Nerve injury caused by an injection isn't a common thing except on places like this site. Millions upon millions of injections are given every month in the USA alone without any significant problem. If the health care professional uses the proper caution and medical protocol, shots are a very safe way to be treated. There are times, however, when people find themselves in that rare position of having been improperly injected and very much injured by the injection. My wife is one of those, which makes her one of you. Her injection was in Feb 2010. You are part of hundreds of people (out of the many millions) who are going through hell.
You've tried going from physician to physican and you're still struggling with the nightmare. We know all too well what kind of frustration can be had at the hands of well meaning professional medical people who just haven't seen enough of this to quite know what to do. I have done many weeks of research trying to find an answer. We have even had a neurologist from Vanderbilt Hospital tell my wife there is nothing wrong, EXCEPT....what's going on in her head. He claimed she may have been abused sexually as a child and the pain in her arm is a manisfestion of that abuse!!!
This actually happen last week (Oct 2010). We've all heard some pretty frustrating things that aren't anywhere near what's going on in your arms. No, my wife has never been abused in any way. Dr. (name removed) at Vanderbilt is the neurologist who suggested sexual abuse as the possible cause. Dr. (name removed) has been crossed off our list of "experts" and added to our list of unfortunate experiences. I've done a lot of looking around and talking to any medical professional I come into contact with and a few rays of hope are starting to shine through. Below is some information I picked up from reading about a Dr. Roger A Meyers MD, DDS, FACS. He's located in Atlanta and he is one a very few medical professionals that not only knows about injection caused nerve damage but he is a microneurosurgery expert who repairs them!
Below is some knowledge I've gleaned from information on his site:
Injuries to sensory nerves which supply the feeling in your arm can occur during the administration of injections such as flu, B-12 or other needle stick procedures. Injections of local anesthetics (such as "Novocaine") may also result in nerve injury. Nerve injuries are an inherent risk of any injection,surgical or dental procedure and may occur despite the best of care provided. This may remain permanently in 0.1 to 1.0% of such patients, if left untreated.
The patient with a nerve injury may experience a variety of sensations, most of them unpleasant. Numbness, cronic pain, tingling, burning, crawling sensations, electric shocks, or hypersensitivity of the affected area may be the result of a nerve injury. These sensations may interfere with normal arm movement activity like dressing, driving or typing, etc and they are distressing to the patient. Such symptoms, if persistent beyond one month following the injection, may indicate a nerve injury that will not resolve on its own without surgical intervention or other treatment, and should be evaluated further.
The development of MICROSURGERY following the introduction of the surgical microscope, magnifying loupes and specialized instruments has made possible the replantation of amputated parts (such as fingers, toes, ears, etc.), surgery on small blood vessels in the brain, and the repair of motor and sensory nerve injuries previously thought to be impossible. Your nerve injury may be able to be repaired by the techniques of MICRONEUROSURGERY. This type of operation is major surgery requiring general anesthesia in the operating room and a short stay in the hospital, often of less than 24 hours, for recovery and postoperative nursing care. Microneurosurgery is technically difficult, and the operation may be several hours in length. The nerve to be repaired and the stitches used are often much smaller than can be visualized with the unaided eye.
Nerve Injuries
Several types of nerve injury can occur. These include:
COMPRESSION of the nerve by injection of material into the nerve or tissure swelling outside the nerve.
STRETCHING from manipulation during surgery or traumatic injury.
Injection caused partial or complete SEVERANCE, causing interruption or discontinuity of the nerve, or the development of a neuroma (a disorganized mass of nerve tissue which can be quite painful).
BURNS from caustic substances such as some medications.
Operations
Depending on the type of injury found at surgery, one or more of the following operations can be done:
DECOMPRESSION, in which the nerve is relieved of any tissue or material pressing upon it.
NEUROLYSIS, or removal of internal scarring inside the nerve.
REMOVAL of a neuroma or other abnormal nerve tissue.
SUTURING, in which the two severed ends of the nerve are brought together and held in place with delicate stitches.
NERVE GRAFTING, in which a lost portion of nerve is replaced by a graft taken from another sensory nerve in the neck or posterior portion of the lower leg.
Recovery
The outcome of nerve surgery is not totally predictable. However, factors which maximize the chance of partial or complete recovery of normal sensation include:
The time lapse between the injury and its surgical repair - the sooner the repair is done, the better. The best prognosis occurs when the nerve injuries are repaired within SIX MONTHS. However, later repair might be successful, if the nerve tissue beyond the area of injury has not undergone irreversible degeneration.
The skill of the surgeon. MICRONEUROSURGERY is a technically demanding skill. Training at specialized courses is a requirement. Nerve operations must be done sufficiently frequently to maintain skills.
Your surgeon should discuss with you after completion of your examination, the type of nerve injury you have, the possible operation or other methods of treatment to correct it, and the outlook for improvement of sensation. The costs of surgery and hospitalization are often covered by your medical health care plan. It is recommend that all treatment plans be submitted to your insurance carrier for "pre-determination" of benefits.
Finding a specialist that can diagnose and properly treat you may be difficult. Don't give up. Time is important in the treatment of nerve damage. You aren't crazy, it isn't in your head and waiting for it to go away for too long may very well be a big mistake.
Last but not least. I am far from being any kind of expert in what is going on here. But, I'm giving it my best shot because I want my wife to be delivered out of this horrific situation. I know that not only does the poor individual suffer with on going pain, but their families also suffer. If your loved one is one of the people in pain please try to be patient and understanding if they are on edge. Give them as much slack as you can. They are really going through the wringer.
Comment Reply
Nerve injury caused by an injection isn't a common thing except on places like this site. Millions upon millions of injections are given every month in the USA alone without any significant problem. If the health care professional uses the proper caution and medical protocol, shots are a very safe way to be treated. There are times, however, when people find themselves in that rare position of having been improperly injected and very much injured by the injection. My wife is one of those, which makes her one of you. Her injection was in Feb 2010. You are part of hundreds of people (out of the many millions) who are going through hell.
You've tried going from physician to physican and you're still struggling with the nightmare. We know all too well what kind of frustration can be had at the hands of well meaning professional medical people who just haven't seen enough of this to quite know what to do. I have done many weeks of research trying to find an answer. We have even had a neurologist from Vanderbilt Hospital tell my wife there is nothing wrong, EXCEPT....what's going on in her head. He claimed she may have been abused sexually as a child and the pain in her arm is a manisfestion of that abuse!!!
This actually happen last week (Oct 2010). We've all heard some pretty frustrating things that aren't anywhere near what's going on in your arms. No, my wife has never been abused in any way. Dr. (name removed) at Vanderbilt is the neurologist who suggested sexual abuse as the possible cause. Dr. (name removed) has been crossed off our list of "experts" and added to our list of unfortunate experiences. I've done a lot of looking around and talking to any medical professional I come into contact with and a few rays of hope are starting to shine through. Below is some information I picked up from reading about a Dr. Roger A Meyers MD, DDS, FACS. He's located in Atlanta and he is one a very few medical professionals that not only knows about injection caused nerve damage but he is a microneurosurgery expert who repairs them!
Below is some knowledge I've gleaned from information on his site:
Injuries to sensory nerves which supply the feeling in your arm can occur during the administration of injections such as flu, B-12 or other needle stick procedures. Injections of local anesthetics (such as "Novocaine") may also result in nerve injury. Nerve injuries are an inherent risk of any injection,surgical or dental procedure and may occur despite the best of care provided. This may remain permanently in 0.1 to 1.0% of such patients, if left untreated.
The patient with a nerve injury may experience a variety of sensations, most of them unpleasant. Numbness, cronic pain, tingling, burning, crawling sensations, electric shocks, or hypersensitivity of the affected area may be the result of a nerve injury. These sensations may interfere with normal arm movement activity like dressing, driving or typing, etc and they are distressing to the patient. Such symptoms, if persistent beyond one month following the injection, may indicate a nerve injury that will not resolve on its own without surgical intervention or other treatment, and should be evaluated further.
The development of MICROSURGERY following the introduction of the surgical microscope, magnifying loupes and specialized instruments has made possible the replantation of amputated parts (such as fingers, toes, ears, etc.), surgery on small blood vessels in the brain, and the repair of motor and sensory nerve injuries previously thought to be impossible. Your nerve injury may be able to be repaired by the techniques of MICRONEUROSURGERY. This type of operation is major surgery requiring general anesthesia in the operating room and a short stay in the hospital, often of less than 24 hours, for recovery and postoperative nursing care. Microneurosurgery is technically difficult, and the operation may be several hours in length. The nerve to be repaired and the stitches used are often much smaller than can be visualized with the unaided eye.
Nerve Injuries
Several types of nerve injury can occur. These include:
COMPRESSION of the nerve by injection of material into the nerve or tissure swelling outside the nerve.
STRETCHING from manipulation during surgery or traumatic injury.
Injection caused partial or complete SEVERANCE, causing interruption or discontinuity of the nerve, or the development of a neuroma (a disorganized mass of nerve tissue which can be quite painful).
BURNS from caustic substances such as some medications.
Operations
Depending on the type of injury found at surgery, one or more of the following operations can be done:
DECOMPRESSION, in which the nerve is relieved of any tissue or material pressing upon it.
NEUROLYSIS, or removal of internal scarring inside the nerve.
REMOVAL of a neuroma or other abnormal nerve tissue.
SUTURING, in which the two severed ends of the nerve are brought together and held in place with delicate stitches.
NERVE GRAFTING, in which a lost portion of nerve is replaced by a graft taken from another sensory nerve in the neck or posterior portion of the lower leg.
Recovery
The outcome of nerve surgery is not totally predictable. However, factors which maximize the chance of partial or complete recovery of normal sensation include:
The time lapse between the injury and its surgical repair - the sooner the repair is done, the better. The best prognosis occurs when the nerve injuries are repaired within SIX MONTHS. However, later repair might be successful, if the nerve tissue beyond the area of injury has not undergone irreversible degeneration.
The skill of the surgeon. MICRONEUROSURGERY is a technically demanding skill. Training at specialized courses is a requirement. Nerve operations must be done sufficiently frequently to maintain skills.
Your surgeon should discuss with you after completion of your examination, the type of nerve injury you have, the possible operation or other methods of treatment to correct it, and the outlook for improvement of sensation. The costs of surgery and hospitalization are often covered by your medical health care plan. It is recommend that all treatment plans be submitted to your insurance carrier for "pre-determination" of benefits.
Finding a specialist that can diagnose and properly treat you may be difficult. Don't give up. Time is important in the treatment of nerve damage. You aren't crazy, it isn't in your head and waiting for it to go away for too long may very well be a big mistake.
Last but not least. I am far from being any kind of expert in what is going on here. But, I'm giving it my best shot because I want my wife to be delivered out of this horrific situation. I know that not only does the poor individual suffer with on going pain, but their families also suffer. If your loved one is one of the people in pain please try to be patient and understanding if they are on edge. Give them as much slack as you can. They are really going through the wringer.
Bob Gardner
Hendersonville, Tennessee
(Comments edited by EmpowHER moderator.)
October 11, 2010 - 6:52pmThis Comment
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