Arm pain after IV

[liteglimmer]

I had an MRI yesterday with contrast. When the nurse placed the IV in my right forearm, a shooting pain started in my arm all the way down to my wrist. I told the nurse about the pain, but she kept the IV in there for the procedure which was about 2 hours. I still have the pain in my forearm and wrist. There's no swelling. My motions aren't affected. The IV probably hit a nerve. Does this get better over time? Is there anything I should do?

Thank you

[cat3]

This is SO common, even when just drawing blood. I've had nerve damage twice where my arm has been extensively bruised black/blue/yellow & numb, yet oddly sensitive to touch.

On both occasions the bruising and discomfort took around 10-14 days to settle down. I found a heated pad (hot water bottle in towel) helped ease it. Hope it returns to normal soon.

Cat x

[Pairofboots in reply to cat3]

Hi Cat, hope you are well. A tip for reducing bruising, when they say press on the cotton swab, really press on it, especially if you are on blood thinners, even after they put the plaster on, apply pressure. The bruising is because the vien continues to leak.

[cat3 in reply to Pairofboots]

No, definitely a nerve. The last time, during a hosp. stay, I had a severe SVT attack and the crash team arrived with an anaesthetist attempting to administer Adenosine. I actually screamed for him to stop (SO unlike me) and a nurse took over and inserted the canula quite painlessly ........but the shock had actually jerked my heart back into NSR !

The consultant entered the room and apologized saying I'd probably have a lot of bruising from hitting a nerve and told staff to give me painkillers and an ice pack.

Oh happy days ! 🙄 x

[liteglimmer in reply to cat3]

Thanks so much for your reassurance! I hope the pain subsides soon.

[Pairofboots]

This shouldn't have happened, but obviously has. The cannula goes into a vien, so shouldn't be anywhere near a nerve.

But any procedure isn't without risk. I have heard of occasions when so of the dye escapes the vien, but this wouldn't explain the initial pain when they first inserted the cannula. It might be worth having a chat with the Dr that ordered the MRI or your GP.