Aa
Aa
A
A
A
Close
Avatar universal

Extreme Pain

About two months ago I would wake up in the night with severe tingling sensations in my right arm. It started from the top of the shoulder and would shoot down to the tip of my fingers. It progressivly got worst and it happens every night. Now when I get the pain it wakes me up, my fingers are swollen,  the tingling sensation is very intense. It is so excruciating painful, it about knocks me to my knees. I have tried hanging the arm off the bed, stretching by pulling away and or pushing  into a door jam. I have tried different exercises, stretches, shaking my arm, to makimg huge arm circles forward and back. It is so bad that I have found the best thing to do is just get up and try to proceed as normal through the day. I cannot even use my right arm to open the fridge or grasp a coffee pot. Slowly, the horrilbe pain subsides but the tingling sensation never goes away. In the last three weeks or so, my left arm has started doing the same thing and is quickly catching up to the same symptoms and intensity of the right arm. Both arms from the top of shoulder down to the tip of fingers are extremly painful. Again, I just have to get up and start moving to get the gripping pain to become tolerable, the fingers swelling goes down through the day, however, the tingling sensation from the shoulders into the tip of my fingers never goes away.

Do you have any idea what could be causing this? I have tried sleeping in different bedrooms, on different mattress's and the floor, thinking possibly the beds were the problem. Nothing makes a difference.

Thank you,

Carrie
2 Responses
Sort by: Helpful Oldest Newest
144586 tn?1284666164
Yup. You have a textbook case of nerve compression in the cervical region. Am x-ray is worthless, but an MRI will generally show the compression. Treatment involves anti-inflammatories, axial traction and range of motion through the limits of pain. You really need to see an M.D. before starting these treatments just to make sure you don't have something deteriorated in there that could be damaged by the excercise. I would defininitely NOT go to a chiropractor. I am not against chiropracty, but definitive diagnosis involves an MRI and such a recommendation is above his pay grade. An x-ray, which some chiropracters provide, is worthless except as an unnecessary exposure to radiation. The pain and numbness may increase if not treated and you will end up with what is called a "frozen shoulder". Fortunately treatment is not expensive and usually effective. The first thing a good physician would do is to rule of the possibility of a fracture which could damage the spinal cord if you exercise. That is why you need to see a physician. A question he will ask us whether you have had any sudden neck flexure (such as bumping your forehead). This pain is common in what is called a subluxion, which is the result of a head injury a year or two ago.
Helpful - 0
Avatar universal
Sounds to me like your neck is out of place.  My husband also has the same symptoms you do and goes to a chiroprator for relief.  Good Luck!
Helpful - 0
Have an Answer?

You are reading content posted in the Undiagnosed Symptoms Community

Top General Health Answerers
363281 tn?1643235611
Nelson, New Zealand
1756321 tn?1547095325
Queensland, Australia
19694731 tn?1482849837
AL
Learn About Top Answerers
Didn't find the answer you were looking for?
Ask a question
Popular Resources
Discharge often isn't normal, and could mean an infection or an STD.
In this unique and fascinating report from Missouri Medicine, world-renowned expert Dr. Raymond Moody examines what really happens when we almost die.
Think a loved one may be experiencing hearing loss? Here are five warning signs to watch for.
When it comes to your health, timing is everything
We’ve got a crash course on metabolism basics.
Learn what you can do to avoid ski injury and other common winter sports injury.