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car accident 10 months ago
in oct 06 i was a back seat passenger, no seatbelt, we were going about 35-40 mph after changing lanes we hit the stopped car in front of us, I was ejected from my seat and my right shoulder hit the passenger seat and my left side ended up in the middle colum ( where the driver rest his/her arm) I almosted blacked out but fought it, my knees ended up almost touching the floor( my feet were behind me, after 5 minutes of trying to regain my composer i sat up, now i was worried that i broke my knees as they hurt, i had no other pain, I left after 10 minutes ( to get on the bart train) I was dizzy and did not feel anyother pains, the next day I had severe right shoulder pain that radiated down to my hands with tingling and numbness I could not lift my arm but 5 degrees, I seen a Dr at urgent care and x-rays taken were normal, the pain was so bad I was sent to an ortho Dr whom diagnosed me with a cervical strain, I completed 12 rounds of physical therapy and after 4 months was able to to raise my arm up but with much pain, i seen the ortho dr 1 more time and was told it will get better with time, in the meantime i seen the same urgent care Dr 6 times and he ordered an c/spine which was essentially neg, I was put on neurotin but became dizzy, I also was put on norco which does help with the pain, i then went to another ortho dr and he put me on lyrica and gave me a diagnosis of brachial plexus neuritis and shoulder and elbow physical therapy. I went to pt 4 times and now have not gotten any better but the hand numbness and pins have greatly subsided, I was the sent to pain management and they are ordering a shoulder mri and an emg study test. The pain is so bad that it is again waking me up in the middle of the night and still hurts all day, I tried to stop the norco but I cant work without it. My sx,s were much worse the first 4 months ( I couldnt get out of the bathtub as it felt my wrist was broken and the shoulder pain was severe. I did not use my arm at all, my shoulder burns constantly and hurts to the touch ( poking hugging people) I still cannott sleep on my shoulder and now when I walk my elbow clicks, and my last physical therapy session to try a certain excercise my shoulder clicks when i rotate my hand, this pain has been so depressing, to where I am crying and now iam wondering if this is all in my head. Ive heard of frozen shoulder and capsulitis which also sound like what I may have.Question, is this normal to be in such pain with my current diagnosis? I dont consider my accident to be a really bad accident, and that is why I am questioning my injury and my state of mind! thank you so much for your time
Keli
Answer:
car accident 10 months ago
Hi Keli,
I had a little trouble following your post. What is your current diagnosis? Brachial plexus neuritis? Where is your pain primarily located?
Answer:
car accident 10 months ago
Current diagnosis was at the time brachial plexus neuritis/pain is on top of my shouldergoes down to forearm, I thought i did mention it was my shoulder, I know i jumped around a bit.
Answer:
car accident 10 months ago
If it is a frozen shoulder then it is self-limiting (it will go away on its own) which is a good thing, but it may take as long as 26 months. Typical for a frozen shoulder is that you'll lose motion, then you'll get pain, then the pain will go away, and lastly you'll get your motion back. If this is the case, perhaps your doctor can work on pain control such as through anti-inflammatories. Eventually, physical therapy should be helpful, but not so much while its still freezing. Often a frozen shoulder gets worse before it gets better. It is impossible to say if this is what you have over the internet, but you should discuss it with your doctor. Hopefully the EMG will answer questions more definatively
Answer:
car accident 10 months ago
Current diagnosis was at the time brachial plexus neuritis/pain is on top of my shouldergoes down to forearm, I thought i did mention it was my shoulder, I know i jumped around a bit.
Update, after 1 visit to pain management the Dr states these findings,Right shoulder pain consistant with impingement syndrome and physical examination findings consistant with labral tear, right suprascapular nerve neuritis and right scapula diffuse pain, right forearm,hand and fingers dysethesias and pain, I am having an arthrogram on tuesday! I cant wait to finally find out what is causing so much pain, my symptoms sound like a few probabilities like frozen shoulder, rotator cuff tear, impingement syndrome and a few others, and it has been such a long painful recovery, now that i have plateued at 50% being better, the other fifty percent has been very difficult to deal with, so hopefully i will now be treated right and cant wait till i feel myself again. good luck to all and I wanted to say I really feel for individuals with chronic pain and the misery that goes with it and hopefully we all will one day be pain free!!!!!!!
Sincerely,,
Keli