My whine for the day is leg weakness and that feeling that a Charlie horse is about to start in my calf. I call it a 1/2 Charlie horse. I did a lot of flopping during the night last night and my body is tired. My joint/tendon issues have now eased up in some areas but are flaring up in others. UGH!!!!

Passing the whine and cheese . . .

I have found that if I walk very slowly I do ok compared to the past few weeks. As long as I don't pick up the pace but do a slow stroll, I'm pretty good. I probably look like I am being a slacker in the customers' eyes, but oh well!

DH just had to stop at Walmart for the $99.99 TV last night. He said, "just park here, I'll go in and pick one up, I'll be right out."

He took two hours to get it! He also got a blue ray player for $23 but wait until he finds out how much it is to rent the movies!

It was my good story today at work when waiting on customers.

I am going to stick with the local clinic for my risk assessment with the oncologist. I had a new customer today who was being treated for colon cancer in Chicago, and she had started with a local doctor and they sent her there. So maybe I won't need to go out of town, but since they did that for her, they might do the same thing for me if necessary.

The poor woman went through surgery and has to have a resection (?) and is also going through a divorce. She was so nice and I felt so bad for her, and had to give her a big hug and wish her luck next week. Moments like that make me feel great about my job.

Ended up going to the er. Got treated badly. Still in bleeping pain.

My aunt, the nurse said she thinks this is a pinched nerve. No idea what nerve. My aunt is mad about how I was treated at the er. She wants me to complain about it to my insurance company.

That's excellent Wiz. I'm so glad that you stepped out from under the sales hat to give your client a hug. I'm sure that your compassion, understanding and tenderness, meant a lot to her. It is so easy to feel isolated, as we all know, when one is going through a rough patch...and she sure sounds like she is going through one.
Sending well wishes and prayers to her.

Erin,
I think that I've posted these links before but here they are again. You might very well have a pinched nerve that is referring pain to the shoulder and arm. That would explain it not responding to regular pain medication. Nerve pain requires narcotics or something that affects the gaba/pre-gaba neurotransmitters.

Common sites of nerve compression that refer pain to the shoulder are at the spine due to disc protrusion or herniation, and in the neck due to muscular spasms of the Scalene muscle group.

Please check the links as there are photos of where Thoracic Outlet pain is referred to. If the pain is due to the Scalene muscle, the pain distribution illustrated will look like the same distribution that you are experiencing.
The good news is that nerve pain from the Scalene muscle group, responds very well and quickly to physical therapy and/or massage therapy.

There is a link at the bottom of the list of links that gives some info on how to treat the Scalene spasm and trigger points; so you can try to massage it or treat the trigger points your self straight away.
You might also check with a PT or Massage therapist to see if they are familiar with treating Thoracic Outlet Syndrome (TOS) and/or Scalene Trigger points, also known as Scalene Anticus Syndrome. If so, maybe they can help you with it.

In the mean time, if it is TOS from either cause, while laying down or reclining, putting the back of the forearm against the forehead or resting the forearm on the top of the head will often relieve pressure on the nerve, as this position takes the Scalene muscles as well as serves to broaden the thoracic outlet through which the nerves that supply the shoulder and arm pass.

Hope that this helps and that you get relief soon. Nerve pain is just so nasty.

With love, Erika


Thoracic outlet syndrome/Scalene muscle spasm & nerve compression

Overview of anatomy, injuries-causes of dysfunction, symptoms, treatment:
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/tho...ndrome/DS00800

http://intraspec.ca/tos.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thoracic_outlet_syndrome


Scalene trigger point therapy
http://www.triggerpointtherapist.com...troublemakers/

Just got back from the second visit of the day to the ER

What to different hospital, they were much better.

Doctor said it's Adhesive capsulitis

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adhesiv...is_of_shoulder

Ouch!
That truly is a nasty condition to have.

Can you move your arm away from your side, or is it "frozen"? This much I know. If you can move it, do...even if it is painful to do so; because if you don't it can freeze up over night and that is much worse.

What did the ER doc recommend?
Can you get in for some physio? Ultra-sound therapy will often decrease the inflammation and the pain. Massage therapy will often get the mobility back and reduce the pain too. Massage to the neck and back will also prevent compensatory spasms and pain in those areas.

Hang in there Erin. It does get better with or without treatment; although it can take a while.

With love, Erika

Erin,

Sorry to hear about your shoulder problem. I hope you can get some therapy for it and relief for the pain.

I hope your mom is doing ok. Did they ever figure out why her blood levels were off? I can't imagine just giving her blood and leaving it at that. Something had to cause it.

he said to get physical therapy, which I was already doing, started pt for the shoulder last week, just havent done much yet because this week was so screwed up. I don't know why the pain kept getting worse.

I got another dosepack of steroids to do. I did the first dose of that a little while ago. I can feel it kicking in now.

The pain is a bit more manageable now. The doctor said I probably needed the morphine to get past the worst of the pain. Still hurts a lot, but the pain isn't making my eyes cross anymore.

I did a couple simple stretches that they'd been showing me at PT last week. Think that helped a little. Can't wait for it to heal.

Wow Erin, when it rains it pours. Sorry but hopefully they now know what your problem is and can get a plan of action and get you back on your feet again and into that car with hand controls. Erin wants independence!!!! Good luck

I'm glad they got the pain to break a little bit on the second visit to an ER. I have to call the insurance company on monday tho. They rejected my insurance last night. No idea why. I guess I can expect that to keep happening, especially after the new year.

My aunt told me she'd help me call them (she's a nurse, and knows a bit about insurance. The first hospital I went to, just parked me in a room for a couple of hours and ignored me. Didnt even have a doctor see me. They sent in a PA. They gave me hydrocodone, and then got me out of there as fast as they could. Didnt try to figure out why it hurt.

The hydrocodone didnt touch it.

that was why I went to a different ER later that night. The pain was even worse by then. They got me in there pretty quick. An actual doctor came in and checked me out. He was good, and the nurse who took care of me was great. They explained that they had to break the pain cycle. That's why they gave me morphine and a muscle relaxer. I'm still in pain, but not as bad as it was. I'm never going back to the first hospital.

My aunt thought that the first hospital dropped the ball. She said I should have gotten an injection of morphine there, or an IV with morphine. She thinks if I call the insurance company, and tell them I wasn't happy with how they treated me, and tell them I had to go to another ER that night, they might be able to get the insurance company to not pay that first hospital because they didn't seem to do anything for me.

Then maybe they won't reject my insurance for the second trip to the ER. My aunt is going to have to help with that. I won't know what to say.

She was pretty disgusted with what she called their standard of care.

Hope I can at least get the insurance company to pay for the second visit.


when I was leaving, I told the nurse that they were really great and thanked her. If the hospital calls to do a survey I'm going to give them a good review about it. She seemed surprised that I was thanking her. People must not do that very often.