Arm numbness w/ neck injuries in a accident

[mz ldh]

Wow, reading your story brings back a lot of memories for me. My dad was hit from behind in a car accident in 1997. He was sitting still and got hit a 60mph. He went to the ER, because he was in pain. They gave him meds and sent him home. Over the next five yrs, he fought with workman's comp, because his accident was work related too. He also sued his employer. Due to his level of pain from the DD and his also had numbness in his left hand (his was right handed too), he file for disablity. It took three years from his accident to finally get approved for disablity. In that time his lost everything he owned. After he was approved they did give him some back pay and he was able to try to start over again. During this whole process he was going to a pain clinic. Our family was greatly concerned about his treatment with them, because they seemed more interested in writing prescriptions than treating his actual problems. He finally saw a wonderful neuro who suggested fusion surgery. He had that done in late 2000. The surgery helped, but after a while he developed scar tissue which pinched the nerves going to his arm even more. The next part of my story really doesn't apply to you, but I think you need to be aware how WRONG workman's comp can be. My dad developed cancer in January 2002. He needed to go thru radiation and chemo to possibly be cured, but his pain was so out of control at the time he couldn't stand to lay flat on the radiation table. His doctor's with workman's comp tried to get his approved for a perm pain pump. After many denials, they finally agreed to one the was temp, but was suppose to help. This was 6 months after being told he had cancer. By this time, we had made the decision as a family to not fight anymore. He was put on hospice care. When he died in November of 2002, he had an IV, oral meds, and a pain patch all for pain. And believe it or not he could still drive himself around. Albeit not a good idea, but he did. I feel like you need to know our story, because you need to know to fight and fighting. Don't settle anything until you know how much damage you really have. My dad settled with his former employer for only a yrs wages. That wasn't near enough to pay for everything we went thru. I wish you the best of luck and you are in my prayers....

[Unregistered]

It's been several years and I am still not correctly diagnosed. Left my occupation of 20 years in 2005 due to neck pain, arm and hand numbness, arm pain, shoulder pain, etc. Diagnosed first with TOS, then with Carpal tunnel bilateral, then told not my neck (cervical disc herniation C4/5 and bulge C 5/6, degenerative disc disease since 1992) that are causing arm and hand symptoms. Have carpal tunnel surgery left hand but did nothing to alleviate symptoms so back to the drawing board. Left arm got so painful with nerve pain and numbness could not use it much at all for over a week so went to another neurosurgeon for another opinion. This doctors says yes it is my neck causing symptoms. So far 4 different neurologists and 3 different neurosurgeons seen and all gave me different opinions!!! Don't know what to do now. You mentioned a website www.neurotalk..... Tried to connect to this site but could not connect to their server. Could you let me know if the address in your reply on 9/22 is still correct? I even re-typed it but still nothing.
Thanks for your help.
Christina

[accident-law]

Most of the auto accident victims can experience pain even after 1-2 years of being injured in an accident. You should consult a specialist to see if you suffered any brain injuries which might be resulting in pain. You should speak with an auto accident attorney

[jerrysmithly]

You need a whiplash treatment. Sometimes a wrong diagnosis can lead you further complication.

[rockfish]

Spinal stenosis can cause your symptoms. The car wreck probably caused inflamation and thus it has become symptomatic. Sometimes this condition has few symptoms, but it can otherwise produce a huge range of problems, especially if you aggravate your spine in an accident. Pain, numbness, & tingling in the arms or hands are some of the symptoms that suggest nerve root compression. Severe cervical spinal stenosis can involve both nerve and spinal cord compression and can cause problems with arms and legs or your whole body. I have spine problems from C2 to tailbone and have had two surgeries for spinal stenosis. I've had LOTSA symptoms. Too many to list, & many that doctors aren't familiar with. I suggest u consult a neurologist, orthopedist, or neurosurgeon for a second opinion but try non-surgical treatment such as pain mgt. Degenerative disc disease is common from aging, but spinal stenosis is unfortunately a more severe complication of DDD that can require surgery, esp when it's in the neck & severely compresses ur spinal cord like mine did. I've had cervical & lumbar surgeries & tho it's scarier, the neck surgery was far easier & more successful than the lumbar surgery.

I was in a rearend collision in Dec 06. Initially diagnosed with with chronic whiplash syndrome. A few weeks after the accident I had severe pain, headaches, could NOT turn my head left to right nor put my chin to my chest. At which time I had an MRI and CAT scan done. The results were that I have moderatly severe disc degeneration in C4-C5 Left being greater than right, mild spinal stenosis, and bone spurs. It is May now and I still have pain shooting, sharp, numbness down my left arm periodically. This afternoon my doctor did an EMG on my left arm only and told me that the numbness is due to Carpel Tunnel Syndrome. BTW I'm right handed?!?!? He ONLY tested my arm and did not even go near my neck with the needles. I don't have even one symptom of Carpel Tunnel Syndrome and the pain is NOT in my wrists or hands. It's in my upper arm that ends with tingling in my pinkie, forfinger, and occasionally my thumb. My neck is always sore also. I'm more upset than ever. None of this makes sense at all to me....If it's any relevance at all this is a work related auto accident so I'm have to deal with Alaska Workers Comp. Please oh please can someone help me with this misdiagnosis....

Thank you