Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Neurology (Expert Forum)
Excruciating pain after surgery
This forum is for questions and support regarding neurology issues such as: Alzheimer's Disease, ALS, Autism, Brain Cancer, Cerebral Palsy, Chronic Pain, Epilepsy, Fibromyalgia, Headaches, MS, Neuralgia, Neuropathy, Parkinson's Disease, RSD, Sleep Disorders, Stroke, Traumatic Brain Injury
Excruciating pain after surgery
by cfox, Feb 13, 2007 12:00AM
My mother has been suffering chronic pain in her upper arm (shoulder area). This pain started after she had exploratory surgery to remove a cancerous tumor (lieomya sarcoma) located on her uerter, a teratoma tumor (located in the lower abdomen), and a complete historectomy. I can't understand why she is having pain in her arm, when the surgery had nothing to do with her arm. She has had several x-rays, MRI's CT Scan's she has seen neurologists, chiropractors etc., no one has been able to help her and these doctor bills are horrific. Every test she has had reveals nothing! She describes the pain as sharp, throbbing pains kind of like a tooth ache. She has taken several meds for nerve pain, arthritis, muscle relaxers, they all just seem to make her sleep or drowsy, but the pain is still there. She is only 53 and has had a very healthy, active life until now. It is painful to watch her live in this condition. She is in so much pain, she is contemplating amputating her arm. I'm almost convinced that this is some type of nerve pain, it will sometimes start at her shoulder and go through her pinky and index finger. Any suggestions on what to do next?
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-Neuro-M.D.-SH, Feb 25, 2007 12:00AM
First of all, keep in mind that I am unable to diagnose you because I am unable to examine you, this forum is for educational purposes.
I am sorry to hear about your mothers cancer diagnoses, I can not tell you from the data that you provided where the pain is coming from, but I can outline several possibilities. It is possible to have pain in the shoulder area after an abdominal procedure due to refered pain (the area under the diaphram is connected to nerves so that an insult in that area can cause pain that is felt in the shoulder). One common reason that this happens is an infection/tumor in the ovary. I would make sure that the diaphram/upper abdomen was explored/imaged for any sign of infection/additional cancer due to your current pain. Another possibility is a brachial plexus injury sustained due to positioning during surgery. In abdominal surgeries the arms are often placed over the head, and under anesthesia/paralysis more pressure than intended can be placed on nerves. The fact that the pain seems to shoot down her arm and into the fingers suggest a brachial plexus injury is possible. For this possibility I would suggest an EMG (nerve muscle test) to evaluate the brachial plexus. The final possibilty is that your pain may be due to a metastatic focus of tumor that is tracking along the nerves, in the spine, in the brain or in the shoulder itself. You have mentioned some MRIs etc, but if you have not have a brain, entire spine and chest/arm MRI with Contrast, this may be helpful. I suspect medications for neuropathic pain such as neurontin, elavil, lyrica, cymbalta etc will be most effective.
I hope this has been helpful.
I am sorry to hear about your mothers cancer diagnoses, I can not tell you from the data that you provided where the pain is coming from, but I can outline several possibilities. It is possible to have pain in the shoulder area after an abdominal procedure due to refered pain (the area under the diaphram is connected to nerves so that an insult in that area can cause pain that is felt in the shoulder). One common reason that this happens is an infection/tumor in the ovary. I would make sure that the diaphram/upper abdomen was explored/imaged for any sign of infection/additional cancer due to your current pain. Another possibility is a brachial plexus injury sustained due to positioning during surgery. In abdominal surgeries the arms are often placed over the head, and under anesthesia/paralysis more pressure than intended can be placed on nerves. The fact that the pain seems to shoot down her arm and into the fingers suggest a brachial plexus injury is possible. For this possibility I would suggest an EMG (nerve muscle test) to evaluate the brachial plexus. The final possibilty is that your pain may be due to a metastatic focus of tumor that is tracking along the nerves, in the spine, in the brain or in the shoulder itself. You have mentioned some MRIs etc, but if you have not have a brain, entire spine and chest/arm MRI with Contrast, this may be helpful. I suspect medications for neuropathic pain such as neurontin, elavil, lyrica, cymbalta etc will be most effective.
I hope this has been helpful.
I asked this cos I've got a condition called complex regional pain syndrome (aka reflex sympathetic dystrophy) which can start up after an injury or after surgery.It's a condition of the sympathetic nervous system and means that the pain receptors don't turn off like they normally would after an injury or surgery has healed (basically your brain thinks that there is still something wrong causing it to hurt along with some or all of the other symptoms aswell.
I hope that your Mum manages to get it sorted out though
I will always be in pain,therefore at 54,all body parts are very important.
To amputate is there still the possibility the brain will still generate the pain such as service men and/or women and car accident victims who have lost a limb?
Your mother is stronger than she thinks and be sure and keep enforcing that. For me, just to know that it is not just in my head, that this is a bonafide medical problem is like the difference between night and day.