United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Need to know if any over the counter junk works for you young (old) timers out there for the overuse of the non BPI arm. I think I'm becoming immune to aspirin.

hi michael. for me it depends which overuse it is, if it's joint pain (mainly shoulder/neck) i use anti inflammatories, if it's muscle strain i use heat via a bath or a hot water bottle. if it's carpal tunnel, i just whinge a lot and leave the computer alone for a while:0) the lower back and leg pain scares the c**p outta me, i haven't got to grips with that at all yet so when it happens i lie around motionless waiting for it to disappear, which it does quite quickly-so far. i prefer not to use any meds at all if i can help it, because this is long term and they are horrendous drugs, even the mild ones. if i can i just rest the good arm while the kids are at school it usually feels better after a few days. the house looks like a tornado hit it, but who cares? i worry for the future, but i am learning which tiny twinge will mean extreme pain tomorrow, so i know now when to STOP! alcohol can be good too, but you pay the price the next day in the bpi arm with those nerve flares owwwwwwwwwww!

Michael,
I vary my NSAIDS, so that I don't overuse any of them, but my favorite and that which seems to work best for me is ibuprofen.
Not over the counter, but prescription, I also use celerex for arthritis. And wow, can I tell if I miss a dose. I've been on it for 3 years, without side effects.
Nancy

Michael

long term drug use is just not good for the rest of the body...

The "good" arm needs to be taken care of...
I let mine go way to long.. I just kept thinking my arm would get better because it was always so super strong. It never dawned on me that I could have a problem with it. I thought it was something that would heal the first time I noticed how bad it was at the tender age of 52 I was way to young to not heal. Well I was wrong.
Resting the arm helps. I use Mineral Ice and it helps get a good nights sleep without the pins and needles and burning. I found that Motrin (bad for the kidneys) and Aspirin helped very little.

Massage therapy and myofacial release really helped both arms. Using a hot tub really works too. It helps you get a good stretch on both arms and your shoulders relax. I think it is because the water is usually 90 degrees.

You really have to learn to use things that will not cause the "good" arm injury.

That means not lifting heavy objects. Using tools like jar opener and electric can opener and electric Braun hand held mixer with the veggie chopper...
things that you normally would have done with the good arm hand need to be curtailed for awhile to give the poor hard working "over worked good arm a rest"

Kath

I'm back, As I told Kath, our home burned down 2 weeks ago and we lost everything we owned. Too dumb to buy renters insurance,we've really learned our lesson. The important thing is, we all got out ok.
As far as overuse, the good arm is worse than the Erb's--with arthritis and carpal tunne,numb fingers etc. I use the arms to live and try not to do anything stupid,like twisting jars, heavy scrubbing, writing. I take vioxx and when it burned in the fire I had to go without it for a couple of days. was so stiff and in so much pain it was unbelievable. Other than that--warm soaks,a lot of four letter words and a shot of black velvet help a lot. Pat

Pat
I am glad to see you still have a sense of humor. At least you did not lose that in the fire. Hope things are better this week. And you can have two shots of what ever makes you the happiest... LOL..

I hope all is better now.

As for the other good arm...
I keep saying it is front brain...
I never paid any attention to it...
Now the good arm won't let me ignore it...

Kath

I have tried Pepper patches. They are pain patches made with peppers. I got mine at that french store Targ`et. It seems to help my shoulder when the weather is bad. It is called therapatch.