Forearm pain after stroke

In my experience, and after talking with other stroke patients, just about anything can happen.

I still have a lot of pain, even six *years* after my stroke.

It takes a lot of patience and persistence to recover from a stroke

In addition to the two 100mg Gabapentin before bed, I also take 750mg Methocarbamol muscle relaxer, 2 Tylenol, 500mg magnesium and 8 mg Melatonin (upping to 10mg tonight).
Any suggestions what prescription(s) to request from doctor so I can get a good pain-free night's sleep?

Hi, @grrranny, glad to see you have connected with @scottrl.

Tagging a few other Mayo Clinic Connect members who may be familiar with arm pain or something similar after a stroke. Hoping they can provide support and share what may have helped them or a loved one @wildeharpe @pmorgigno @rnlorena @djs2023. @bestofthebest @san72 @irishnanny3 also may have some thoughts for you.

Hello,

My pain started 1 month after my stroke. Is your discomfort: burning-hot cold, sensitive to touch/any pressure on skin and feels like your arm is being electrocuted?

Feels like arm is being squeezed by way-too tight blood pressure cuff.
Hand hurts, too. Every night since stroke 6 weeks ago.

I am a licensed Massage Therapist [32 years], and I have treated several stroke patients who were continuing to experience pain following a stroke. Active Stretching helped them relieve and/or eliminate the pain. The pain you are feeling MIGHT be from muscle spasms. If so, gentle ACTIVE STRETCHING might ease the discomfort.
If you are being muscle tested and are told your muscles are weak and must be strengthened, doing strengthening exercises could be reinforcing muscle spasms and causing pain. In this case, the muscles must be relaxed, not strengthened.
I hope this is helpful.
PS: I am a stroke survivor myself. 3 TIAs. Self-massage helped me recover quickly.

G, (too many r's and n's and don't want to call you "granny")
Pain if it occurs can start at 4 weeks and later after a stroke. You really don't know if it's this or that issue. So YOU are the best to observe, make note and try the methods your friends mention in this post. But don't let the docs label you as non-compliant because you ain't getting better. If pain persists, grows in intensity or complexity you may be one of the few small percentage of patients that suffers from a complex pain syndrome.
My story may not be yours but I want to mention it because you may as I have found out: If docs can't throw a drug or two or three at you to "fix" the problem they back away and blame the patient.
Starting at 4 weeks post stroke my pain, burning flesh, hot/cold spasms, electrocution like waves started. The docs tried: seizure meds, epilepsy meds, anti depressants and of course their favorite- mega doses of gabapentin.
All failed to help and the side effects of the meds only made the situation worse.
I had an Ischemic stroke and I guess I was the unlucky small percentage of people labeled as suffering from Thalamic Pain Syndrome- formerly called Dejerine–Roussy Syndrome. I am not saying you have this and also I don't want to alarm or depress you about your condition. I only mention it because all I have learned about my condition is 100% self taught. The docs only offer meds or surgery - no counsel.
I had tried stretching as mention by Barry - try it but be your best doc yourself. For me it only made things worse.
Try everything within reason and observe your reaction. With me I've recovered some use of right side. That's motor skills recovery. The funny thing is the brain doesn't know what to do with sensory ( that part didn't fix itself). So any movement - motor skills - aggravates an already hyper sensitive pain response and sends the 24/7 pain of 9 up over a 10+. I had off label DBS surgery 1.5 years after stroke - hoping for some relief-none found. Now the surgeon wants to do off-label RNS surgery this fall. I'm his research patient !
I share all this not to alarm you but to offer an ear should this be your future. I hope it is not. I hope you recover and the pain lessons so you can enjoy life.
Best wishes as you learn more and don't stop fighting

Thanks. How can I learn self-massage for my hand and arm?

Hello,
I'm not sure who I'm responding to but i was asked what the pain is like.
I have 24/7 burning thru the face (like the face is melting), continued burning with waves of electrocution like spasms thru shoulder, arm and fingers. A glove is worn because the pain in the fingers is like frostbite pain. I'm sensitive to any air movement and any temp. change on the right side. My right side cannot be touched because of sensitivity. There's more but that's enough said. Off-label DBS surgery failed to help. Off-label RNS surgery planned for fall. No meds, no PT has helped.