I don't know what's wrong with me

04-26-2016, 05:56 PM

My symptoms:

Lots of muscle tension and pain in the right side of the neck, a little of the upper/right back, and somewhat into the right shoulder. (Physical therapist thinks that's a reaction to being in constant pain.)
Muscle weakness in the affected arm. I did horrible on those little strength tests the doctor does. I'm right handed and I can't use things like a stapler anymore or open a soda bottle with the right hand.
A burning pain in the right bicep that never goes away, but intensity can range from a 3 or 4 to a 9 or 10 on that 1-10 chart hospitals use. The more I use it, the worse the pain gets throughout the day, but severity also changes from day to day.
During normal use or on a particularly bad day, the pain can extend into the back of the arm, the upper part of the lower arm and into the shoulder.
The thumb especially and first two fingers feel asleep, though intensity changes.
The pain happened suddenly while I was sleeping. It was getting better and then suddenly got a lot worse while I was sleeping.
This has been going on 2 months.

An MRI was done, the disc between C5 and C6 has a little bit of a bulge, but not enough to explain the symptoms. That really surprised my doctor, he was sure I had a herniated disc. My physical therapist was also sure.

The next step is something called an EMG, my doctor says that it passes an electrical current through the affected body part.

I'm on Lyrica and diclofenac. I just started methocarbamol yesterday in hopes that will ease the muscle tension in my neck and back. It took a bit for the Lyrica to take effect, but now I'm having more good days and the bad days aren't as bad.

What could I possibly have?

04-28-2016, 04:05 PM

So, it turned out you did not have a cervical disc? An EMG/nerve conduction study is routinely done to rule in or out diseases of the nervous system and any radiculopathies.

I know you were getting ready to move before this came on. Were you in a particularly stressful period when all of this developed?

The EMG is not a lot of fun to go through, but we all survive and hopefully it will help determine what is going on.

04-29-2016, 07:24 PM

The MRI report was that the disc between C5 and C6 had a little bit of a bulge, but not big enough to explain my symptoms.

Yeah, I've had a lot of stress lately. Changing specialists for something else, my husband's transfer, needing a new job and place to live, two offices at work combined into one and my new boss being a creep about me taking off for medical needs.

I did the one thing that doctors hate and googled my symptoms and found a really rare disease that fits. Brachial neuritis. Onset, progression, symptoms, cervical herniated disc misdiagnosis...all a perfect match. I'm going to bring it up to my doctor, see what he thinks.

The pain has taken a nosedive in just the past few days. I wake up either in just a little pain or completely pain free. The act of getting dressed brings back the numbness/nerve pain some. And by the end of the work day I'm not happy, though it's nowhere near the scale as before.

Once the physical therapist saw the MRI report, she changed things since my neck wasn't as fragile as first thought. She still thinks the bulging disc may be part of the problem so I'm still getting mechanical traction, but I was doing some strength building exercises for the back and arm last appointment. I didn't make it to hand/wrist strengthening before I was begging off due to nerve pain for the day. Hopefully the next appointment I do better.

What concerns me about the EMG is the Lyrica side effects. I talked to the place, they called a technician, they aren't confident they can do the test while I'm on it. I'm having frequent twitching/jerking of the hands and fingers, bad enough that I have difficulty typing (accidentally tapping keys), using my phone and driving (my hands keep jerking open and I lose my grip on the steering wheel for a second with that hand). They asked if I'm sure it's the Lyrica. Onset 2 weeks after starting, one week after I was increased to full dose, affecting both hands equally, listed as a common side effect by the FDA....yeah, I'm sure.

05-03-2016, 12:05 PM

I have a bulging disc and degeneration in C5-C6 of my spine with the beginning signs of arthritis. I also have mild spinal cord stenosis around the same area. Your symptoms seem very similar to mine, and I had normal EMGs. Sometimes the pain, numbness, and tingling was so horrible that my whole back would spasm, all radiating from my neck/upper shoulder. I'd often spend whole days at work with a heating pad pressed against my upper right shoulder/neck. But many doctors dismissed it being the main cause as well because it was only "bulging" and they felt the stenosis wasn't enough to cause the type of pain I was feeling. However, the spine specialist that I now see did a cervical spine epidural injection at C5-C6 this past June to see if that would help with the symptoms I was experiencing. While the first week was particularly unpleasant (nerves inflamed from injection), after about 2 weeks I felt a lot of relief. It was worth doing in my eyes. You might want to consider talking to your doctor about it and see what they say. Hope you get relief soon!

05-08-2016, 05:51 PM

I'm back!

So the pain is almost all gone. If I bend my shoulder the wrong way, ow, burning pain and my hand goes numb at the same time. The weakness has lessened. I was getting muscle twitchiness from the Lyrica, the place I'm scheduled for the EMG at wasn't sure they could do the test with that. I talked to my doctor and he actually took me back off it for two reasons - the test, and to see if things get worse again, as I didn't get better at all until I was on it.

I did ask about that rare disorder, he actually took my question in stride. Told me it could be a neuropathy anywhere, not just at that one spot, and he was already going to have the test look for that thing. Too bad I can't get in until the end of the month, grr.

Now that everyone is confident my neck is not fragile, my PT is starting to hurt me, lol. Rebuilding the muscles. My hand is stronger - but I still can't staple, I can't use a binder clip nearly as well, half the time not at all, and using that hand like my PT wants, I make it through the first three hours of the workday before I'm hurting like crazy. Muscle pain though, not nerve pain. She still has me with a left-handed mouse, she's concerned that's too much too fast.

No one has mentioned it, but I'm wondering about if OT should be considered? While I'm sure I'd notice gross muscle if lifting weights was a requirement of my job, the heaviest thing I carry all day is my purse. It's all the fine motor muscles that are frustrating the heck out of me.

I'm still refusing to file at work. Doing so would bend the shoulder in such a way that it would cause the burning pain/numbness.

08-09-2016, 03:17 PM

So good news, all my problems are but a memory. Yay!

The doctor thinks the Lyrica fixed whatever was wrong with the nerve. Once on that, the pain dropped really fast. I still had arm and hand weakness for a bit, but I finally got full strength back in mid-June.

I got better so fast on the Lyrica that I ended up not taking some diagnostic test, something with electrical current. Because I didn't take it, what I had will remain a mystery.

Thanks for all your good thoughts, I guess it worked.

08-21-2016, 01:25 PM

What great news! Thanks for taking the time to come back and report your progress!

I would suggest you keep in the back of your mind that there is a potential for some cervical neck problems in the future...hopefully the bulge at C5-6 has healed, but it could be a "weak spot" ( my non-medical term!) that you will want to keep in mind. Some lifestyle changes might be in order to insure you don't develop further degenerative diseases in the spine...keep doing the PT exercises to strengthen muscles, etc., use ergonomic set up at work, use good posture and maintain structural alignment...basic things that will contribute to good health of the spine.

I don't know what's wrong with me

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