Extreme Pain/is it a pinched nerve?

[pat86]

for over 3 weeks, laying down makes pain worse, left upper shoulder pain.  Had a over all back massage, hoping for relief,only worsened. now pain traveling down left arm, hand, index finger numb.  had cervical mri done today.  dont feel neuro taking seriously.  pain is wearing me down.  family Dr gave me vicodin.  makes me sleepy.  cant find a comfortable position.  if neuro calls me tomorrow and doesnt feel it is ms related,does anyone think it is a pinched nerve?  had sergery done for small rotary tear in left shoulder 11/07.  wont be able to see that dr until 9/3.  thanks for any input.  first-timer in forum  i;m  56 dxd w/ ms '99

[pat86]

Thank you for the Massage information..I will look into finding a Medical massage therapist with the specified training.  I truely believe the massage I received,  all over rubbing, did make things worse.  The pain  worsened and now my left arm from the elbow down, are involved.  The therapist did say the muscles on my back left shoulder were very tight and that is where she concentrated the massage.  It has now been 2 weeks and a day since the massage..only relief I get is when Im on my meds.Ice and heat help too. Hope the doctors I see this week can help me.  Dealing with the MS poor balance,poor dexterity, fatigue, I sometimes feel invisible.  The symptoms are soooo annoying.  Thanks for listening.

[Lulu54]

HI Pat,
And welcome to this forum - these people really have been helpful in answering my questions. I am just one month into this limboland process so I can't discuss much medically about MS and symptoms.

But one thing that caught my attention is the Massage and that it didn't help.  Regular massage is not necessarily a good thing - the pound on you all over type.  If you want to try it again, find a medical massage therapist that is trained in positional release.  My therapist is wonderful -very little of my appointmet time is spent "rubbing"  - she actually searches out the spots where the muscles are knotted and the corresponding meridians and applies gentle pressure until the muscle relaxes.  I know it sounds strange, but it really does work.  I credit her for keeping me upright a number of times this year.  

Again, welcome here and I hope to get to know you better,
Laura

[pat86]

Need someone to talk to.  Its going to be a long weekend..still trying to lessen my papin.  Sleeping at night longer but still very hard to find a comfortable position.  Staying on time with my meds.  My only hope for some comfort and I also used my left arm less yesterday and I think that helped too.  I reread my resonse from the doctor who rsponded on the forum.  The compressed nerve could be in my Cervical Spine which could affect the muscles and nerve pain in the elbow and shoulder.  Isnt your Cervical Spine your neck?  If so how could my MRI show improvement unles my Neuro was looking for new lesions and not a pinched nerve?  If so he failed me miserably because it tells me he wasnt listening to me or didnt hear me!  Either way, my films will go with me to the pain mgmt doctor who I hope can find the culprit of this encourgeable pain!  I'm homebound even worse than usual!

I do hope all is well with you!  Let me know.  I ve got 9 years of MS experience and I m a good listener too.

[pat86]

I did get a call back from my neuro's office!  MRI of my cervical spine actually showed improved since taken in 2006.  Yayyyyyy!!! However, pain and problem still with me.  A doc from this forum did respond!  She advises it could be from compression of a nerve in my  shoulder, elbow.  My Neuro's office made me an appt w/ a pain mgmt dr for next week and the surgeon who repaired my rotary cuff will see me next week too.  So I'm hopeful!

I'm on Copaxone for the MS.  Have been on Avonex, Rebif, Tysabri.  Cannot any longer take interferons and was allergic to the Tysabri so back on Copaxone.  Other than site reactions, tolerate it good.  How about you?

Thank you for the info and your relief from Baclofen...I will discuss with my Neuro.  My tremor is so annoying!  I also read about possible B vitamin deficiencies so I'm going to check that out too.

Be well and hope to talk with you again soon

Pat.

[sllowe]

So many of us do.  I get a tremor in my left thumb and goes to the pointer.  Surprisingly though when I was put on baclofen for spasms, it subsided! I wasn't even expecting it.  It's amazing when you just get use to something, (it wasn't painful just annoying) and then you get relief for a symptom you were not even concerned with.

Not sure if this would help you, but it does me.  It's even stayed at bay and I've 1/2'd my baclofen dosing and am going to work on getting off of it as long as the spasm stay on a steady decline.

I'm thinking some that have not posted a welcome to you yet, just looked at the title of your post, not even realizing what you've got going on w/MS and other issues.  Not to worry though, you'll meet the lot of us soon.

Glad to hear you got some zzzz's this a.m. Me too! Actually overslept this morning! Are you on DMDs for the MS?
ttys,
Shell

[pat86]

Thank you so much for your comment!  Stiil in alot of pain.  Called twice yesterday about my mri, still no call back.  Called family phys too, still no call back.  I too use ice and Ibuprofen, neurontin, and vicodin.  Slept longer last night, woke with same pain, not getting around to well.  I too can;t get comfortable to sit, lay etc.  All in all, I thought I was doing pretty good with my MS.  Dxd in'99.  Typing with right hand now, one finger at a time.  Left hand tremor makes it impossible to use while typing.  soooglad to talk to someone that knows where I'm coming from!

Hope to hear from you again.
Pat

[sllowe]

Welcome Pat!

I'm glad you've gotten an MRI, and I do hope it's something that you can get some relief for.  Like you, my Neuro doesn't say much to my shoulder, neck, and arm pain.  My MRIs showed a large HNP in the past, and I always chalk it off to that.  It's the same side, left form me.  I only take naproxen here and there, ice it down, w/barely noticable results.

That pain sure does wear you down.  Does me too.  Can't get comfortable to even sit, lay, etc.  Was this done on a strong MRI machine?  I hope so.  

How are you doing w/your MS? I was dx'd last year. We've got so many great people on this forum, we are like one big family w/a garden variety of knowledge and experiences. I'm so glad you've joined us, and hope you stick around and lend your experiences with us.

You going to call the place you had the MRIs at to get the report soon?

talk to you soon,
Shelly