United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

HEY RONNIE
sorry to hear about your injury and pain. i have been reading your posts and am curious about how you injured your BP? it doesn't sound like root avultions [ pulled out at the spine ] but more like some form of nerve impingment that affects and then doesn't T1 C8 and at times the entire BP. i think you need to get to a BP specialist ASAP befor there is any more damage. a nerve conductence test by an tester experianced with BP injurys will, in my humble opinion, give more info to a BP man than a very expensive MRI. i have heard good things about ceadar sini in the big city but have no first hand knowledge of them.
hang in there and get some BPI help now
red wilson TBPI injured [MC] 11mos

RONNIE
one thing that may help with the pain and sleep is amyltriptalyn [sp?] you will sleep but it will leave you groggy the next day. i take 10 mg at 6PM and am just right for sleep at bed time and it clears earlier the next day. for me it is all a little better with a good nights sleep.
red

Hi Red,
How are ya feeling today? I was hurt at work while assisting a skier onto the chair, in his drunken state he put the safety bar over my right arm which in turn dragged me at 450rpm's for approximately 50 feet, then when he finally lifted the bar I fell about 50 feet on to the ice and snow. So as ya can see I was hanging by my right arm for a bit and was jarred the 50 feet. I will check into a specialist, but all I can do now is wait, I suppose I can start to look after the holiday weekend. As far as sleep goes, yeah, never a full nights rest anymore, they gave me vicodin, but I really don't want to take that too often.
Thnaks for your reply Red, as always it is throughly appreciated, I sure hope ya feel batter by the time you read this, thanks again and I will follow up on the advice......
Ronnie

Hi Ronnie.........terrible that such a thing happened to you. Sorry you are having to go through this. I am assuming, by your original post, that you still have motor function to most of your arm and hand, which is a most positive sign. The sensation loss is a bad thing in itself, and is something that may or may not come back. Time, and possibly surgery, will tell. To me it sounds as if you have a stretched bp, and possibly have a portion of the bp that is being pinched in some way (you mentioned that your arm will not move at various times). And friend.....believe me......you are not alone with the pain issue. One day someone will get very wealthy when they find a way to alleviate nerve pain. Until then you should seek out a BP specialist soon and let them properly diagnose your problems. Sounds as if your on the way though.

I've found that a hot shower or bath before bed helps ease the tingling and burning long enough to get me to sleep........but not always. I guess it just depends on whether or not your arm can take the hot water. Some bpi arms and hands can't. Good luck finding help, and I hope you can get the workers comp thing straightened out soon. Keep hounding them till they listen !!! What they say about the squeaky wheel is true )

George

Two other things I forgot to mention........try to keep your arm and hand moving so that it doesn't freeze up on you, which can happen very quickly. Even if you have to use your other arm to help out. It's far easier to keep muscles stretched than to try and correct a muscle contracture. A therapist can help you in that dept. Find a good one.

And.......be careful not to overuse your good arm and hand. Overuse problems are a very real issue, and it doesn't take long for symptoms to start showing up. Nothing worse than trying to go to sleep with TWO hurting shoulders and arms.

RONNIE
my pleasure to be of some assistance on a site that has given so much to me. when i first found it is when i started to really
understand the complexities of TBP injures.
sounds like you got the bad end of a almost comic book accident at the hands of some real idiots. $hit happens fast when it
happens. lots of luck in your search after the holiday for a real BP specialist in NY. if you can't find anyone there willing to
see you ASAP i can give you advice on my guy at john's hopkins in baltimore. hope it doesn't come to that and it shouldn't if
you tell them about how long it's been and your symptoms the Drs. and their help should all know the importance of timely
treatment. let me know if there is any thing more i can do. you can e mail me or repost on this site as i am usually around.
take the time to read the back posts for the wellspring of info on the complexities of this club you seem to have joined. with a
little luck, good treatment and a fair dose of patience you may come out of this AB [ able bodied ].
RED

ronnie
sent a reply but i forgot to log in so here it is again as it sometimes takes a little time for a guests messages to be screened by the powers to be [ thank you each and every one for your service ]
RED

RONNIE
my pleasure to be of some assistance on a site that has given so much to me. when i first found it is when i started to really
understand the complexities of TBP injures.
sounds like you got the bad end of a almost comic book accident at the hands of some real idiots. $hit happens fast when it
happens. lots of luck in your search after the holiday for a real BP specialist in NY. if you can't find anyone there willing to
see you ASAP i can give you advice on my guy at john's hopkins in baltimore. hope it doesn't come to that and it shouldn't if
you tell them about how long it's been and your symptoms the Drs. and their help should all know the importance of timely
treatment. let me know if there is any thing more i can do. you can e mail me or repost on this site as i am usually around.
take the time to read the back posts for the wellspring of info on the complexities of this club you seem to have joined. with a
little luck, good treatment and a fair dose of patience you may come out of this AB [ able bodied ].
RED

Hi Ronnie and Welcome!
Can't add anything to the great answers you've had, (nice to see you posting George, hows it going?) but I'd also urge you to see a tbpi specialist asap. It's great to hear you do have some function, here's hoping for a great recovery :0) Jen NZ

Hi George,

Thanks for the reply. yes, I for the most part have movement of the arm, even if I can't control what it is doing at the moment, some movement is their. I tried the hot shower thing, however, it really didn't work, ahh, but the shower felt good anyway. Like I said earlier I am awaiting the approval of tests, and I just got an mri for the rotator cuff, but now they say it's 2 injuries, the BP and a torn AC joint, so I guess mountain biking is out for a bit, i'll keep ya posted as I learn more, but having this message board has really helped, I thank everyone for replying and being so very nice. I hope you are doing well George, thanks again...............
Ronnie

T
Thanks jenny,

I do appreciate your words of escouragement, I hope you are well..................

Ronnie...