Suggest Remedies For Muscle Weakness In Right Hand And Arm Post An Appendectomy

Posted on Fri, 23 Sep 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Fri, 23 Sep 2016 Answered on

Tue, 11 Oct 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : I am recovering from an Appendectomy with perforation. Surgery early am 9/9/16. Released from Hospital 9/15. Recovery feels uneventful except for a dull, persistent pain in my right forearm extending to the shoulder. MY ENTIRE RIGHT HAND AND ARM IS EXPERIENCING MUSCLE WEAKNESS. Can you offer some explanation for this? It is severe enough to disrupt my sleep and general comfort level. Thank You.

Answered by Dr. Rishi (49 minutes later)

Brief Answer:
It is probably a nerve compression due to the position during Surgery.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,
Welcome to Health Care Magic and Thank you for your question.
The pain in the Right forearm and shoulder could be due to the positioning during your surgery.
The position can sometimes lead to nerve compression causing such pains like pins n needles, pricking or shooting pain along with areas of numbness and heaviness. Please do not worry it will go away in a few weeks. It usually gets better on its own. You could take medicines like Pregabalin or Methylcobalamine which help nerve modulation. But you would need a prescription for the same.
So, you can start either of these medicines twice a day and report the problem to your Surgeon.
Take care and do let me know if there are any queries on this issue.
Dr Rishi, New XXXXXXX XXXXXXX

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Veerisetty Shyamkumar