Trapped nerve or worse?

wintersocks

I have been having pain and a deep aching in my arm (bc side) for some time now. It extends from shoulder to arm and even my hand. The pain/ache is not located to one place but all over the arm and not all the time. It seems to come and go.

She did a quick exam and said she could not feel/see anything amiss and felt my description is typical of a trapped nerve.Perhaps post surgery. However because of the cancer history she wants a referral back to the oncologist where she thinks it's likely she will suggest an MRI. Has anyone else had anything similar that turned out to be 'only' a trapped nerve or worse?

I would really appreciate any insight here or others similar experiences but I know no one can say for sure - what it is. I have to wait for that.

I feel exhausted even before I start this all over again.

Thanks

kcat2013

I had something similar but I also had an area that became completely numb on my upper outer arm--cancer side like you. My doctor felt it sounded like nerve compression and felt physical therapy would be a good first step and if 8 sessions of that did not resolve the issue we would move on to an MRI of the area. But he gave me the option of going straight to the MRI first if I wanted to. I chose the physical therapy first because I dislike scans and the anxiety they bring and the physical therapy was cheaper. I was referred to a PT who specialized in breast cancer patients and after only a few sessions (including one with a physical therapist in the practice who does massage therapy) my pain and numbness subsided. I'm glad you will be getting your oncologist's input on this, I think that is prudent.

MTwoman

wintersocks, so sorry that you're going through a scare. I'd like to add another possibility. Have you had any swelling when you had the all over pain/ache? If so, is it possible that you're dealing with some lymphedema? From my understanding, most medical providers are not really well versed in LE. Maybe check out the LE forum to see if it sounds familiar at all? https://community.breastcancer.org/forum/64

Hope someone else comes along soon with some other ideas.

Sara536

An MRI of the cervical spine can help to identify the cause of arm pain, tingling sentations, finger twitching and weakness. I have spinal stenosis due to osteoarthritis and have had these symptons on and off for several years. Treatment ranges from PT to steroid injections to surgery if the problem is severe. This all preceeded BC by more than 15 years so it is my go-to suspicion when I experience any of this. I did see a PT to rule out lymphadema this last episode of arm symptoms because she has my baseline arm measurements. (I saw her after surgery and radiation for massage for the "iron bra" effect.) She ruled out lymphadema at that time but I know that it can develop any time. I hope you find your answer soon.

LeesaD

Yes as others have mentioned it could be a lymphedema pain. I get an achiness and pain in my upper arm between shoulder and elbow when I do too much. I see a lymphedema specialist as I'm high risk for it and even though my measurements are good and I'm at a stage 0 lymphedema right now with no swelling. I can tell from the pain when I'm getting a flare up. It's mostly after a yoga class or folding too much laundry or lifting something I shouldn't have. When it happens I wear my sleeve for a while until it goes away.

xxyzed

I have that all the time. It comes and goes. I also have lymphedema in that arm. It was also one of the signs of my cancer as it was mostly in my lymph nodes. My specialists believe it is nerve compression but also say it could be the cancer returning but with the way I present they don’t think so. I have had an MRI done and returned a clean scan. There was no sign of cancer recurrence or nerve compression yet the problem still comes and goes.

Lula73

I also had a similar pain. Finally couldn't take it anymore and went to the chiropractor (hadn't been since right before my bmx & recon in Feb, so it had been about 7.5 months). There was a nerve in my neck that was compressed. The adjustment helped release it and everything is as it should be again. (Although after all that time and all the tension I was holding in my neck, shoulders and back the adjustment and other therapies that day were pretty brutal)

wintersocks

Thanks all!

How lovely that people write in with their experiences too; it really helps with the isolation of dealing with this again, Does anyone know if an MRI deals with looking at the whole body here or is it likely to be spine only? - can they actually do that with an MRI - just look at one area only? As this is the NHS in England it may take some time to be arranged. .

I have had some lymphedema in the past shortly after the mx and the arm remains a little swollen - but I don't remember this pain (shooting) and aching before. This is definitely a 'new' problem, l really should have gone to see the GP about it before now. but sometimes I feel like I just don't care any more...

Also I have to have a discussion with the GP about my bone density issues; but that's another story.

xxyzed

MRIs take a lot of time so while it would be possible to have a whole body MRI I don’t think they would do it for cost reasons.My MRI for the underarm nerve compression covered my cervical spine and underarm area and took 1 hr in the machine. Around a month earlier I had an MRI that covered the lumbar and thoracic spine that took 3/4 hr investigating lower back pain.