Flare-up.....

buffycat
buffycat Member Posts: 24
edited 26. Jul 2013, 08:56 in Living with Arthritis archive
hi all...

i've not been on for a while as i've been busy with my two little toddlers. I'm coming to the end of feeding my little one, and as expected, less feeding equals more pain (i have RA).

but the pain in my arm is like nothing i've ever experienced before. It is at the top of my right arm and feels like there is an additional 5 tonne of weight when i try to lift it (i have to use my left arm to lift my right arm now)......so heavy and painful. Getting dressed hasn't been easy for a while but this just takes the biscuit!

seriously though, it doesn't feel like it is on a joint (eg shoulder), more so just my upper arm. I'm currently having pains in all of the expected joints/limbs, but this is one that i've not had before - has anyone else had this?

buffycat
x

Comments

  • bubbadog
    bubbadog Member Posts: 5,544
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Not in my shoulders, I get most of my flare-up's in my legs. The only thing you can do other than ask your G.P for stronger meds is rest and ride it through. Sorry you dealing with this at your busiest time. Especially with kids off school for summer holidays.
  • ELAINE55555
    ELAINE55555 Member Posts: 123
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    HI buffycat,

    I too, get this pain in my upper arm, and like you say, I have to use one arm to lift the other. I feel like wearing a sling sometimes! I feel, with me anyhow, that it is inflammation, maybe in the neck, and the swelling is causing pressure on a nerve. Does it feel like a sort of sciatica pain?
  • buffycat
    buffycat Member Posts: 24
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    i've never suffered with sciatica, though my mum has often described it to me.

    sat at my desk doing vague movements to try and identify where the pain comes from......i think it is at the shoulder now. I can swing arm forward and backward (gently) but not outwards away from me. And there is no chance of putting my arm behind me.

    thank crunchie i have a desk job.......

    as soon as i have stopped feeding my little one, i'll be on the phone to my hospital to get me started on meds again.
  • suzygirl
    suzygirl Member Posts: 2,005
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Could it be bursitis in the shoulder? I had it and the rheumy gave me an injection into the joint. It wasn't so much as painful, more difficult to move the arm as you seem to describe.
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,764
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Oddly enough, I can raise both arms higher if I use the other to lift whichever I'm trying to lift at the time. I remember a physio showing me an interesting trick re arm/shoulder muscles ie if I pressed down very hard, against the resistance on a stick she was holding, I could then raise my arms up higher. It's all to do with muscles. I'd guess that, if your shoulders are bad (as mine were at the time) you're using the wrong muscles to do stuff with so others are giving up the ghost. If it were me I'd be asking for physio.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
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