shoulder, arm pain

[SuziQ304]

I have severe sharp shooting pain behind my right shoulder blade and down into my right arm, so far it has just been a couple of weeks. It is nearly unbearable. First I went to my family doctor,he gave me some muscle relaxers. The pain  was not unbearable at that point, then a few days later it came with a vengeance.
I went them to a chiropractor,(who i have been to before ) He has adjusted me used ultrasound, and acupuncture. It was worse after. I have only had 2 treatments of adjusting. One of acupuncture. I haven't slept for 1 week clear through the night. The pain is killing me. I tried pain pills... they did not work at all. I do take an anti inflammatory , and neurontin. We have upped the neurontin and that has minimally helped. Other than mri which i am getting done as soon as possible, any thoughts?

[SuziQ304]

thanks i hate pain meds and am scared to death of getting hooked... but the good news i am going for an mri tomorrow :)

[Tuckamore]

Hello SusiQ,

Welcome to the Pain Management Forum. I am sorry to hear about your extreme shoulder pain. It sounds like you have done all the right things.

I think the MRI will give you the answers you need. Once you know the problem you and your physician can determine the next best step. The sharp shooting pain leads me to think you may have a nerve entrapped. I would also wonder if you have a cartilage issue.

Have you tried alternating heat and ice? You're already on a NSAID and Neurontin, You state that the pain meds prescribed  have not been effective. For what it's worth you may want to consider a different pain med; just because one was not effective does not mean a different one won't be. It may give you some pain relief until they can determine the cause of your pain and percribe better treatments.

I wish you well and hope that you will let us know how you are doing.

Take Care,
~Tuck