Neck pain with burning shoulder and pain to elbow and tingling fingers

[Danielpatrick521]

I have aching pain in my neck and burning in my left shoulder that feels almost like someone is holding a lighter to it at times. I also get sharp shooting pain down to my elbow and my fingers will tingle. I am 32 years old and got hit in the jaw with a sledge hammer when I was 22 and that's when it started. At first the burning in my shoulder would only bother me if I was using my left hand like painting, or lifting something. Now it pretty much always burns but gets worse when I use my hand doing things a little as writing. One dr told me I had a slipped disc and a pinched nerve but never did any kind of tests he just wrote me OxyContin 40mg 2 a day and Percocet 7.5 4 times a day so he basically just got me addicted to pain meds. So I went to another dr and they did a ct scan and never told me the results but gave me pain meds that didn't work. So they gave me a cortisone shot and it did nothing. Then they did a procedure not sure what it was called but they basically burned the nerve ends which did work for the burning pain for about 6 months but did nothing for my neck pain. So I tried another dr and she did a test that they kept shocking me. They said I had carpel tunnel and neuropathy. So now I'm at another dr and he seen my medical records and I am getting a MRI. No dr I ever went to would do a MRI because of metal plates and I also have bullet fragments in my head I've always had ct scans. I have had so many different medications prescribed to me over the past 10 years and nothing seems to work for the burning pain. Has anyone ever experienced this? Does anyone know what I can do to stop this burning pain or a medication that would work? I really need some kind of advice from someone I am in constant pain.

[EdwardPB]

Fixing the symptoms (pain), without fixing the cause, is a waste of time. People who go the pain medication route just end up junkies with rebound pain syndrome.
It sounds like a classic cervical disc compression with facet joint syndrome and compressed nerve root with degenerative disc disease. You don't say where your shoulder burns, or whether it's the inside or outside of your elbow, nor which fingers tingle.
But, from the general description, it sounds like compressions ranging from C5-C8.
You are way beyond the time frame for steroids or physical therapy. (You make no reference to muscle wasting, but the time would still be primary factor)
There is no option that will guarantee full pain resolution, but the most realistic one is fusion surgery with a cage or plates.
The ONLY Dr. who can give you any decent answer, is a Neurosurgeon who is experienced and SUCCESSFUL at multi-fusion cervical discectomies.

[philnoir]

Sure. If you had an RF nerve ablation procedure ("burning the nerve endings"), and it was effective for around 6 months, one of your pain problems is from cervical facet syndrome (or cervical spondylosis). This is an osteo-arthritis of the spine joints,

But if this procedure only got rid of part of the pain, then this may not be the complete diagnosis, or they should have done the level above or below.

A good interventional pain doctor should be able to figure out what's ailing you. However, some of us with spine disease have pain for the rest of our lives. Not every problem has a treatment.

Check out

http://www.spineuniverse.com/conditions/degenerative-disc-disease

for more information.

[ppmguy]

        sorry your hurting!!!  i had the same sxs.  after 3 years of pain i had a nerve block(epidural) placed by contrast xray.  i have been pain free for 5 weeks now.  i was able to stop pain pills