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Shoulder pain/ nerve damage

I have had what was originally diagnosed as tennis elbow for more than 25 years (I am 54) and over the last two years I developed numbness in my lower arm and hand, involving the palm and the last two fingers.  My GP suggested it was some sort af RSI and I should lay off the laptop for a while, which I did.  

There appeared to be no improvement and then in May '07 I began to notice that my whole arm and shoulder were aching and one day I was stopped in my tracks by the most intense pain in my shoulder, after which I could not move my arm.

After one month of this pain I visited my GP who suggested it was a frozen shoulder and sent me for physiotherapy and referred me to an orthopoedic consultant, who x-rayed my shoulder, neck and spine and informed me that I had arthritis in several areas including the neck which could be causing the pain in the shoulder.  He said the fact that I had a little movement in my shoulder suggested it was not frozen, and that it was far more likely to be nerve damage. I was given a steroid injection which did not help much, strong painkillers which did, at least tmeporarily,  and I also had an MRI scan which again showed arthtitis in the neck and spine but was 'inconclusive' as to the effect it was having on my shoulder.

Now I am awaiting a 'nerve connection' test and I am again in a great deal of pain.  My shoulder pain wakens me up every night and i feel like crying in the mornings as I struggle to get dressed. I feel as though every joint in my body is hurting now and I ave difficulty in getting out of bed or a chair. I cannot walk far before my back and legs ache and  I also have osteoarthritis in my hands.  Now, apparently, my liver is under stress as I have had elevated enzymes for four consecutive months and am awaiting a liver scan.  I don't drink alcohol nor abuse any substances.

I wonder if all these symptoms could be related?  I feel as though I have become an old lady in a matter of months!
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Avatar universal
I know how you feel. Have terrible pain in left shoulder and hand burns most of the time. Got to be nerve damage.Was injured in car accident last may.Workers comp thanks I'm lying.Don't do anythig stupid life will get better.
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Avatar universal
Hello Everyone,

     My name is ILL Will, I am a 27 year old man. In May of 2009, I had an exploratory/repair of my rotator cuff/slap... in an attempt to alleviate pain in my right shoulder/arm that stems from an incident I had in the workplace.

    On a cold day in February, while swinging a pick axe to clean asphault away from a piece of rail in a railroad crossing(I was employed at a railroad construction company) I experienced an intense pulling and sharp pain in my right shoulder/upper arm. It was almost like the strength was stolen out of my grip as well. I had X-Ray, no broken bones. Results of MRI stated, tendonosis, bursitis, and "water" in the joint.

     So the workers comp ins. company sent me to an orthopaedic specialist. He gave me steroid injections and kept me working full duty. Well the injections helped some, and the pain was lessened to a dull ache all of the time. While certain activities would not bother while completing them, but afterward there would be intense throbbing pain that would prevent me from sleeping. The ortho doctor told me that the ins comp would not pay for another mri(with dye this time) that they would want him to perform and arthoscopic procedure to see what's going on with his eyes... I reluctantly accepted, the dr cut my pain meds off and kept me on full duty... it seemed like it was the only logical thing to do since I was not sleeping and was totally a ***** as a result of constant pain.

     The Dr, ground a bone spur, trimmed the bursa and trimmed some fibers of muscle and removed a ligament that he told me was like the appendix that we evolved out of needing.  He told me that he also glued the labrum(cartilage around the socket) back into place to repair a slight tear.

     It has been a year since my last cortizone injection, my shoulder will click/pop which results in intense pain shortly following. The Dr wrote that every 3-6 monthes I could come in for another injection. The insurance company has been difficult to get in touch with and, a year later I finally got into the dr's office. I waited for 3 hours in the waiting room, the dr came in and spent 2 minutes with me. He grabbed my elbow and wrist and made a rolling motion that made my shoulder click 5 or 6 times, which resulted in throbbing sharp pain. he ordered an xray, said nothing was broken. Then told me that there is not reason I should experiencing this type of pain, he ordered an emg. Would not administer an injection because he said he was not sure what is wrong and did not want to inject if it only gave me slight relief. At this point I'm near tears from the pain that he just directly caused.


So what my post is for... I don't know. Should I try to go to pain management? I recently hired a lawyer and she is telling me that I can not fire my dr since it is workers comp. That i will have to pay the dr out of my pocket. I lost my job over issues that arose as a result from this injury... It feels like no one believes me. The more I worry and the more stress I have the more it bothers me. The more it bothers me the less the people around me believe me.

     When I was transitioning from childhood into being an adult, I never would have considered suicide as an option for any scenario. But after my father's diagnosis with Rheumatoid Arthritis, and now my shoulder... I wonder is my life just going to be unending pain from this point on?

     I don't know what to do, I don't know how I could possibly get another job in construction and work my way up from the bottom again... this time with only 1 good arm...



          Desperatly Needing Someone to Relate With,

           I  L  L    W  I  L  L
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Avatar universal
I can sympathise with how you feel... the difficulty in dressing and undressing.... I dunno whether to laugh or cry sometimes, as often I just stand there doing nothing as I know that whatever way I try to remove my clothing over my head it is gonna hurt.
I saw my doc a month ago, who referred me to a physio... after my shoulder had been getting worse over the past year. It had started with a slight pain at the back of my shoulder. (which I think was a RSI from prolonged use of the mouse on my pc) Recently it has got much worse and is now preventing me from doing things and causing me pain up my neck and behind my ear, in front of my shoulder on the collar bone and most recently a pulling sensation down my arm and back. I also wake a few times during the night, with a very stiff and painfull shoulder. Anyway, I have only seen the physio once so far (last Thurs), who said it was nerve damage and advised me to roll up a small towel and place it in my neck when sleeping to prevent the stiffness I'm getting at night and also to put a heat pad/hot water bottle on it. I have tried the heat pad, which made the pain worse, not sure if this was a good thing  or not. I am due to go back to physio this Thurs...

How are things with you now Minute Maid? Any improvements since Jan?

TattyTarn
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Avatar universal
I know how frustrating all this is.  It sounds like you have some nerve damage since your arm and last two fingers are numb.  This is what I have, too and one consultant said this is the ulnar nerve being pulled or impinged, which is why I am awaiting the nerve conduction test.  This can tell you where the damage is occuring and how bad it is.  I think you should ask for this to be carried out.

Thanks for the 'heads up' re the rotator cuff repair - you are one of several people who have told me that it has failed so, if I get the option, I will refuse the op, I think!
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Avatar universal
I had a rotator cuff repair, and now 2 and one half months later, I'm still in alot of pain. it hurts from my neck down to mysholder and down to the palm of my hand, but the wierd part is, my arm gets numb on the outside, all the way down to my last two fingers. sometimes the pain is so bad, it wakes me up at night, and I just feel like crying. I can't take much in pain pills, because I get kidney infections and bloody noses, cause their blood thiners. what is wrong with me?
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Avatar universal
Thanks for your respose.  The injection, yes - rather than help, it made things much worse for a few days because I had a 'steroid flare' - the most painful thing I have ever experienced after labour!  Even after that died down, I had probably two weeks of slight relief then it went back to the way it was before, and there it remains to this day, 8 months later.

I have had a neck MRI as they were looking for what was causing the shoulder pain and they could certainly see arthritis there, but not in the shoulder, nor any reason why  it should be so painful.  Next stop is neurology but I need to join the queue which
at the moment is a two-month wait. meantime I am being troubled by increasing twitching, pins and needles and parasthesia in my fingers, hands, eyes and legs.

I have posted elsewhere about this too, as I suspect that my pain and increasing difficulty in moving about along with my chronic and debilitating exhaustion may be related.

Thanks again for your interest and any further help would be appreciated.
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Avatar universal
Im sorry the injection didn't work. I had a frozen shoulder last year (I could move it some but not without intense pain). All I did was lift a fork to my mouth. I would suggest seeing either a neurologist or orthopedic dr for a complete cervical and spine MRI. It will show where the arthritis is located, and any bulging or herniated discs, or stenosi (narrowing of vertebrae. You need to get a diagnosis of exactly what your problems are, before it can be treated. Good luck. Your GP can order these tests, so that when you see a specialist you have the reports to take to him. Nerve conduction stuffies are good, they will show any nerve damage or weakenss.
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