Right side neck, shoulder, upper arm and center back pain

[ready2talk2000]

I am a 50 yr. old female who has fibromyalgia, and Sjogren's Syndrome.  I fell face forward about 3 months ago and twisted my back and landed weird on my right arm.  Since that time the pain has become progressively more intense.  I have reached a point where I cannot stand to pick up an object with my right hand off the floor, lay on that side in bed, or raise my arm up without pain.  The pain is constant all day long, but worse at night and has been waking my up several times.  I am not getting very much sleep.  

I have a very tender area between my shoulder blades on my spine, my arm really hurts between the right side of my neck all the way past my elbow.  I know it isn't broken, but wonder if I injured my spine or a tendon.  At any rate, it is almost unbearable now.  No OTC pain killers are working to make it better.  I am also having a constant headache, which may be due to a sinus infection.  I am on antibiotics for that.

I have an appointment with a neurosurgeon in 3 weeks.  I have seen him before for problems in my lower back and sciatica.  Is this the specialist I should be going to see?  What tests would help provide a diagnosis?  Am I making it worse by continuing to wait that much longer?  And, one last possibly unrelated question, could this in any way cause a problem with urine leakage or blood in stool?  I do have a colonoscopy scheduled in a couple weeks to see why that is happening.

Thanks for any input anyone can provide.  Seems I got old really fast!  Tired of being tired and frustrated I can't get rid of the constant pain.

[ready2talk2000]

Thank you for your kind words and support.  I do have a chiropractor that is wonderful and he also does accupuncture. His wife works with him and does deep tissue massage.  It does improve how I feel, but the effect is only temporary.  They both mentioned that I was VERY tight in the center of my back and very tender.  I will continue to see them.  I do wish my insurance would cover massages, but it won't.  

I have a very good neurosurgeon who found the problem with my sciatica.  I trust him because he doesn't jump into surgery.  But he explains very well what is going on.  I need to make sure I didn't injure my spine before it gets any worse.  I go to see him on March 17.

As far as the colonoscopy goes, I have had 2 already and had polyps removed both times.  Both time benign.  Never have had the rust colored blood in the stool before.  Hemoroids, yes, but this, no.  That is scheduled for March 16.

So, will visit again after those appointments.  Sometimes it just feels like there is so much going on and I get tired of wishing my life away waiting for a day when nothing is physically bothering me, not to mention the money I spend on doctors and tests, ya know?  

Well, thanks again and hope all is well with both of you.  Have a good rest of a week and a FANTASTIC weekend!  :-)

[Bhupinder Kaur, MD]

Hello,

The intensity of pain that you have described sounds like it is a neuropathic pain or neuralgia.Even the non effectiveness of  pain killers is supporting this possibility.Secondly,did you get an x-ray of the right shoulder and arm done after your fall?Fracture even as small as a hair line fracture can cause such pain.My advise would be to consult an orthopedician/neurologist and get x-ray and MRI of the shoulder and arm done to rule out any fracture or soft tissue injury.

Regarding the blood in stools then it is not related to your pain. Bloody stool means that there's some sort of injury or disorder located somewhere in your digestive tract. The closer the source of bleeding is to the anus, the brighter red the blood will be. If the bloody stool is bright red, then it could be due to hemorrhoids or anal fissures. The causes of bloody stool that is more maroon in color is intestinal polyps, inflammatory bowel disease or diverticulosis (diverticulosis causes significant bleeding)

One important cause could be continuous use of aspirin or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications for pain.This can also cause blood in stools.

Leakage of urine can be due to urinary incontinence can be due to a variety of causes.A urologist,s evaluation is desired for that.

Hope it helps.Take care and pls do keep me posted on how you are doing or if you have any additional queries.Kind regards.

[A1JoMama]

Sorry, I hit post comment before I finished. Headaches are caused by neck misalignment too! Also, this will help with the sciatica.. it is 99% surely coming from a compressed nerve in your lower spine.. MINE WAS! The blood in the stool is definitely not anything to ignore and it is good you are going to get a colonscopy, but do not hesitate to find a good Chiropractor.. alot of doctors don't like you to use chiropractors, since it solves SO MANY ailments, you may almost never need to see a doctor again (your fibro will improve too.. MINE DID!) some are now coming around more to the idea that is a great way to heal the body naturally and relieve so much of the pain that drugs can only mask for a time. The urine could just be hormonal changes from peri-menopause... it causes a thinning in our vaginal and uretheral walls that gives us less control of our urine...that is pretty normal but there are medications and exercises you can do. Good luck and hope you feel better soon, keep me posted!!!

[A1JoMama]

A CHIRPRACTOR IS WHAT YOU NEED!!!! Stay away from the neuro .. that is LAST resort only! They only test you, give you drugs and send you for physical therapy or want to do risky operations with no guarantees of relief. Chiropractic is based on keeping the spine in natural alignement.. something you probably messed up when you fell....like throwing your back out but more up towards your neck.
After a bad accident 20 yrs ago and even worse doctors... I started going to a Chripractor and it saved me...within a few visits I had great result and have stayed with it ever since. I had all the same symptoms as you and could barely stand up straight. Now I have excellent posture and have been here at the keyboard for 4 hours and have no pain at all. Get one that does heat therapy & massage & if you can take a muscle relaxer first about an hour before the visit.. you will be loosey goosey (dont drive on amuscle relaxer like Somas)...and the adjusment will be a breeze.. you should have at least SOME relief within one or even a few treatments. It may take a few days for muscle soreness to heal up (its like a bruise it takes a while to fade even though the cause has been relieved) Good luck to you, I hope you look into this before going to the neuro.. and Chiropractors will work with you if you don't have insurance coverage for Chirpractic though alot of policies do cover a certain amount of visits a year.. call around, make sure they have been in business a good while. You may have to pay a little more at first but as you go in for floow ups they usually charge very little.