United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I guess you would call me a new injury (it has been just a year). Can I ask a few questions of those who it has been longer? Does the feeling ever come back in your arm? Do the electric shocks contine? Tendon transfer has been recommended for me? Has anyone had it done?

Thanks

Kathy

Kathy, it will depend on how succesfull your son's surgery is, i had my bpi in feb 99 & i had surgery & it was unsuccesfull. I have been in pain ever since, but everything does go realy realy SLOW.

Goodluck

BIGSEL

Well Kathy, I'm no long timer (Oct.99) but will say that very little sensation has returned to those numb spots, but I have had some return.....upper arm mostly. I watch the goosebumps to determine sensory return. Crude method, but it hasn't lied yet.

The stingers are still occuring, but not near as often now. When they do happen, they are still as painful as they've always been. And that may not neccessarily be a bad thing. We all heal differently Kathy, so there is always hope. It comes terribly slow though. Hang in there.

George

George
What is a stinger? I have never heard that phrase...

A stinger is what I call those electric shocks that almost take your breath away. I will say mine have slowed down some and have concentrated in the lower part of my arm and my hand. I see a hand surgeon tomorrow to see about tendon transfers so I can maybe straighten out my fingers and spread them apart. We will see.

Kathy

Kathy
I will say some prayers for you... My second aniversary will be here in two short months... I know your anniversary just passed so I know exactly what is going through your head at this moment.
Let me know what the doctor says about straightening your fingers out. My fingers have been curled in since the accident and I have never heard of a way to straighten them.
God bless you
Mindy

hi kathy, sorry i didn't answer your post before. you ask if the feeling in the bpi arm ever comes back....well i'm almost 22 years post trauma (jan 8th 1980) and my feeling never came back, but at 1 year you still have a chance of more recovery. it depends on what's been injured. the 'electric shock' pain for me dwindled away over the first couple of years and stopped being so crippling, as others have said it seems a lot easier to manage if you keep busy. it still comes tho-last night we had a huge electrical storm and my arm played hell, it felt like it was plugged into the national grid there for a while but today it's fine again and it hasn't done this for months. there seem to be many diffeent types of pain with bpi, we can't feel it for each other to see if it's the same-some pain has been associated with recovery, tho my worst pain always was (and is) in the hand, which had no recovery, some seems to be 'phantom limb' pain, it's really hard to even describe it never mind find out what is causing it! i hope the worst of yours ends soon, hang on in there, it does seem to get more bearable in the long term. my biggest problem now is the unaffected arm, at 22 yrs sole left arm use the strain is showing and i've had to accept i can no longer lift or pull heavy stuff, because my family are not prepared to brush my teeth for me the next day any more! on the plus side, i found that for me guarding the good arm too much seems to make it even more prone to damage, so i try to make sure it gets plenty of steady exercise to keep it going, it's a fine balance. the horse riding i do is great for this, holding the reins and steering (kind of flex, unflex, continuously) is just hard enough on the shoulder/arm but not too hard, unless my horse has one of those days when she thinks she's a racehorse and i have to pull a lot or disappear over the horizon at high speed! take care of both your arms and yourself and have a good new year :0)

Hi Kathy...I'm 3.5 years since my injury...I've almost totally regained my arm from the elbow up...below the wrist it's paralised for good...

I have noticed during the past year that the tingly / hand in a vice feeling has totally dropped off. I can't say it feels NORMAL but it's doesn't bother me as much as it used to...

If your like alot of us you have had some form of corrective surgery...this compounds your pain levels at first...My arm felt like a LIVE WIRE for a very long time...but it seems as the nerves all regrow and the arm heals the pain drops off significantly...

I remember the first year or two being the worst...after that things got much better pain wise.

I hope this helps, mail me anytime if you have any questions.

Take care, Mike

Thanks for all the info. I had another emg this week in preparation for tendon transfers. I miss not being able to straighten my fingers or being able to spread them apart. I feel like I want to stretch. Is my arm heavier than it used to be or is it because it is weaker? I can't remember what it feels like to not notice my arm, either from the pain or it being numb. I find myself constantly moving it, I guess trying to wake it up. Does this all make sense?

Kathy