elbow pain

[2X'sNana]

Hello everyone!

I have been having pain in my elbow for about 5 months now. Unlike my other joint pains that move around and come and go, this pain is not going away and is getting worse. Is this something normal with lupus or could something else be wrong with it? I did not do anything to hurt it. It is my left elbow and I am right handed. Sometimes it hurts so bad and I can't lift even a small plate or cup. If it continues to get worse, what would they do for it? Any ideas? Thanks for your opinions.

Janice

[helloos]

Hi janice I get this off and on and for me someone here said what it was....brain fog......but it was the nerve from the elbow to the hand and my two fingers would go numb as well. I think that you should have it checked out anyway since it has been so long. Mine would come in spurts. Also with Lupus that is a joint that can become inflamed and hurt too.

what you describe when you pick something up it kills,that is what I did get....but not using it as much helped alot. I will try to see what it was I had.

Ok looked it up....ulnar nerve....anyway you can read about that and see if it is what you describe.

[DressageRider]

I have that - my GP has said it is "Tennis Elbow". The amount of pain comes and goes - sometimes I can't even hold a pen to write my name (I'm left handed and it is my left elbow that is involved). So far they have just told me to "live with it" - but if it gets too bad I can have the joint injected with cortisone. This isn't a perminate fix, but sometimes it will kill the inflamation enough that it will finally heal.

I didn't do anything to start mine - the GP thought it was brought on by my lupus. I haven't been to my Rheumy since it started - but it is the top of my list to ask her about when I see her in March.

Janet

[Maia]

After 5 months it's probably worth a trip to your doctor, and maybe an orthopedist as well. I had elbow pain several years ago for no apparent reason. My pain would radiate up from my elbow almost to my shoulder, and down my arm causing lack of sensation in my pinky finger and the finger next to it. In my case, it lasted well over a year and I was followed by an orthopedic surgeon who finally decided that a brace and the lessor measures were not working in my case since I was actually losing muscle mass **visibly** in my hand. I was also losing the ability to move fingers and grab things with my thumb.

Eventually I had to have the other elbow done as well. Next to no problems since the surgery so it was a raging success. Your symptoms might be due to some other problem as well, there are many possibilities. It is definitely interesting that it is occurring in your non-dominant hand. Good luck.

[LupusCat50]

I've had the surgery also. It's called "cubital tunnel". It's the same nerve, the ulnar nerve, that is affected in "carpal tunnel syndrome" except the nerve is entrapped in the elbow. You know that spot on your elbow that you hit and your hand goes instantly numb? You call it "hitting your crazy bone". I had to have an orthopod make an incision along the inside of my elbow, move the nerve from between the bones and enbed it in a muscle to keep it from becoming entrapped again.

My orthopod told me that if I did not have it done, I'd already waited and suffered about 6 years, that I would lose the use of my hand. I put up with the pain and the numbness, but what finally sent me to the doc is I started dropping things. I't my right elbow and I'm right handed. Now I waited too long and a lot of the nerve was permanently damaged; however, I stopped future damage and have maintained a limited use of this hand. I have to use large, fat pens to write, a fat battery powered toothbrush because I have no strength in this hand to close and control a regular toothbrush.

My advise go see an orthopod as soon as you can. Good luck, this is truly a painful condition and man, we Lupies really need more pain (LOL).

[Jmaca]

Hi Janice, I have that too in both elbows, but it's far worse in my left elbow. Like you, I am right-handed. When it first started a couple years ago, it was exactly as you describe. I couldn't lift or hold anything in that hand because the elbow pain was so severe.

After 4 months, I saw an orthopedist. He called it tennis elbow, and gave me a cortisone shot. That worked well for 4 months, but it started back again, this time in both elbows. I got a second cortisone shot in my left elbow. Interestingly, both elbows calmed down. I did well for almost a year before it recently started up again.

But in order to "do well", I have had to eliminate lots of what I would normally do with my arms. I can't type for more than a few minutes, for instance. No mildly repetitious work involving the arms at all. That keeps it calmed down enough.

I think it's come back because I attempted to do a little knitting recently.

My orthopedist mentioned surgery but I'm trying to avoid it. Every time I have anything little done to my body, I end up in a flare. So unless it's truly serious, I tend to avoid surgery.

Also, I got this exact same sort of thing in both my wrists 25 years ago. It lasted for a few years before calming down. This happens to me often enough with joints in my body that I have a tendency to wait it out.

[2X'sNana]

Thank you everyone for your replies.

I go to my rheumy in March and it is going to be on the top of my list of things to talk to him about. I don't have the pain move up or down my arm but it is just in my elbow joint. Fortunately my wrist and hand isn't bothered by it. I just get the normal joint pains in my fingers that come and go. Hummm who knows what it can be like many of you have said, it can be so many things. With this disease who knows? I will let you all know when I find out what is going on. Thank you for all your replies! :)

Janice

[peonyprincess]

OUCH!!!

I get horrible elbow pain as well. Not sure why, although I know my rheumy has explained it many times....LOL. ANyway, I get my elbows injected every 3 months and they feel SOOO MUCHHHH better!!!!!



Nancy

[lin]

Jancie , do you put hot or cold on it to help?, for me it was tennis elbow, and yes it would effect your wrist hand to, i use to drop things ,couldnt do much cos of the pain, had injections but didnt work, then had a operation that did.
that was some yrs ago, i hope you get some relife from this, as pain is pain, and its not nice to have,

all the best Lin xx