Looks like I'm about to become "that guy"

digitalscream

Y'know, the one who used to be in a band. My apologies in advance for the "woe is me" post.

Haven't really talked about it much on here, but for the last few years I've had recurring problems with my right arm - several doctors and a number of X-rays and MRI scans have failed to produce anything useful, but I've finally had a diagnosis of sorts: axillary nerve dysfunction. Near as I can tell, that's doctor-speak for "there's something wrong with one of the nerves in your shoulder, but I'm fucked if I can figure out what".

This year, I've only managed to get through rehearsals and gigs with copious amounts of co-codamol, which utterly ruins my playing, and that can't carry on; apart from anything, long-term use of opiate-based painkillers is not a road I want to go down. There are days when I can barely even pick up the guitar.

Going for one last MRI scan later in the month, and if that doesn't show anything up then it looks like it's curtains for me playing live. The only option after that is exploratory surgery, which a) is unlikely to find anything useful, and b) carries its own risk of making things significantly worse. I can't take that risk because it could make it near-impossible to do my job, and I'd rather like to continue earning money.

So...I've had 30 years of playing guitar live, and it looks like it's about to come to an end. I've got an idea for what I want to do next, musically-speaking, but still...I can't help feeling a bit down about the whole thing.

monquixote

Aw, shit Lee that sucks

Hope the docs find a way to sort you out, someone of your ability needs to be out sharing it with the world.

John_P

Really sorry to hear that!     You're a great player and very passionate about music.    I hope they find a way to make it right!

digitalscream

Thanks, guys

I won't stop playing guitar...the idea behind giving up the live stuff is that it'd take away most of the repetitive strain, which should provide enough rest that I can function reasonably well. As always, the doc's advice has been "rest it", which is probably the least helpful advice ever.

At the moment, the main symptoms of it are extreme weakness in my right shoulder and while I'm playing I get this sudden jolt from the shoulder down to my thumb which feels akin to a massive electric shock, followed by numbness and then pain. It's happened quite a few times while I'm on stage and it completely throws me because it's just not something you can play through. Once, it was so bad that I almost fell over with the shock of it.

DrJazzTap

Sad to hear that mate

I hope everything works out for you.

breakstuff

Sorry to hear that.I've been suffering from persistent shoulder pain for months now so kind of know how you feel,although as I don't gig my loss is nothing compared to yours.
Hope everything works out positively.

PolarityMan

Oh bummer, hasnt your band only just hit its stride too? 

midlifecrisis

im sorry to hear that. brings it home that we all never know when we may not be able to play anymore. I find I get more tired quicker so I try and enjoy it as much as I can

Roland

I'm so sorry.  Having to give up live playing is what so many of us fear

Branshen

I'm guessing you love music and this is not strictly restricted to guitar, so how about switching to an instrument that's less strenuous on your body? Something like the trumpet could be fun. Of course it'll take a few years to get you good enough at it to perform live, but nothing worthwhile comes easy.

Best of luck DS, hope it works out for you.

ElectroDan

All the best with the scan. Lets hope they find something they can deal with.

You should try all you can to alleviate it... swimming, yoga, pilates... whatever. One of them might free it up.

Good luck mate.

Dalefty

Wine is fine but whiskey's quicker suicide os slow with liquor.


And take it from someone who is going to be on massive dosages of pain killers for the rest of his life and is only in his early 30's now, what you want to be on is oxycontin - hillbilly heroin, and oxynorm - synthetic morphine, in other words opiates, they are much much kinder and gentler on your liver and kidneys, and did I mention how much more fun they make drinking alcohol is, seriously speak to your doctor about them.

DaLefty

mike_l

Shit Lee. Sorry to hear that.

Hopefully you'll find a way round it and carry on playing.

thumpingrug

The "woe is me" is well justified.

sorry to hear this.

I had a RSI many years ago, which doc put down to playing so I was forced to stop for best part of a year until the swelling completely healed.  Never reoccured and I suspect it was actually caused by something else, but it was a tough year.

I feel for you.

mudslide73

I'm sorry to hear that matey. I've had health issues recently and did my first rehearsal since Christmas this week. As was said above - you don't know which gig/practice etc. will be the last (I thought I'd had mine). It's a big part of how we define ourselves so I completely understand where you're coming from.

thomasross20

Jesus, that really sucks  

Still, some people never play live at all so you've had a good shot with your 30 years!

randomhandclaps

Really sorry to hear this. I'm not sure how I'd cope in that position. 

This is probably a completely useless question but I tend to put it to anyone suffering from pain when playing. Do you consciously (or sub-conciously) get wound up, stressed or feel pressured when the pain is worse? I battled a nerve issue for years that almost put an end to my playing as nobody could do anything or diagnose q specific problem. It then kept a diary of when the pain would come on worse and realised that at points I was putting tremendous pressure on myself (most of it completely unnecessary) and once I figured that out and managed that part the issue went away.

TTony

Have you ever tried a decent physiotherapist?

The trouble with doctors/surgeons is that they're a bit like "I can solve any problem with my hammer".  

I had a gradually prolapsing disc in my spine.  GP referred me to a consultant (surgeon), who did the xrays, diagnosed the problem and explained that the solution was surgery.  I decided to think about it a while before letting a stranger with a sharp knife loose on my spine, but whilst thinking about it, it suddenly got very much worse.

Went to my local physio (who's fixed various bits through the years) just to see if she could relieve some of the agony whilst waiting for a slot on the surgeon's list, and she ended up being able to manipulate the disc back into place.  It took a lot longer (lots of sessions over a 2-3 weeks) than the surgery would have done, but the overall recovery time was a lot quicker.

Neither the GP nor the surgeon mentioned physio as an option because it wasn't a hammer.

There are good ones and really expert ones (and some not particularly useful ones) out there - not all can do the same magic.

Just a thought ...

equalsql

Don't apologise for the woe is me stuff, losing your ability to play live is some major shit, especially when it's in your DNA. It really is an awful thing when health issues stop you doing the things you love.

If you can find a way to cope without the exploratory surgery then I'd recommend that route.

No worries about dumping your woes on this forum though as you've got friends here who are always happy to listen and support you.

Best of luck to you old bean.


 

Adam_MD

Yeah dont apologise dude I hope you can keep playing live in some capacity there's nothing quite like it. Good luck

Emp_Fab

TTony said:

Have you ever tried a decent physiotherapist?

The trouble with doctors/surgeons is that they're a bit like "I can solve any problem with my hammer".  

I had a gradually prolapsing disc in my spine.  GP referred me to a consultant (surgeon), who did the xrays, diagnosed the problem and explained that the solution was surgery.  I decided to think about it a while before letting a stranger with a sharp knife loose on my spine, but whilst thinking about it, it suddenly got very much worse.

Went to my local physio (who's fixed various bits through the years) just to see if she could relieve some of the agony whilst waiting for a slot on the surgeon's list, and she ended up being able to manipulate the disc back into place.  It took a lot longer (lots of sessions over a 2-3 weeks) than the surgery would have done, but the overall recovery time was a lot quicker.

Neither the GP nor the surgeon mentioned physio as an option because it wasn't a hammer.

There are good ones and really expert ones (and some not particularly useful ones) out there - not all can do the same magic.

Just a thought ...

+1

@Grunfeld is a physio - he may be able to offer advice.  Sounds a bit like a pinched nerve to me - but I'm hardly qualified to comment.