Treatment for a Pinched Nerve

[sns2]

Last Sunday, I woke up with a bad pain behind my shoulder blade. As the day went by, the pain worsened no matter what I did, radiating down may arm to my fingertips. Over the counter muscle relaxants did not even touch the pain, which seemed much worse when I stood or sat up. At midnight the pain was absolutely unbearable. The worst I have ever experienced. As my wife and daughter were out of town, I called an ambulance, as I was in no shape to drive, and with the pain being in my back and left arm, I was also worried about a heart attack.

The ambulance arrived in short order. They hooked me up to an EKG first off and my vitals were fine, so they felt it was a pinched nerve, which is what I suspected also. They put me in the ambulance, strapped me down, and gave me a stiff dose of morphine. What a rush that was. Pain gone within 10 seconds.

Waited about an hour in a hallway on a stretcher before was seen by the doctor. They gave me a shot of Torodol in the hip for the inflammation, and another whack of morphine, as the first had worn off. He gave me a prescription for a strong anti-inflammatory and 5 Percocet to tide me over until I could see me family doc. A friend picked me up, I got home and took my pills, expecting to wake up with the pain having subsided. No such luck.

Long story short, five days later and the pain is still literally debilitating. I have been flat on my back. Percocet hasn't touched the pain. Didn't even make me groggy. Doc switched me over to Dilaudid. Still not much difference. Seen the chiro three times. Still major, major pain. Doc told me there is no real timeline, but was surprised I have not experienced significant relief.

I have tried ice and heat, both of which really heighten the pain, and a tens machine too.

Have any of you guys had a really bad pinched nerve? What worked for you? I am wondering if a shot of cortisone will help? I am at a loss. I am willing to try anything. Thanks in advance for suggestions.

[sweld]

Acupuncture


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[scesfiremedic]

Sorry to hear you're suffering! I had a herniated disc in my neck that I suffered with for 5 months. I know what you are going through. Until you experience chronic pain, you really can't understand how debilitating it can be. Have you considered acupuncture? I hope you can find some resolve soon.

[silverdoctor]

Get yer arse out of bed, stretch and start moving. Laying there isn't going to make anything better. Been dealing with spondy and sciatica for 30 years, some interesting sensations and levels of pain.

[sns2]

Laying down at doc and chiros orders, as I'm at the acute stage. Pain is exacerbated when standing, and especially sitting, which means nerve is being further pinched. I get up and go for short walks periodically, even if it is just up and down the stairs.

[bobtodrick]

Originally Posted by silverdoctor

Get yer arse out of bed, stretch and start moving. Laying there isn't going to make anything better. Been dealing with spondy and sciatica for 30 years, some interesting sensations and levels of pain.

I know the above sounds harsh...but I tend to agree.
I had a bad motor racing accident in my 20's (now 63). Shattered my hip and was told a very likely possibility was being bound to a wheelchair.
Not!!
I was stubborn, and there have been lots of days where I wake up in the morning and just don't want to get out of bed because there is always constant pain.
But I have never succumbed to that desire. Never missed a day of work and do as much swimming, camping, etc that I can.
To some degree, especially with chronic pain it can be a 'mind over matter' kinda experience.

[silverdoctor]

Originally Posted by bobtodrick

I know the above sounds harsh...but I tend to agree.
I had a bad motor racing accident in my 20's (now 63). Shattered my hip and was told a very likely possibility was being bound to a wheelchair.
Not!!
I was stubborn, and there have been lots of days where I wake up in the morning and just don't want to get out of bed because there is always constant pain.
But I have never succumbed to that desire. Never missed a day of work and do as much swimming, camping, etc that I can.
To some degree, especially with chronic pain it can be a 'mind over matter' kinda experience.

Yep. Downhill skiing accident @ 15, never did heal, pars is broken, vertebrae are free to move. Chiropractor told me I could be in a wheelchair by the age of 40, he was wrong thankfully. I'm the same, some mornings I have to wonder if it's worth the pain of getting up - then the dog starts in on me. Crawl out of bed, stretch and get moving. Nothing like a 5 to 10 km of chasing the dog to loosen me up.

You're right about mind over matter. I won't take meds either.

[nevercatchmuch]

Pinched nerves are excruciating. Drugs like Gabapentin or pregabalin tend to help a lot more with nerve pain than the opiates. Amitrypteline also takes the edge of and helps sleep.
I'd suggest seeing a physio ASAP. I have a name if you are in Calgary?

[darren32]

Very sorry to hear that. I hope things improve soon.

[rugatika]

Weird you mention this. I get the exact same thing about once a year, but not as painful as yours. Not sure how it happens or why but it goes from my neck down to the bottom of my shoulder blade. Never had it looked at as it usually goes away within a week or so. Been like that for at least 10 years. Went to a massage therapist once and it helped a little, but the best thing seems to be to use it as much as possible. Never taken anything for it. Helped a friend wheelbarrow some concrete last weekend and it actually felt much better for a day. Just started feeling better yesterday.

I think it's from the NDP.


Good luck.

[covey ridge]

sns2
Sorry to hear of your bout with severe pain. I know you said pinched nerve. Was that actually confirmed by a specialist?

I have found that acute pain usually goes away with treatment. I am never without pain, but my pain is chronic. I find that my pain is manageable if I keep active but not over do anything. My worst times are in bed or in sleep or quiet times when my mind seems to pay more attention to the pain and make it worse. I tend to agree with those who advise to get out of bed and engage in some mild activity. That said, I would seek out as many medical opinions available to you.

Chronic pain can be as severe as acute if not checked. In my case my bouts started very severe after very minor injury or after short illness.

Today I feel very fit. I can go for a 45 minute brisk walk and come back feeling great with only a slight twinge or soreness. Often after these great experienced I will be slammed with a build up of severe pain later in the evening or woke up with severe pain that gets worse if I stay in bed.

I have very moderate spinal damage to my lower back and neck and very moderate damage to my right hip. None of these explain the mystery of why the extreme pain. Maybe the universe is getting even with me for being a pain in the ass.

My history with chronic pain has been long and I even attended the chronic pain center in Calgary. I have learned to manage the severity and frequency and duration.

sns2, here's is to wishing that you are just in the acute stage and you will soon heal and be pain free

PS If I had to guess the reason for my chronic pain it would be the excessive constant no pain no gain attitude applied to physical activity or exercise

[wolf308]

Also very sorry to hear that.

I'm dealing with my own back / nerve problems as well ATM while working on the rigs. While obviously not as severe as yours or some I do know what dealing with the pain is like. I'm pretty depressed ATM myself. Hard to enjoy anything like this. Been icing my back every night when back at hotel. Tried out a local massage person but she wasn't very good. Looking forward to a pro when I get back home. So maybe go try massage therapy.

And as someone mentioned above .... I might try acupuncture as well. The chiro / spinal decompression didn't seem to help this round.

Keep us posted on your recovery

[purgatory.sv]

It will not help now,but when the pain has been fixed some form of stretching be it an activity such as yoga or just general stretching or movement to target body parts?

Good luck keep reaching for the toes and the sky.

[elkhunter11]

I had a pinched nerve in my neck that did not go away for about a month. I was lucky to get a few hours of sleep per night. I we think to a chiropractor, and after the first treatment, the pain was greatly reduced. I went back two days later, and the pain was reduced again. After the third treatment , I was pain free.
Years later, I had a pinched nerve in my back that was causing shooting pain, and three fingers were numb. That time it took about two months of treatment to get rid of the pain, and to get the feeling back in my fingers.

[HunterDave]

Originally Posted by sns2

Have any of you guys had a really bad pinched nerve? What worked for you? I am wondering if a shot of cortisone will help? I am at a loss. I am willing to try anything. Thanks in advance for suggestions.

Not sure if this'll help with your situation but I had a pinched nerve in my neck from a sports injury but certainly not to the extent that you describe. I had numbness and tingling from my shoulder down to my fingertips. The Doctor sent me to physio where they put me on a machine that stretched my neck. I laid flat with a strap around my head/chin and the machine would stretch and ease my neck. As it stretched the feeling came back to my arm/hand and after a few visits it solved the problem.

Hopefully something as simple as that can fix you up. Good luck!

[skidderman]

You might want to look up types of chiropractic treatment. The most common is where they try to quickly snap joints or muscle groups back in place. The problem with this one is the muscles want to pull it back. The 2nd is a less common treatment where they try to work the muscles correctly to hold the joints & so on properly. I spoke with an older fellow last summer who uses the 2nd type & swears it kept him mobile. I don't have names for you but if you do some research I expect you could find one. I know your pain level. Been there, done that. Most people have no idea. Good luck.

[Big Sky]

laughter is the best medicine.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pNqle9bbfQA

Hope you're feeling better soon.