please help! i have severe pain in my entire right arm & upper spine. something's wro
 

Hello, my name is Stephanie, i am new to this site. I will give a brief (the best i can) rundown of what i am going thru. Im 29 yrs old, i have always been veey active all my life. I was hit by a car (walking across the st) when i was 16. Never got checked by a Dr. tho. I had a HUGE bruise on my left hip the size of a softball & my feet & ankles swelled & i couldn't walk for a few days. My shoulder & upper spine ached a bit. But i just kept going. About 7/8 yrs ago i began exexperiencing pain in my.upper & lower back. But nothin too bad. The last 2 yrs have been rough, the last 14 months have been hell! I started getting severe sharp pains in my shoulder. As if im being stabbed w/a knife. No matter how i sit,lay,stand, its excruciating & unbearable! I get the same pain in my elbow, lateral & medial, along with burning & aching. My wrist & hand are very painful as well. The skin on my hand is SUPER sensitive & the slightest touch is excruciating! I have to keep cracking & shaking out my arm bc it hurts so bad. The pain at night is awful. Im lucky if i sleep a solid 1-2 hours. The pain will wake me from my sleep. I can't tolerate any cold (water, ice, cold air etc) on my hand esp. My shoulder has significantly "dropped" & my entire arm has significant atrophy. Very noticeable, which has happened over the last 5 monts apprx. My spine (between shoulers) feels like its being squeezed & twisted. I get pains in the base of my skull, dizzy & lightheaded when i get up from a seated or laying down position. I occasionally get sharp electric type pains that feel like they're in my brain. My left eyelid twitches & my vision goes blurry. I've lost grip strength & I'm constantly dropping things. Memory problems along with anxiety. Im very irritable lately (beyond the norm). I get twitches in my forearm & sometimes my left thigh. I've also noticed that my speech is off sometimes & I've had minor trouble pronouncing some words. Thats pretty much what i can recall as far as my symptoms are concerned. Im just looking for advice and opinions. I would truly appreciate any feedback that you all can give me. Im really scared. I know my body & i know something is really wrong. Please help. Ill answrr any and all questions. Thank you so much.

Hello & welcome,

Have you tried any expert chiropractic or expert PT since the pain & symptoms have increased? I'm thinking the car accident caused some misalignment's..so that would seem the best starting point..


explore this link for some important info on upper cervical misalignment-
www.upcspine.com

[SIGN / SYMPTOM CHECKLIST

POSTURE IS A WINDOW INTO A PERSON'S HEALTH
Upper Cervical misalignment = Poor Posture = Poor Health
The following Signs and Symptoms may indicate Upper Cervical (c0-c1-c2) Injury
C0 – skull or occiput; C1 – atlas; C2 - axis]
http://www.upcspine.com/self.htm

Along with that link I suggest reading on our Thoracic Outlet Syndrome forum-
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum24.html

and our
Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (RSD and CRPS) forum
http://neurotalk.psychcentral.com/forum21.html

Sometimes both conditions are present, but usually TOS happens first and then it triggers the RSD/CRPS or after a surgery , but quite a rare occurrence.

But I do suggest looking at chiropractic or osteopathic, bodywork due to the accident, and possible misalignment's and the resulting muscle/myofascial imbalances..

If you still have trouble with posting back or new threads, see the FAQs link in my siggy or ask for help..

Yes i am currently in PT, per my Physiotherapist. I noticed that alot of what i wrote isnt in the post? But i am now seeing a Physiotherapist, lucky for me he is very compassionate & understanding. Hes giving me meds to help cope with my pain. I started PT and im in alot of pain. Ive seen an ortho who said it coukd be CRPS, because its affecting my entire right arm. I have alot of memory loss as well as balance issues, trouble pronouncing words, and swallowing at times. My left eyelid twitches for days, then goes away for a couple of.months. im very irritable and very forgetful too. I have done some research on my symptoms and they fall into the CRPS and MS catagories. My upper spine feels like its in a vice. Really bad insomnia, extreme loss of ROM in shoulder along with atrophy. Ive always worked and have remained active. So i know its noy soley from disuae. My arms go numb when im laying down with them placed on my belly. I cant tolerate ANY pressure on either side of my elbow & my skin is SO sensitive to the slightest touch, cold or breeze. Cold weatger is a nightmare. Makes my pain worse. My vision gets blurry in my left eye. I can barely "Tap" my elbow and i hit the floor and feel excruciating pain. Not normal. Every day chores are a hassle. My arm is so weak an gets so tired. Mind u, this is my dominant arm. Its rapidly progressing and is so scary. The pain is so unbearable i would cut my arm.off if i could at times. Xrays were "normal". Mri of my shouldet is normal. I need mri of c-spine & upper back. Ive done the stretches for my elbow/wrist for years, with no improvement. Im always tired an i have to make myself eat bc i have no appetite.

Nice to meet you!!
 

Thank you so much. I appreciate the well wishes <3

hi Stephen, as you said, you need MRI's of upper spine. it could be so many things but you need a lot more diagnosing done instead of just PT. sure sounds like nerve impingement or disc/spine issues with the going numb and cold issues. The mental status and speech changes are certainly frightening too....I would ask doc for brain MRI as well.

You said you are not sleeping and that only makes matters worse. Are you taking anything to help you sleep? I know when I first started with pain mgmt and I never slept, my doc gave me Elavil and it knocked me out and I was able to sleep. Even though it is technically a anti-d, it is used for pain and sleep. Have you tried meds for nerve pain?

You have my sympathy, it is so scary and frustrating when you know something is going on and the reason cannot be found. I would advise not sticking with just one doc like a primary care or physiotherapist...seek out various doctors like a pain mgmt doctor or neurologist.
take care, Diandra

Thanks for the advice & kind words. Im seeing my doc on Tuesday & im going to request the mri and tell him what i think. I really hope its not crps. Im sp scared.