[marye81]

I have been dealing with chronic upper right back pain for nearly a year. It started gradually with minor discomfort a few days a month and has progressed to debilitating constant pain. The pain is primarily centered between my spine and right shoulder blade. Sitting too long causes numbness and a "tight muscle" feeling in my arms and legs, mainly right side but occasionally both left and right. I also get severe shooting pains down the right side only of my spine starting at the shoulder blade going down to my tail bone, these pains do not go down the legs or arms and occur in any position sitting, standing, or laying down. I have a constant slight weakness in my right arm compared to the left. I do not have insurance and the emergency room doctors brush me off as a "pill seeker" and simply tell me to rest & take Ibuprofen. I have tried every otc pain reliever nothing helps. The only semi relief I am able to find is constant repositioning between laying/sitting on the bed and couch, and constant use of a heating pad. I am at my wits end, it has caused me to have to quit working, I very rarely leave home, and it interferes with even the simplest daily activities, even showering has become impossible most days.

[mrsD]

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

I would suggest to limit the heating pad. Instead do an ice pack twice a day, for about 20 min.

Use heat only for a maximum of 10 minutes. Heat makes nerves
fire more and makes pain worse in the long run. And your location is a prime shingles spot. If you have had chicken pox as a child you could be activating the Zoster in
the nerve roots there.

Do the ice for a few days, and see if anything changes.

Another option is Salonpas. They have a new large stronger patch that comes 5 in a box, for a little less than $10 at WalMart. One patch is quite strong and if you have inflammation there a patch may work. It will tell you if you have inflammation or referred pain. That area may be referred from parts of the heart, or gall bladder.
This is what the box looks like:
http://www.walmart.com/ip/16935761?w...l5=pla&veh=sem
These are the new stronger improved ones approved for pain by the
FDA...a rare thing for OTC products.

I've had great success and relief from Salonpas over the past years.
They really do work for some types of inflammatory pain.

[marye81]

Originally Posted by mrsD

Welcome to NeuroTalk:

I would suggest to limit the heating pad. Instead do an ice pack twice a day, for about 20 min.

Use heat only for a maximum of 10 minutes. Heat makes nerves
fire more and makes pain worse in the long run. And your location is a prime shingles spot. If you have had chicken pox as a child you could be activating the Zoster in
the nerve roots there.

Do the ice for a few days, and see if anything changes.

Another option is Salonpas. They have a new large stronger patch that comes 5 in a box, for a little less than $10 at WalMart. One patch is quite strong and if you have inflammation there a patch may work. It will tell you if you have inflammation or referred pain. That area may be referred from parts of the heart, or gall bladder.
This is what the box looks like:
These are the new stronger improved ones approved for pain by the
FDA...a rare thing for OTC products.

I've had great success and relief from Salonpas over the past years.
They really do work for some types of inflammatory pain.

Thanks for the speedy reply, I tried ice in the beginning when i thought i had simply pulled a muscle at work, ice only made the pain worse. I've tried decreasing the heating pad to low setting for ten minutes at a time at two hour intervals and the shooting pains in my back become much more frequent. After a week of torture I resumed constant use and the pains are less frequent.

I have tried the doan's heat pads, but they didn't help, I will give the salonpa's a whirl tho.

As for shingles, I did have a severe case of chickenpox when I was young that was followed 2 weeks later with shingles. Can I get it again and could this be the cause of my pain or something I'm aggravating trying to treat the pain?

I have considered gallbladder issues due to the location of the pain, but I have no other digestive involvement, there is no correlation to pain and eating, no nausea or abdominal pain etc.

There is a spot directly on my spine, centered between the points of my shoulder blades that if pressure is applied even mildly triggers the shooting pains down my back. I tried to tell the doctor this at my last visit to the er since it makes me think that maybe I'm pinching a nerve in my spine but his response was simply if it hurts to touch it then don't.

[Jomar]

Possibly some trigger points are part of the problem??
Here is a thread with info that might be helpful for you to try -
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/thread125577.html

It is something you can test out on yourself to see if it helps or not.

[marye81]

Originally Posted by Jo*mar

Possibly some trigger points are part of the problem??
Here is a thread with info that might be helpful for you to try -


It is something you can test out on yourself to see if it helps or not.

ty, will definitely read

[mrsD]

Once you have had chickenpox, the virus lives in your spine forever.

It can be activated, and give pain only... not always blisters up.
Low immune functions, stress often trigger it. Cold will make the virus dormant again.

Also diet high in arginine containing foods supplies the virus with its fuel to reproduce. So some people follow a careful diet to keep lysine higher than arginine. You can also take lysine supplements..they are very inexpensive. 2 grams a day to start is about average. Lysine suppresses this replication and the virus then goes dormant again. However, some people develop post herpetic neuralgia, as the virus can damage the dorsal roots along the spine, where it lives. A blood test for the antibody titres of Herpes zoster will show high if the virus is active.

Here is the food chart:
http://www.herpes.com/Nutrition.shtml

As a living example I used to see nursing home patients with bedsores get Arginine in a powder to mix with water and drink, to help the sores heal. Within 2 weeks of starting Arginaid, they'd have a shingles attack!

People who cannot tolerate cold therapy should investigate RSD (CRPS). We have a forum for that.
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum21.html

[Leesa]

Have you checked with Social Services for EMERGENCY help? They might be able to help you. See what you can find out. It's worth a shot -- just tell them ALL your symptoms and problems and that you NEED to see a Doctor and probably be sent to a NEUROSURGEON for an opinion.

Like I said, it's worth a shot. I hope they can help you. God bless and please take care. Hugs, Lee

[Dubious]

Originally Posted by marye81

I have been dealing with chronic upper right back pain for nearly a year. It started gradually with minor discomfort a few days a month and has progressed to debilitating constant pain. The pain is primarily centered between my spine and right shoulder blade. Sitting too long causes numbness and a "tight muscle" feeling in my arms and legs, mainly right side but occasionally both left and right. I also get severe shooting pains down the right side only of my spine starting at the shoulder blade going down to my tail bone, these pains do not go down the legs or arms and occur in any position sitting, standing, or laying down. I have a constant slight weakness in my right arm compared to the left. I do not have insurance and the emergency room doctors brush me off as a "pill seeker" and simply tell me to rest & take Ibuprofen. I have tried every otc pain reliever nothing helps. The only semi relief I am able to find is constant repositioning between laying/sitting on the bed and couch, and constant use of a heating pad. I am at my wits end, it has caused me to have to quit working, I very rarely leave home, and it interferes with even the simplest daily activities, even showering has become impossible most days.

Well, having to deal with all of this on a cash basis, I would consider the following. You mentioned this might be work related. In essence, you do have insurance by way of an industrial-related injury! You will have to look at your state laws to figure that out.

If that is not the case and you are truly a cash patient, there are considerations. The fact that you do not have extremity referral is good. Shooting pain up or down the spine as you describe is potentially not good and might require a neurologist to rule out myelopathy. I don't know, I am just thinking out loud. There is always intrinsic visceral referral to consider as well. That would doubtfully be the case and if it is not, then a myofascial disorder would make sense. Massge would not likely be enough. I would look at www.nmrseminars.com for a provider who can do very deep tissue work on you. I am not saying that is your problem...I am just trying to give you food for thought! Sorry mg, my timing is off!