anybody like me?

[orion]

I may be the new kid on the block. I had a motorcycle wreck on 5/7 (blown off the road by wind on a curve at 20 mph) and have been diagnosed with a BPI of the right shoulder. My neurologist and orthopod both seem to agree that the nerve was "stretched" and not avulsed due to the results of the nerve conduction study. My deltoid and superspinatus and infraspinatus muscles are atrophying. I am on a prednison taper which helps during the day. Nights aren't so much fun.

My question is this. Does anybody out there have any experience to give me an idea on how long it might take for the nerve to wake up so I can get back to work? I have full use of my hand, I just can't abduct my arm.. I am on PT in the pool which really feels good. Thanks for your help. Mark

[DEAN]

Hey Mark,
I to only stretched my nerves and not avulsed them and also have movement and strength in my hand. All bpi injurys seem to be different in some way or another, but yours sounds very similar to mine.I had visits to the neurologist up until 6 months after injury and after that i still had no movement from bicep,deltiod and superspinatus. I then seen the top neurosurgeon in Australia to have surgery. I wont go into the details but the thing i would be doing is seeing a specialist in bpi ASAP. Ive had 2 operations and things seem like its starting to happen. Its been 10 months since initial injury.
I wish you the best of luck Mark and keep on this message board the people on here are great and it really helps believe me.
GOOD LUCK Dean

[cbe411]

Hi mark and welcome to our little club here!! None of us really want to be here but we do try to have a good time!! I Am 25 (ughh) and had a car accident just over 4 years ago. I stretched C8 & T1 but I did avulse C5 & 6. So I am similar to you.... i have great hand function but no shoulder or biceps. You should check out the medical resources directory and get to a BPI specialist as soon as possible. http://ubpn.org/medicalresources/ The nerves regrgow at a rate of about an inch a month. So for the nerves to wake up and get regrow, it take a long time. Im not sure what type of work you did/do but I would advise to get back there asap! I Didnt and I regret it a ton!!! There are no stupid questions around here so feel free to ask away!!!!! Again welcome to the nut farm! haha

COurt xx

[admin]

hi mark, i m kinda new hear to and also motorcycle/right shoulder,hand. been since 7/04 and no recovery yet but hopeful. i go to mayo on monday just wish there was something new to get excited about. at 52 i don't know how to quit, i just wanna go racing again.

[orion]

Hi Dean,
Thanks for taking the time to holler back. In the last couple of days it seems that my bicep has regained a lot of its strength, so that is encouraging. I may need to change my log in name though. Over the weekend my wife and daughter took me to a friends pool for exercise, and since my right arm (fin) doesn't work so well, they started calling me Nemo. So I guess you have to laugh when you can.
I am praying for all of you affected by this not so fun injury. Thanks for your time. Mark

[BIGJAVSMOM]

Orion- I am the mother of an OBPI child. I just wanted to let you know that I think you're attitude is wonderful. That along with hard work will help you in alot of ways. I wish for you the best recovery.

Sincerely, Marlyn

[orion]

Thanks Marlyn for your reply. I will pray for your child and you as caregiver. sincerely, Mark, orion, Nemo-whatever!

[orion]

Hi cbe441
Thanks for your reply about getting back to work. I am dentist, so it is really frustrating not to be able to use the shoulder that is my livelyhood. I am going to try to see some simple patients next week and see how it goes. Wish me luck. Thanks for your time. I will pray for your healing. Mark

[dennisbk]

Your injury sounds very similiar to mine. They told me initially that it was a stretch and also did nerve conduction tests. After 4 months, I wasn't seeing any improvements and went to a BPI specialist. His nerve conduction tests showed that my injury was much more serious than the first two neurologists thought. I ended up having nerve graft surgery. 4 years later, I do have some use of my arm, but it is far from normal. Good luck.

[admin]

Hi Mark--it is so wierd how these injuries are so different in each case. I had a snowmobile accident March 6 of this year. I had a fracture of the right humerous, which was broken in 4 pieces. Although I had hand movement at the scene and for about an hour, I lost all feeling and movement from the elbow down except in a small area under my elbow. My upper arm and shoulder are fully inervated and functional although the bicep is very weak. Testing did not reveal an avulsion or tear. After 3 months, I have had significant return in the forearm, but nothing in the hand (of course I am right handed). I went to the University of Michigan where they found my case "interesting" and decided to watch me for another month. In the meantime I decided to seek a second opinion and am traveling to New Orleans next month to see Dr. Tiel, the partner if Dr. Kline at LSU. Based on my records, they have already scheduled me for surgery while I am down there! But depending on my progress, they may hold off. I would recommend you seek opinions from physicians with this injury as their specialty. Dr. Kline and Tiel would not see me until I was 4 months post-injury. The literature states the optimal time for surgery is 4-6 months. I am very blessed in that my job is in management that I can continue with one hand--as you can see I have learned to type with my left hand and my writing is getting better. Sometimes I amaze myself on what I can accomplish with one hand! Good luck to you. Being patient is really hard, waiting out this "inch per month" Shelli