Pinched nerve or something else?

codavis

It's been a while since I posted, and it's been 8 years since my diagnosis and treatment for IDC. Last year, I started having numbness/tingling in my middle finger on my right hand. My primary care doctor thought it could be carpel tunnel; although, she admitted that the symptoms didn't fit exactly. I tried a brace at night, which did not help. Eventually, after several months, the symptoms spread to the outside two fingers of my right hand. I went to a sports medicine doc who diagnosed a pinched nerve in my neck. He recommended physical therapy. The PT made it worse to the point that my entire right arm was painful and my entire hand was numb/tingling. My doc ordered an MRI, which showed severe constriction in my cervical spine. I had multiple surgical consults, and they all recommended cervical spinal fusion/disc replacement. I had the surgery in January 2018, and, was seriously dismayed that the symptoms did not improve. I had another MRI which showed no structural issues, and I had a nerve conduction study that showed there was still nerve compression/injury in my cervical spine. My surgeon had warned me that nerve damage could be permanent, and that it was possible the numbness/tingling would be permanent. Aargh. She suggested we give it time to calm down and try physical therapy to strengthen my scapula.

Over the next four months, I resumed PT; I added deep tissue massage; and eventually I added acupuncture. Each of the three made the symptoms worse! Eventually, the physical therapist referred me back to the sports medicine doctor who referred me to a pain management specialist. All the while I am wondering--and asking--could the cause of my symptoms be something else. As soon as I had an MRI that showed constriction in the spinal column, no one looked at any other potentially causative factors.

After the surgery, a couple of new symptoms cropped up, and they have persisted. Pain deep in my arm pit on the right side--same side as the hand and arm pain/numbness/tingling--and one spot on my left shoulder blade that hurts really frequently. I had an ultrasound of my left axillary that didn't show any cancer suspicions and a bone scan that wasn't suspicious for bone mets.

Any of this sound familiar to anyone? One concern I have is why would the symptoms in my right arm and hand get worse after the surgery and even a few months later after I've stopped PT, massage and acupuncture? If it's really an inflamed nerve, wouldn't rest make it better?

Like others on these boards, I often feel like I'm going a little crazy.
OK maybe a lot crazy.

LaughingGull

What was your cancer side?

bevin

my sister had similar surgery for similar issues. Her neurosurgeo. Told her that nerves regenerate about 1 cm per month I think is what he said. Yours could tell you . But given that time frame healing takes a long time. He also had her take multi complex B vitamins as that helps w nerve regeneration. Good lucl to u

codavis

My right breast had multi-focal IDC--3 tumors in different quadrants--so I had a mastectomy in 2010.