Attention Of Sqad

[saintpeter48]

I have a trapped nerve in my shoulder, its been about 2 weeks now, it came from nowhere, i'm alright when standing or walking but sitting down is painful and not had much sleep at all, just cannot get comfortable, i am sleeping on the couch propped upright, thats the only way i can get through the night. I haven't been to doctors yet, i'm taking 2 x 30/500mg codamol caplets every 6 hours or so, these were given to me for back pain about a year ago and did the trick then. Is there anything I can do to improve my situation, and advice really appreciated. Thanks.

[sunny-dave]

I'm not a medic - but did have a similar problem earlier this year.

Firstly - see your GP and get a scan organised - unless you know what is wrong it can't be treated.

I actually paid for a private MRI scan of my neck/shoulder - £195 - done the next day (NHS wait was about 8 weeks) - detailed report within three days - worth every penny.

My problem was nerve pain caused by a herniated disc in my neck. The only treatment was pain relief and physio. Again I paid for private physio (a bargain at £38 per hour) to save an eight week NHS wait. The advice from my physio was excellent in both pain avoidance techniques and rehab exercises.

Co-codamol is good - but be very careful - it can be addictive and can cause serious intestinal throughput problems - more than a few days is too long.

[Sqad]

Sorry to hear that saintpeter.............the diagnosis has been made by a medical practitioner i presume?

If that regime of 30/500mg *2 codamol is relieving your pain, then yes, i would take Ibuprofen 400mgms as well. You can take them at the same time, but i would take them every 6 hours alternating with the codamol.

Codamol......3 hours later Ibuprofen......3 hours later Codamol....3 hours later Ibuprofen........you have got the picture.

Best of luck.

[Sqad]

I have re-read your OP and have given it more thought.

You seem to be coping during the day but you struggle with the pain at night.
Why not continue with the codamol during the day and use the combination codamol/ibuprofen combination throughout the night, starting perhaps at 10 p.m.

The choice is yours.

[anneasquith]

saintp. how do you know you have '' a trapped nerve'' if not been diagnosed by a medical practioner ?

[saintpeter48]

anneasquith, at first I thought i'd pulled a muscle and that it would clear itself in a few days, but after a week or so the pain, discomfort, was getting a little worse, then started getting numbness, tingling in the left arm/hand, so I looked it up online (I know you all say do NOT diagnose online), I just typed in, trapped nerve in shoulder shoulder and it came up with my symptoms. I have had sciatica a few times over the years along with usual pulls, aches and pains, this is not too bad, just bloody uncomfortable at night, even now while sitting and writing this its painful. I have decided to make an appointment with my GP, just didn't want to waste their time, thats all. Thanks everyone.

[anneasquith]

seeing your gp is not wasting their time, that's their job. good luck