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At its worst, the pain was so bad that when I tried to remove my gown over my head I doubled over...unable to the complete the task. I had tingling and numbness in my arm and fingers, and down into my shoulder blade. At times the pain travels down into my pec muscles and into my arm pit. I have never had anything like this from past flu shots other than a little arm soreness that lasted a couple of days. This is different. We believe (at my office) that the shot was a little high and also a bit further towards the back of the shoulder than in past years.
Right now I can apply pressure to the spot where the shot was given and feel a dull pain all the way down into my shoulder muscle and arm. Cannot sleep on my left side and simple things like carrying a purse or pulling the covers up cause intense, shooting pain. Had to get groceries last nite and was able to do it (even though it REALLY hurt) so there doesn't appear to be a lot of weakness right now. The pain seems to be worse while in bed trying to sleep and in the morning. Esp in the morning...
Because of a lowered kidney function my doc has told me to limit NSAID intake. This is bad news since that is the only thing that actually helped the pain. Since I can't afford expensive tests or PT right now (and from reading the blogs they don't really seem to help much in the diagnosis or recovery) I'm gonna give it a little time...unless it gets worse and becomes unbearable again. I plan to keep checking back here and reporting the progress. I DID feel better after reading the posts because I realized this was apparently not just some funky anomaly that only I was experiencing.
I am probably going back in to see my doc to let him know about the result of the steroids (immediate relief) as well as the sudden return of the pain as bad as (or worse) than before when the steriods were stopped. This is very depressing...I try to do what I can to be healthy and I actually wind up causing a problem. I have read that it could be needle placement (i.e. nerve, punctured bursa, muscle hematoma) or a reaction to the vaccine itself (preservatives, etc.). I am a 51 yr old female always received a flu shot never more than soreness for a couple of days. Guess I'm hoping for a miracle...everyone else reporting these symptoms indicates that recovery is VERY slow and takes many months up to a year. However, I have yet to see where someone pinpointed EXACTLY what the problem was...

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.
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...

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.
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 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.
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?
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.
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?
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