Age: 64.0
Sex: M
Vaccine: UNK
Symptoms: Insomnia, Joint injection, Joint swelling, Loss of personal independence in daily activities, Mobility decreased
Clinical narrative: Harsh pain on injection. That night it felt like I got slugged in the arm. By morning my arm was stiff and swollen. I was having pretty intense nerve pain that was getting worse instead of resolving.  By nightfall my elbow was excruciating and badly swollen. I called my doctor the next morning. He prescribed steroids. A six day treatment. And referred me to orthopedics. The steroids helped with the swelling but I was in intense pain. And I'm left handed. So I could not do simple tasks like eat. Wash my face or hair. Dress myself. I had to relearn to to everything with my right hand. And I tried to keep my left arm quiet to avoid the pain.  Ortho sent me to physical therapy where I had my arm pulled on and twisted for several weeks. It was excruciating but I did regain significant mobility and eventually the pain was becoming manageable. I just didn't move my arm in ways that caused me pain. After the initial round of physical therapy I went back to Ortho. I was still having significant pain in my shoulder and intermittent nerve pain if I moved my arm in twisting motions like reaching to pull out my wallet...or turning off the water in the shower. And I couldn't lift anything heavier than a coffee cup. I couldn't swing a golf club or play my guitar. Ortho doctor gave me a shot in my shoulder. It helped. For a few weeks. I hadn't slept through the night since I got the shot. I was getting a little desperate. Depressed even. Ortho sent me to nuerology. The doctor there was going to do an emg test but couldn't get his machine to work. So my ortho sent me to another doctor to do it. Dr. By now there was a significant amount of atrophy. Dr did a physical examination and ran me through a few simple physical challenges and said he didn't think an emg test would reveal anything he didn't already know by examining me. He said I had 'frozen shoulder' combined with Parsonage Turner. He suggested the key to my recovery was more physical therapy. Which I did. Several more weeks. In the end I had shown some progress but still could not do everyday tasks like swing a club or play my guitar. My are was just this weak, atrophied, throbbing mess if I tried to do anything that required strength and mobility. But I could at least eat and wash my hair. Dress myself. My primary care physician said I had a brachial plexus injury and sent me to see Dr. Another neurologist. He was very good. And smart. He agreed with Dr that an emg test would tell him anything he did already know by examining me and running me through a few physical challenges. I had a shoulder injury (SIRVA) combined with Parsonage Turner. He said the key to resolving the Parsonage Turner was to free up the shoulder so he's sending me back to physical therapy. He said I still have a chance to regain the strength in my left arm but it could take months...if not a couple of years. And there is a chance I will never regain full use and may have to settle for small gains. And it may come back in the future. He prescribed Gabapentin so I could sleep at night without the throbbing nerve pain. And that's where I'm at as of May 9, 2020.