Parsonage Turner syndrome / brachial neuritis recovery series - EP2: Road to STRENGTH

[@jessietostenrude3445]

Hope all is still going well! Last beginning of august I started having a stiff neck which I get from time to time, Within days it morphed into something else entirely , the pain from my shoulder down to my hand was excruciating, indescribable pain. Since it started in my neck , I became obsessed with the thought that it was a herniated disc in my neck,...my primary care doc told me that was very unlikely,...long story short my level 10 pain lasted about 3 weeks and was most unbearable at night, so I was unable to sleep, ...also my inside index and thumb sensation changed... Once the pain went away, my chest flattened and looked like part of my tricep was missing,...most health care at the time was too damm hard to get appointments,...by the time I got a call back from a neurologist was bout 5 months later, by then most of my pushing power was beginning to return.. It's been about 8 months now, strength has been returning still have some numbness in index and thumb but thankfully no pain....my primary care doc believed it was parsonage turner syndrome,...all the symptoms are there Let's hope it doesnt come back...because the pain from this is enough to cause lifelong p.t.s.d and fear of it returning,..

[@marcelfr90]

Salut, Kevin! Parsonage-Turner is a syndrome, which means everybody suffers differently. I had a flu shot on my left arm, in late October last year. Ten days later I had moderate discomfort on the same arm and ... Bam, excruciating pain on my left arm by late November. The acute phase lasted about two weeks and had muscle weakness and residual finger numbness for a couple of months afterwards. I suffered a second episode in July, 2020 and I'm now on my third episode. Fortunately, I have stocks of Arcoxia and cortisole and the recurrent episodes turn a lot milder. The second episode did not cause any muscle weakness at all. We shall see for this, third one.

[@kevin_mahjoubi]

Damn man, it sucks to hear what you're going through. I wish you all the best and hope that it will be the last episode that you have to experience. Do you by any chance have a genetic factor that could be the cause of multiple attacks? I wish you a good recovery

[@marcelfr90]

@@kevin_mahjoubi It doesn't make any difference treatment-wise if it's idiopathic or hereditary. Besides, the first episode, even though it was unacceptably painful, didn't affect my muscles majorly. I had almost normal muscle strength by the sixth month post-occurence. If my arm was crippled, I'd be with a riffle ready to kill the mtherfcker who made that flu vaccine. The thing with the recurrence is that you fear it might be worse. You get used to the pain. The fear of losing your arm is horrendous, though.

[@stephenmarnell5673]

I've had mild pain in my shoulder blade 3 months later, in similar area to my first onset. I'm hoping it doesn't flare up again and affect my strength again.

[@trevorcarl7]

Dealing with the same issue. Symptoms started right after my COVID vaccination PFizer

[@apexframework]

Vaccinations are a common cause of pts. Sorry to hear about it... You'll have to wait it out. Depending on the serverity of your case you can expect a recovery period of about 1.5 to 3 years. Good luck my friend

[@stephenmarnell5673]

Exactly the same symptoms myself which started late October 2020. Even the loss of sensation inmfore finger and thumb finger tips. Also had muscle twitches from my lat, delt, pec and whole arm. 3 months I am now back to approx 80% strength but not pushing exercise too much. Ive had nerve conduction testing about 3 weeks ago but doctor said nothing really to note in results. No diagnosis. Waiting for an MRI to check C7 vertebrae but I suspect PTS so I think MRI will be clear too. Hope you keep recovering.

[@jimbodivots]

Hey mate. Suffering from the same condition, wanted to check on how is ur progress going? Any tips on dealing with this and treatment?

[@kevin_mahjoubi]

Progress is slow... I try to keep the mudcle fibers that do work strong by doing light dumbbell exercises with a weight I can handle and just try to keep a full range of movement. I don't think we can do more than that and we can just wait till it heals itself. Wish you all the best and a full recovery