United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

So, while often times I have the normal nerve pain, I have learned to avert my thoughts from it to manage the pain. Recently I have been getting these waves of even MORE intense sparks of pain, and I really don't know what is causing it. It is really painful. Anyone experience this? Ways to deal with it? Thank you!

weather changes (most barometric) bring about surges of pain for me. Once the weather stabilizes and has committed to rain, sun, or whatever, the pain stays more consistent and regular. Less flare ups.

I find staying hydrated is key, and reducing emotional & physical stress helps too.

Best of Luck,
Christopher

I concur with Christopher on weather changes. But the most reliable thing for me is sleep. If I'm sleep-deprived, I'm almost always feeling more pain, which unfortunately for me leads to less sleep, which leads to this bad cycle. To come out of it, I often need to wait for a weekend to sleep in. I've also been prescribed some meds that help - trazodone for me works well with minimal side effects.

Early in the first year of my injury I had what I called "shooting pain" that accompanied the constant burning that most of us deal with on a daily basis.

I seldom experienced it after around my first year. I never quite developed in my mind any cycle, it seemed more random for me, but I know that everyone is different. The only exception to that particular statement is that when I am wore out and tired, I always burn more in my hand. Nothing will take the place of a day at home recuperating.

Best of Luck,

Jeff

Hi Jeff,
Ok , What I do after and during doing Semi that seem to help, I first try to support my elbow when I could, it takes the pressure off the pain/ stretch issue and gravity on the shoulder. There are many ways to do this arm rest cars, desk ,arm chair, couch a pillow. To me anything to relax the nerves can be done by supporting your arm, it help me. Next, when I get really bad nerve pain, I use ice in summer and heat in the winter. Weather changes , and temp changes made me switch to ice/ heat usage. If you have a floppy wrist use your front pocket when you can , That also helps pain. All I can state is what Ive done over the years that help me

Best trys,
Tom

I experienced the most intense phantom nerve pains the first six months after my nerves were avulsed. The one thing I did was tuck my chin into my chest. I advise against this. I have continually done this since February of 20004, and my posture has suffered because of this strategy. One thing I learned that helps a lot I learned from a prenatal class. Take a deep breath, and slow let the air out. I live in Minnesota and am almost always in pain during the fall and winter. I visited Arizona once in October and was pain free for almost a whole week. If you are experiencing lots of nerve pain and are looking to move, I'd consider Arizona or some place down southwest.

I hope this is helpful. Best of luck!
Jesse

lemur, when i first came home from the hospital, i could not push down a key on my musical keyboard. my hand and fingers were that weak. i would put my hand on the keys and then take my good hand and push each finger down indiviually. it hurt a little bit but i ignored the pain. after about 2 or 3 weeks, i was able to push the keys down with my injured fingers, but not far enough to make it play the note. now i can play entire songs with my injured hand. it is very slow. but who cares? i still cant play chords but at least it helped to strengenth my hand and fingers. i am no pro at playing the keyboard, i just play for fun and something to do.