United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

hello to all, glad to have found you. i guess i am a new member of the club as i was diagnosed on monday from an mri with a rtbp with avulsions at c5c6c7 though they don't know if they are total or partial. i was having a bad time of it and looking for info when i found this board. the info and inspiration i have received has given me alot of relief knowing that i am in such good company.
i wrecked my mc on 06 23 02 and have been trying to come to grips with this ever since. have good local drs that warned me about the possibilities, but i don't think i quite believed them. i was so confident that i vowed not to take a drink until my hand moved. little did i know...........
at 7 wks i have very little pain. what pain i have comes from the deltoid not keeping the shoulder in place. so i keep the open splint on, as in seems to help support the shoulder, though the broken arm has healed.
it seems to me as i read the board that the most debilitating part of tbp is to those that have chronic pain. my heart goes out to all that are suffering so much with the pain that won't stop. i am not clear about the onset of their pain, whether it's post surgery or from the time of their injury, or is it something that progreses with time?
i have no movement from the elbow down but do have tingling,stabbing sensation, and pressure. there is also a slowly creaping return of feeling below my elbow. the shoulder moves front and back a little but not out.
sorry about the ramble, any feed back will be appreciated

Hi David

I found this site in Aug. 2000. Summary: Son, 20 at the time, complete TBPI July 2000 with successful nerve graft surgery to C5 C6 Oct. 2000. Worst issue now: pain in hand; Good for you: stretching, P/T, avoiding stress & fatigue, keeping busy, school, work, swimming is great, etc. Biofeedback? OK but not practical. Medications? ok at first but not practical.

The way this works is people welcome you so I'll be one of the first(?)

P.S. - Research - VITAL; Understanding - VITAL; Compassion - VITAL; feeling of belonging - PRICELESS!

Forgot to mention - Eric's pain started about 2 months post-injury, was/is pretty bad at times, but maybe better, but hard to tell - like everyone says busy helps and you probably learn to deal with it better as time goes by.

Hi David,
Welcome! Sorry we meet this way but glad you found us. My pain started about 1 month after injury. It slowly got worse from the onset and two months after injury it was worse quicker and not getting better. At 3 months it was keeping me from doing almost anything most of the day and keeping me up at night. I was basically worthless. I had surgery around this time. Overnight the pain was better, not gone, but it was certainly not anywhere nere severe. About 50% reduction I'd say. It's slowly been getting better since then. I still hurt all day. Distraction with work and the such help. Staying up to late and getting fatigued does not help.

From what I can figure the worse pain comes from scar tissue. They removed a decent amount of scar tissue from my accident which they contribute to pain reduction.

Let us know how your doing and stay in touch. Mail me if you need more info. I respond slow sometimes but I will respond.

Hi. My husband had a mc accident on 8-5-02. He has only shoulder movement with no feeling or movement in the rest of the arm. His pain is severe and chronic. I fear he is slipping into depression pain meds are not working.

You were there when I found this site in 2000,

Just want to say that from what I've/we've seen/experienced that I/we agree. I think about you more than you know. Peace!

Welcome David, glad you found us. I have been in pain so long that I am not really sure when it started. My accident was October 1991. I had the normal after accident pain. But, then as other places started to heal the pain in my shoulder really stood out. That was a couple weeks post accident.

Like, Ryan, staying up late (like tonight) or over doing it (being too active) makes things worse. Of course for me the insomnia started after my accident. I was actually told it is a side effect of BPI. Don't know if it is true but not sleeping is an issue for me. The activity is a real difficult thing to monitor. Because it can mean something as easy as riding in a car for any distance or trying to lift something that I should not...like my friends baby. But, he is just to darn cute not to pick up!!

Getting cold causes me horrible pain. Rain causes pain, lightening is another bad one... weather is not a friend to the BPI sufferer.

Do as much research as possible and be confident in your doctors. If you are not never hesitate to get a second opinion.

Joy

Hello David, I can't realy say anymore than what has been said, all I can say is welcome to our family, you will get lots of support here & help with a lot of your questions, anyway goodluck.
bigsel
Scottish tbpi.

Hello David, I can't realy say anymore than what has already been said, all I can say is welcome to our family, you will get lots of support here & help with a lot of your questions, anyway goodluck.
bigsel
Scottish tbpi.

thanks all for the imput. tbp is a bitch, but way beter with some company and information. leave no stone unturned dave