Ear, Nose & Throat Community

Personally, I don't feel that it is likely the vaccine causing the problem, but rather the needle itself. Needles are really blindly plunged into your skin, typically in safe areas. However, if you just happened to be anatomically wired to have a nerve in the direct path of this needle, or even a blood vessel that bleeds around the injection site, one can experience nerve damage. Assuming the medical assistant injected you in the correct area with correct technique, this may have been an unpredictable event.

In most cases, this will resolve in time. When? No way to predict duration. Because you did respond to the steroids -- a powerful anti-inflammatory -- your symptoms may be related to the inflammation at the injection site. This is really good news since inflammation DOES resolve (in time).

Time heals, so hopefully this will be the case for you.

UPDATE: Well I went back to the doc Friday afternoon. I told him how the Medrol pak helped and how the pain had returned within 24 hours of the last pill. That the only thing that would touch the pain were NSAIDs. So, since I normally stay away from steriods he said another round of Medrol would be OK. Also he said because the kidney function number he was concerned about was so close to normal and the BUN and Creatine numbers were normal, he was going to put me back on Mobic once I hit the 3-pill day of the Medrol pak. I also shared with him what I have learned from this site and others. So the game plan is to follow Medrol with Mobic and give it a couple more weeks. If the pain is not much improved he will refer me to a shoulder doc for evaluation and possible cortisone injection. Honestly I cannot afford expensive PT right now but HAVE been doing gentle stretches, etc. Knock on wood but I don't seem to have any range of motion issues if I can stand the pain. So, today shoulder is kinda achy but tolerable, today is 3-pill day so I will start the Mobic tonight. I should know by the end of the week if there is any improvement.

Thanks for the update and stay optimistic....the body has a remarkable way of healing itself, given enough time.

UPDATE: I began taking the Mobic (7.5mg daily) when I had was on day 4 of the Medrol dose pak. That was Monday the 11th and I took the last steriod Wednesday the 13th. All was good until Sunday the 17th. I woke up with my arm and shoulder hurting and my fingers tingling/numb. I do not believe I did anything to aggrevate it...guess the steriods lasted a bit longer this time. And now there is a NEW symptom. My shoulder is popping and cracking some. It has NEVER done that before...I don't know if it is a good sign or a bad sign. Very frustrated...the next step is have my GP refer me to a shoulder guy. I cannot afford MRIs and Physical Therapy.
It has now been 5 weeks since the Flu Shot. I found out that the wives of two of our employees are having the same problems (they rec'd the shot the same day I did at the office). The younger one who is in her 30s is doing better but not over it. The one that is around my age 50s is still having trouble like I am. Today is Tuesday the 19th and the pain is less than Sunday. I am taking 15mg daily of Mobic (rather than the prescribed 7.5mg) since Sunday and maybe that is helping a bit. Pain on Sunday was about a 7 or 8. Today maybe 5 or 6 unless I move in one of the many ways that aggrevates the condition.
So not planning on going back to the doc but if the pain continues with no more improvement or gets worse...guess I will. I hate to think that I've got to live with this pain for another 6 mos or a year...

You can't predict that.....

We give over a hundred flu shots in my clinic every day and no one is experiencing any procedural adverse reactions like you are experiencing.

Yes, see the shoulder specialist so you can take your evaluation to a higher level. Sometimes, we do have to make painful economic decisions regarding the level of medical care that we receive, but this does not change the NEED to do these tests or therapeutic measures. What if you broke your leg and had to receive expensive surgery and rehabilitation? You would find a way....since you have no other choice. Make the right decision, please.

UPDATE: OK, since the shoulder started hurting Sunday the 17th (after finishing the Medrol on the 13th) the pain kinda came and went during the following week. However, last Friday Oct 22nd I woke up with my shoulder hurting really bad and locked up/difficult to move. With heat and meds I was able to get dressed and come into work later. So back to the doc that afternoon. He talked with the shoulder doc and they gave me two choices. Either try a longer 10 day round of steriods (5,5,4,4,3,3,2,2,1,1) which isn't great for you but they felt it was a valid choice given my med history, or off to the shoulder doc for steriod shot in the shoulder. My doctor told me it was my choice but he was 51% to 49% for the steriod shot. I guess I just wasn't ready for that so I am on day 7 of the 10 day steriods. I also began taking the Mobic this morning since today is a 2 pill steriod day. Of course the steriods helped within 24 hours but I feel like maybe this course did not have as dramatic a result (maybe my imagination) as the first one.

I guess I keep hoping that during the interim there will be enough improvement that I won't need to have further treatment. Although at this point that hope has been dashed a bit. The shoulder doc told my GP that he had never heard of anyone having this problem but at least did not say it couldn't happen or was in my head. My GP asked that I print him off the "good stuff" that I found in my hours of research for him to look at...which is one of the reasons I really like my GP. He doesn't think he knows everything and actually listens to and responds to patient issues without already having formed an opinion that can't be swayed.

At work last Friday I asked my boss how his wife's shoulder was doing and he told me she had been back to the doctor and was now on a Medrol Pak, that it really helped, etc. you know the story. They both know my experience with the steriods and I need to ask again how she is doing since finishing the Medrol.

I am very apprehensive about what will happen after I finish the steriods. It's almost kinda cruel that you can take something that really gives relief but it's not good for you and it is not a solution. So this is do or die, if the pain does not return (crossed fingers) I'm good. However, if it again becomes such that I cannot perform daily functions without a lot of pain I will get the steriod injection. I have had several fellow sufferers inform me that's what finally gave them relief. One was in pain for 7 months until the shot, says it's been good now 3 months post-shot.

So, guess I'll make it through Halloween semi-pain free depending on my costume choice! I am also taking my first ballroom dance class tonight (I really suck) which I imagine will get my mind off my shoulder for a few days while my feet, knees and hips hurt ha!

Six weeks since the flu shot and still counting....I really appreciate your concern in the previous post and the urging me to seek proper care. And I will but I try to do pragmatically and have been lucky to work with doctors that are not too quick to schedule expensive tests, etc. if they feel they are not likely to help in the diagnosis or treatment. So, I guess time will tell. Thanks for your responses!

I still have one eyebrow raised over the flu shot being the sole underlying cause of your shoulder pain. I appreciate the update on your progress (or lack of) and hope that you find COMPLETE relief soon....regardless of the cause.

Hello,

I found this discussion through a search for 'arm hurting fingers numb after flu shot'. I am having the same symptoms. Four days after receiving the flu shot, I awoke with a stiff neck. The next day, it had moved down into my shoulder, armpit, upper chest. Now, over four weeks later, I am still having pain all down my left arm, index and middle fingers are numb, and my whole arm gets tingly at times. I have been to a general practitioner and she says that maybe a nerve was damaged during the injection and nerves just take time to heal. I'm considering going to a neurologist, but am unsure if they can really do anything to help either.

I just wanted to say that you're not the only one and I am convinced that it is from the flu shot, as I have not done anything else that could have caused an injury.

A shot in the arm is not going to cause pain in your neck...nerves do not go in that direction. It is possible to have a nerve damaged "south" of the shot, but not north. Assuming the injection was given properly -- the right area -- the chance of ANY nerve damage is remote.

Is is possible you have an undiagnosed cervical spine problem that just coincidentally happend to rear its ugly head four days after your flu shot?

I watched the RN give the shot prior to mine and I noticed that she did not pinch up the skin, nor did she pull back on the plunger before giving the injection. I also felt that it was higher and a little more toward the back of the shoulder. I am questioning that the injection was given properly. Maybe I should have said something to her. I thought she should know what she was doing though- ???

As for the cervical spine problem, I have not ever had an issue before, but anything's possible. In fact, when it was just the neck (for one day), I thought I'd just slept wrong or something, but when it moved down into the arm, that's when I thought it was probably the injection.

The neck is a very common spot to feel stress....the trapezius and sternocleidomastoid muscles can tighten up like a vise when you are stressed (or sleep wrong). As far as the nurse giving a shot in the wrong place, I can't really comment, but it is possible.

First of all let me say, I am healthy as can be, played college sports, spent six years in the military, have been poked with injections many times and have never had any issues at all. I am having by far the worst pain in my life in my shoulder. This has been going on for over a month now and am finally going to see my doctor next week. All from the flu shot that was given to me way to high in my arm. I am extremely active and am irritated beyond belief over this. I play over 80 rounds of golf every year and can not swing a golf club at all. I have no idea what to do or what can be wrong. If this is not fixable I am going to be devistated. If this is a situation where a nerve was hit, will it truly be something that can heal itself? I can touch exactly where the injection was given and it is just raw and sore. I do have pain in my shoulder and neck but I am strictly associating that with the fact that I do not move my arm very much and therefore those muscles are just stiff and working differently. Putting my clothes on, moving anything with that arm, is all so painful. What a nightmare!

Yes, an injection...especially one given in the wrong area can cause nerve damage or impingement. Sometimes, there can be some bleeding at the injection site (deep in the tissue) that causes an inflammatory response, so this, too, can cause nerve irritation.

I am absolutely amazed by the number of people who are reporting injection-related problems this year. We give zillions of injections in our office and this rarely happens. Is it that the people giving the shots are poorly trained or inexperienced?

I can tell you from my scenario that it was like an assembly line and all the nurses were chatting and not really paying attention to what they were doing. Blah, blah, blah, with multiple people getting shots at a time. My workplace has the local clinic come in and we have one afternoon to get them. After this experience I am going to highly recommend that this process stops.