Arm pain

Arm pain

by Gemita - 2022-12-23 08:18:36

Dear Dianna, I am so sorry you are still having a painful left arm.  You seem to have had a number of interventions since your first pacemaker which required two revisions and now recently a new pacemaker with defibrillator too.  You are also battling heart failure symptoms which won’t be helping.

It is hard to know what is causing your pain and how long this will continue.  What is clear is that you do need effective pain relief or other treatments to try to break this vicious cycle of never ending pain.  

As a matter of fact I had a lot of pain following my pacemaker implant in 2018 (in my left upper arm, armpit and across my collarbone), so did my husband after his implant, but we both had implant complications, so our pain lasted longer than is usual.  We still get intermittent nerve pain after all this time, especially my husband who had a bleed during surgery.

I expect your doctors have thoroughly checked for any partial blockages of a vein as a cause for your continuing pain or looked for other possible causes?  Pain following implant, especially an ICD can be considerable for some patients.  If your pain hasn’t been thoroughly investigated, I would respectfully ask for this to be done and for a referral to see a Pain Consultant?  Is your left arm swollen or does it show signs of any discoloration?  If so this could indicate a blockage somewhere.

I hope for the very best for you Dianna and please keep up the pressure until you feel more comfortable.  It will get better with the right care

✋🏼 raising my hand

by Lavender - 2022-12-23 12:27:11

Yes count me in on left arm pain since my implant. 🤨I'm almost two years in since I received the pacemaker. I've complained to the cardiologist and dr but no one's concerned. 🙃I don't take meds except Tylenol as needed due to so many reactions to meds. 
 

My go-to solutions to deal with this pain in my bicep and triceps is:

-heating pad alternating with:

-ice pack (20 minutes each with a 20 minute break in between)

-therapeutic massage twice a month with a licensed masseuse 

I recently also purchased a copper arm sleeve type thing but haven't used it because it's manageable thus far. 
I am careful not to hold anything too long in that hand like a cell phone because that aggravates it. I use my phone on speakerphone and lay it down. 
 

I think that since muscles and nerves were cut in there...it's something with which I have to live.  I also truly wonder if during surgery my arm was pulled into a weird position and restrained improperly. My armpit sometimes feels tight and strained too. The masseuse loosens it all up. Seems like an extravagant expense to see her twice monthly but I buy the package deals. It's less than most people pay for cable or electricity. 
Keeps me from whining too much. 
 

Left Arm/ Shoulder Pain

by Ported - 2023-06-08 05:27:10

Since my first icd implant in 2013 I've had chronic shoulder pain.

I tried non pharmaceutical methods of alleviating the pain. Yoga, massage, hot/ cold compresses and then some herbal remedies. None of them worked.

Hydromorphone has been the only thing that dulls the pain enough allowing me to function and have some quality of life.

Good luck finding relief, no matter what type. Chronic pain is life draining.