This Is MS Multiple Sclerosis Community: Knowledge & Support

i have thought a lot about a situation that happened to me when i was probably 24 (32 now). my then-boyfriend and i had made a bed out of the couch cushions on the floor to watch a movie and then fell alseep. i woke up hours later inexplicably in pain. it was sharp and ran down the length of my scapula. it burned and hurt every time i tried to move. i needed help to turn over and sit up.

this pain persisted for about a month. it was less intense, but constant. it felt like there were rocks underneath my shoulder blade and every time i moved it hurt! i took lots of prescription strength ibuprofen and had a daily supply of icy hot patches which at least distracted me from the pain...until they wore off. i didn't have insurance at the time so i never saw a doctor for it.

the pain would come back periodically over the years and even now i still get it, although since then i have been in a car accident and a bike accident which both caused injuries to my right shoulder complex not to mention a bulging disc AND cervical lesions so its hard to say what is causing the pain at this point. at the time of diagnosis, i found out that i have 5 cervical lesions. i also know that referred cervical pain is often felt in the scapular region.

i have thought about this for a long time and i just can't think of any other reason why i would have woken in such bad pain with no obvious cause. i know that there is no way to say for sure--diagnosis cannot happen retroactively, but does this sound similar to anyone else's experience with MS hug or cervical lesion symptoms?

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Dx: 9/8/11 RRMS
Gluten and dairy free diet
copaxone x3: let's hope the third time is the charm!
http://mylaceybrain.wordpress.com

No, it doesn't sound anything like my MS hug, cervical lesions or anything MS related I have experienced so far. When I flare, I get neck down wackiness so you'd think something similar would happen in that region if it were MS related. Who knows though?

It does sound a lot like muscle spasm. I experienced this with a degenerated lumbar disc when I was 25. I have no idea what brought the spasms about but it was horrible. I could barely move and sometimes resorted to crawling around the house because I couldn't get upright. Thank goodness for chiropractors!

The MS Hug can cause many types of pain. Your shoulder/scapula pain sounds similar to one of my ribcage attacks (MS Hug). I woke up one morning screaming in agony truly believing ribs had broken during my sleep with one end of one rib poking through my breast and the other end of another rib poking through my scapula. After several weeks, the attack remitted about 50%. If you haven't yet had a thoracic MRI, I suggest you ask for one which might show correlating lesions.

To help with this pain, I get Lidocaine intercostal muscle (the muscles between the ribs) trigger point injections all over my scapula area and other areas which last for four to six weeks. I'll be trying Botox in the injections next month to see if it works better and longer than the Lidocaine injections. My MS specialist gives me the injections, but many pain management doctors will also give them.

Another idea is to use prescription Lidoderm 5% pain patches as needed during flares--trust me, they DO help. They saved me during the worst of my MS Hug attacks and flares. Up to three patches can be worn at one time, and doctors easily prescribe them because the medication does not go through the blood stream so does not cause stomach, liver, nor kidney damage; is not addictive; and has virtually no side effects nor negative interactions with other meds. Ask your primary doc to prescribe them; you may not even need to see your doctor if he or she will call in the prescription directly to your pharmacy.

Best of luck.

happypoet i do have a thoracic lesion as well but it is too low to cause my pain. it is at the conus medullaris, which is where the spinal cord terminates into the cauda equina at the T12-L1 level. thanks for responding i will look into the lidocaine patches. the last couple of days i have had more of this scapular pain and its getting really annoying!

_________________
Dx: 9/8/11 RRMS
Gluten and dairy free diet
copaxone x3: let's hope the third time is the charm!
http://mylaceybrain.wordpress.com

Keep in mind that lesions can be too small to show up on MRI. My pain is accompanied with extreme tightness--spasms that never release which can make breathing difficult and painful (stretching helps, when tolerable). Whatever the cause of your scapular pain, I hope the pain patches help. If the patches don't help, the trigger point injections aren't painful--just a very light pin prick. I forgot to mention that when I get injections in my scapular area, my doctor has me move my arm around which moves the scapula around so he can better reach the intercostal muscles under the scapula; he also reaches them from the side.

Last night I got really fed up with the pain after stretching on a foam roller twice with relief for about 30 mins each time, I broke out the flexeril and 800 mg ibuprofen. I feel much better today! Haha. I will keep the trigger point injections and patches in mind.

_________________
Dx: 9/8/11 RRMS
Gluten and dairy free diet
copaxone x3: let's hope the third time is the charm!
http://mylaceybrain.wordpress.com