Uncomfortably numb

[gwyn]

Advice time: since I got home, I've developed some kind of numbness/pain in the right shoulder blade that radiates along my arm. You'd think it could pick one--numb or pain--but no, it's both, and it's really uncomfortable and making it hard to find a way to sit or sleep that's not too hard on my abdominal stitches or makes the shoulder worse. I can't twist, so I can't really get back there and poke at it, and I can barely reach behind me. I think it's like a pinched nerve or a pinched…well, can muscles get pinched? I don't know, whatever it is is definitely becoming problematic.

Can anyone think of a way I could try to work this out, or is it something I'll need actual help for? I thought about trying to find a way to put a yoga ball behind my shoulder blade and roll it around but I can't figure a way to do that in my current state, which is basically big baby ball of pain.

Comments

[grammarwoman]

Is it the reaching, or smushing the muscle against the ball that would hurt? When I've had that kind of targeted muscle ache, I've put a tennis ball or two in a long sock, so I could dangle it behind me and keep it from tumbling away while I roll it around. The pressure points definitely helped.

I hope you find some relief!

[gwyn]

I'm pretty much incapable of reaching behind me, more than just to my shoulder or neck.It's going to be a while before I can get much farther than that. I have trouble leaning, too, in that it takes all my strength to push away from anything with my arms, and I'm really afraid of losing my balance and falling. That would be the worst outcome for me.

[dorinda]

Grain of salt: this hasn't happened to me personally, but I've read about it, fwiw. Post-surgical shoulder pain is a thing, at least with some kinds of surgeries. Like laparoscopic surgery, though I don't know about your particular surgery--in laparoscopic it happens because they have to "inflate" areas to get the camera in. They say the pain is from irritation of the phrenic nerve due to trapped CO2. For instance: http://centerforendo.com/post-surgical-shoulder-pain/

I don't know if your shoulder pain is this shoulder pain. On the one hand, 'shoulder pain' seems suspicious, and also they talk about it not happening right away but instead developing over the first 24 hours. However, when I read about it they refer to the left shoulder not the right (though I don't know if the left is the only possible one), and they don't mention the tingling. So that's why the grain of salt is so very large.

It might be a good idea to ask your doctor or surgeon about it, since if it is this type of shoulder pain they should have heard about it and have treatment ideas--though I guess it depends on how sympathetic they are, since some of the online discussion I've seen is like "wait it out for a couple days", "move around", "lie on the side without the pain and the CO2 will shift", etc., whiiiich sounds like something you super do not need to hear when you're in pain. (Granted, a few reasonable people do mention pain meds. It just seems like some doctors are reasonable about treating pain, and some are way too 'gut it out/pain is imaginary' ridiculous.)

*gentle hugs*

[dorinda]

Oh, P.S.: if it is post-surgical shoulder pain, every source I read says it does go away on its own, as the CO2 is absorbed back into the body over a couple of days.

[gwyn]

Wow, that is really interesting, I never knew anything about that. I'm trying to recall if I had that after my gallbladder surgery--but I was so happy to have that thing gone that I might not have noticed.

This one is weird because it's around behind on my shoulder blade, and on the right side. It's traveling across and down to the arm, rather than over the shoulder proper. I have a feeling it's because of all the lying down--I normally sleep on my side and stomach too, so being on my back for most of a 24 hour period isn't normal for my body. I've tried to put most of my weight on my left side but it's really damn hard, especially since there's a spot on my lower incision, the big one, that feels like something slicing into me all the time if I move a certain way.

This stuff is just so weird--bodies really aren't meant to do all this, you know? We've exceeded our design limitations.

[mackiemesser]

I don't know if it would require too much twisting, but if you can bend your knees a bit, brace your back against a wall and use your left hand to put the yoga ball at the top of your shoulder, you could then stand up and that might roll the ball down into a position where you can use your legs to push back against the wall. Bend and straighten the knees to roll the ball along the problem spot.

I've done this a lot with shoulder issues coz there isn't another way for me to put enough pressure on the muscle otherwise.

[klia]

Ouch, ouch, ouch.

FWIW, if Rindy's info doesn't hold true in your case and the pain isn't gone pretty soon, IMO, it's definitely worth a call to your doc -- hopefully a woman doc who will listen to you and take your pain seriously, instead of just handwaving you away.

I thought it might also be worth asking about a home health aide who could come in and gently massage your shoulder/back/arm while this is happening, since your incision limits your movement.

[kirbyfest]

Definitely talk to your doc, but hopefully this is just a normal post-surgery thing and will work itself out.

Thinking healing thoughts for you.