United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

Hi, My name is Michael, I am19 years of age and on the 8th May 2004 was involved in a motorcycle accident which resulted in a brachial plexus injury to my right arm. I have recently had surgery for nerve transplanting in an attempt to obtain some mobility back in that arm. I am coping quite well, but the pain side of things is the greatest challenge I have. At the moment I suppose it is early stages for me and am several drugs testing to see what helps with the pain. I would be very interested to hear from other people on how they have coped intially with their pain and what things they do to get through each day whether it be good or bad. I was very fortunate to meet Gayle and Mac Shann recently and she put me onto this website. I hope that I can get to talk to a lot of people who are in the same situation as I am.

Regards Michael

Hi Michael! Welcome to UBPN. Im so sorry to hear about your accident. I hope the info here and the people can be of help to you. My son was injured last year in an accident on a 4-wheeler. He also has a RTBPI. If interested in talking to me just let me know. softballmom09@hotmail.com

Hi Priscilla

This is Michael's mum. We are testing the message board. It is great to be able to talk to some people out there who are in the same situation as we are. I know that we ourselves don't havethe injury but as parents we feel everything our kids fee. I am excited about the chance to meet people and share their experiences. I hope that I also will get the chance to talk to some other parents going through the same things we are.

I also feel for your son's injury. I hope you son is doing well. Please let us know what stage your son is at. All information we can get at this stage is a bonus to us. Michael and I are new to this game.

Hi Michael, Courtney here, I have had a BPI for 3 1/2 years now so I can relate to you totally! Welcome to the club that one one wants to join, as I like to say. I was 21 at teh time of my wreck so that age I can relate to as well. I cant tell you that the pain will ever go away, as I am yet to find someone with NO PAIN! I will tell you that it does get more tollerable. I currently take no meds and would put my pain level at a 0 or a 1 (on a scale of 1-10). DOnt get my wrong I still have moments where it brings me to tears, but I have found ways to work through the pain. Keeping my brain active really helps! Geeting those endorfins going, however you need to get them going, helps a great deal! You have already had surgery so that is a big help, if you are going that route. The sooner they get to you ther better the chances for recovery. We are here to help you with whatever we can..... dont be shy! Ask away with the questiojs, we have all had them at some point in ttime!

COurt xo

Hi Michael,

My 17 yr old son had all 5 avulsed 1 1/2 years ago, and last year had two major surgeries to transfer nerves, tendons & muscles into his arm. He can now bend his arm & make/release a grip with his hand. John's pain was truly unbearable at first, but he's almost completely off pain meds now:

Feb ’03 July ‘04
Neurontin 3600 600
Topomax 200 0
Amytriptyline 100 0

Couple reasons:
1. Learning how to manage the pain (stay distracted, get enough rest, keep stress level down – as much as possible!)
2. Nerve regrowth after surgery. Even though the nerve pathways are now different, John can think “move” and his arm & hand do. That’s enabled his brain to turn down the pain volume.

There have been a LOT of threads on this site about pain & pain management. Although there have been cases of people who don’t see pain relief after surgery, they seem to be the exception rather than the rule. Hopefully you’ll also see some relief over time. For now, since finding the right mix/dosages of pain meds is mostly trial & error, make sure you find a pain doctor with a lot of experience.

Take care & keep us posted.

Ellen

Hi Michael and Mom,

My son, Eric, avulsed all 5 in a car accident at age 20 just over 4 years ago. Nerve transfer surgery at LSU with Dr. Tiel about 4 months post-accident. Surgery was successful and movement regained to upper arm. Currently back at physical therapy again for ROM and to try to get the most return from the surgery. We are going back Halloween weekend for follow-up. Eric can totally relate to your pain as for him it has been more challenging than any other aspect of this injury. His pain level usually averages near a 10 on a level of 0-10. We tried a lot of things to no avail. One thing we tried early on that showed promise was biofeedback because it's based on relaxation techniques which teach you how to imagine yourself in a different place (like immersing your burning hand into a snowbank while at a cabin in the mountains for example). I think it helps you learn to control your mind. I hope I'm explaining this correctly. Eric feel free to clarify if this isn't correct. Also, on a more realistic level, distraction helps. Going back to work, school, keeping busy, exercise to increase the good endorphins. Good luck to you all and let us know if we can do anything.

P.S. You've come to the right place. There is a wealth of info here. I spent 3 months after the accident reading every single post on this board learning everything I could about this injury. Sad thing is we all know more than most doctors because we live it.

HI,

My son Ryan, was also in a motorcycle accident 4 1/2 yrs ago when he was 22. As you said the pain was the worst I have ever seen anyone be in. 3 months later he also had a nerve transplant and it sure helped the pain a lot. 4 1/2 years later he still has some pain, but usually when he has over worked himself or very tired. He kepts himself busy, which he says helps a lot. At first he also was on lots of medication and little by little he was able to cope and take himself off all drugs except tylenol when needed.

Best of luck to you. Any questions you or your mom have just ask away, we are here to help.

Hugs, Karen

PS Our next camp will be in Oct 2005 somewhere near WA DC. It is a great place to meet everyone and learn a lot. Please send you address to ubpn.org to be put on our mailing list to receive the Outreach Publication.

Hi Michael and Michael's mum, sorry you're here but at least you found us!
There is a website which has been set up for trauma injured people www.tbpi-group.org it's based in the UK but has people from all over the world visiting. Three are some articles there you might be interested in, including one about pain.
There's also a pretty lively message board, most of the people who post there got injured on motorcycles and there are some of a similar age to Michael, although there are many others posting including parents of injured babies and children, and long termers such as myself. Betweeen them this message board and the tbpi one can probably answer most of your questions. Here's a link to the message board

http://p072.ezboard.com/fadultswithbrac ... juriesfrm1
Let us know how you go :0)
Jen NZ

oops link to website didn't work try http://tbpi-group.org/ or click on my name above this post, the group website is marked as my home page.
All the best!
Jen

Hello Michael and Michael's Mum (do you have a name??!!). You sound like Brits, so it would deffo be a good idea to have a look at the rest of the gang at www.tbpi-group.org, as well as UBPN. The info at TBPI-Group concerns UK hospitals, doctors, etc., plus our slightly warped ideas of what is actually funny (eh, Courtney ?)