can be in the last place you would expect. Go see a neurosurgeon so they can run the proper tests to see what the issue is.

 

[MRG]

Had a cervical MRI today. I've had a few, my last was a disaster. I wanted to press the panic button but the panic button was in the hand that wasn't working. I screamed through most of that one.

This tech was great, made sure I could press the button and explained his great technology. I was able to get my hearing blocked enough and really went into deep breathing and relaxation.

When it was over I asked if I could go back to enjoy napping some more. It really was comfortable. He said the images were very clear and gave a good view of my cspine. He thought my cspine was in better shape than previous folks suggested. Of course my PCP said things like "ewe, yucky" when she was reading the CT report. So most anything is a step up. I've promised myself I need a new PCP, right after this is over. She may fire me first.