United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Giles, thanks for the name, I'll look into it. I did have shots put in the whole shoulder blade, across the shoulder, when he went in at the trigger point it felt like I got nailed with a baseball bat across the shoulder, I couldn't touch it for 6 days. Of course everytime I had one done I asked how long it would last, the doc said hopefully 6 months, then the look I gave him was like, yah, then he said 2 weeks, I said, yah, he said, with your luck probably only 2 days, it only lasted 1 1/2 hours, so there is something definitely screwed up. All the MRI supposedly showed was post-op scarring, I find out Wed. where it is, after that I'll have him about going to Dr. Osterman. Glad to hear its only a little over a month. I'll keep you posted. Thanks! Judy

This is for the people who seem to be regularly having steroid pain blocks; Please excuse a stupid question; by why are you having these shots when they don't seem to work? Have there been any studies or papers written about the long term results and possible side effects of these procedures? (I personally can't find any) Are these shots used to replace other pain management methods or are they supplementary to them? Please feel free to email me if you don't want to reply here; liz@tbpi-group.org

Lizzyb, the reason for the steroid shots/blocks are the hope of taking the inflamation out of the injured area, sometimes it knocks it out long enough for the area to heal, but while your hoping for that to happen, if it don't, too many shots can start deteriorating the muscle tissue, so there's pros and cons. A friend of mine had them when she fell on her shoulder and nothing bad became of it, it decreased the pain and the area healed. I guess if the injury is too far damaged or injured, it does not help, which is what it was for me. I didn't have them one after another, they were anywhere from 6 months to over a year between shots, but never in the same place twice, but sometimes close to the injury, coz I didn't want the muscle tissue to go. Hope that helps a little!

Paul, thanks for the Andrew Price address, he e-mailed back next day after e-mail and is wondering if I have a type of nerve compression syndrome. Hopefully at my doctor appt. tomorrow I'll get the doc to refer me to him up in New York City. Thanks again for taking the time and caring! Judy

re nerve blocks and other invasive treatments for pain....here's a link which goes into depth about the pros and cons of many of these treatments, believe me it's far harder to find stuff like this on the web than those sites by the companies that make the drugs/pumps/implants which VERY briefly skip over how dangerous they can be, and just how little research has actually been done on their use, especially in nerve damage.
http://www.arachnoiditis.org.nz/content ... ments.html
Another thing to check is that the person doing the procedure has done it lots of times before for tbpi patients. There are at present no randomised controlled trials on either nerve blocks or spinal cord stimulators for tbpi pain, if you're being someone's guinea pig the least they can do is tell you....

Your wellcome Judy !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Tell us how it went..........Paul

Thanks Jenny you are always good at finding great sites!!!!!!!!!!!!! Paul

Dr. Price toke my cast off yesterday in NY city. My whole arm feels funny today. My wrist is very stiff I could bend in just a little not as mush as before the oparation. Just aN UPDATE ...Paul

HOWS it doing now Paul . Bob

hi paul. first time replying to any site, but I need to vent on my situation.I am a 33-year old single mother of two. I had been in the cosmetology field for 9 yrs. October 2000 I was struck by a hit and run drunk driver while on my motorcycle. I dont really know all the correct terms, but I have a brachail plexis injury to my left arm (along with other injuries). At first I felt nothing in my arm. Now I raise it a little from my side. I dont know if a want to attempt a surgery process and get disapointed