Posted 3/25/2013 7:19 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Im new to this forum but wanted to chime in and say I am a 46 yr old woman... I have had 5 surgeries in 6 yrs on my R shoulder.. Started out from an injury at work with pain, stiffness and limited movement... Seeing the Dr. My employer had me see for work.. He stated nothing could be found, his diagnosis was frozen shoulder and ordered physical therapy... After several rounds of this the pain and limited movement only increased... My employer had my on light duty and this was frowned on at my job... So after no success basically they implied nothing was wrong and I was back on regular work.. My job was physically demanding at times... Worked a lock down psych unit, very often combative patients and physical take downs..very hard on the body...the pain was worse and I went thru a MRI thru my Dr. Which wasnt done by work Dr. Only x-ray was ordered by him.. The MRI results showed a possible rotator cuff tear.. They decided to do a scope and look see.. Fixing what they found... I was told they had to fix a bursa tear and remove small pieces of bone that was found floating and rubbing on things creating pain... Physical therapy ordered with not much success... Pain continued and got worse along with limited range of motion... To shorten this long and painful story... After I think the 3rd surgery I was told by the ortho Dr. He wouldnt touch it again, it was beyond his scope of expertise and I needed to see a sports medicine ortho... This info would of been nice 3 surgeries back... Oh 2nd surgery was rotator cuff repair because suddenly a tear showed up on a dye injected MRI which I found in the old report was suggested by the guy who read the MRI wayback.. My Dr. Never caught that info or ignored it... From that point let me add I had ALL test results sent to my home also so I seen first hand the results!! Now goes the daunting medical profession(joke) to find a sports medicine ortho that would for 1 take my insurance and 2 that would even consider looking at my shoulder let alone operating on it...all telling me my previous ortho would have to do it due to 3 operations...none wanted to touch it due to fear of a lawsuit due to a previous incompetent Dr. After a couple months of this and me at my wits end and by now severe pain ALL the time and not much range of motion.. I couldnt lift my R arm over my head, do my hair even simple things like that let alone work, by now I was unemployed and working for myself cleaning houses...sometimes in tears...severe depression started to set in by now..finally I found a ortho(sports injury that agreed to seeing me after basically freaking out on his staff having a small melt down... I was told after another x-ray and MRI that I had no cartilage left, my bone was ground almost flat and he really didnt know all what else unless he went in and looked.. He then told me my shoulder looked like a 75 yr. old womans and needed replacing... Catch... He wouldnt do it due to I was TOO YOUNG... My options... Deal with it or have it fused... Now fusion consists of just that fusing the bones and the shoulder remains in that position FOREVER with no use of it... I cant recall but at the time was around 37 or 38.... I left crying and beyond frustrated...depression by now was my name... I went to my regular Dr. And was on major pain meds regularly, massive amounts of anti-inflammatory drugs oh ya and also valium after several trys of different meds for now chronic migraines due to all the muscles and tendons stayed to inflamed and tight thru the shoulder which also lead up to the neck and was causing constant migraines. By now my gutts were ate up due to meds, the frustration and depression was worse that ever as was the constant chronic pain that oh ya also being so bad I was unable to lue flat in bed, now sleeping in a recliner, that was when I could sleep due to the severe pain. I at this point was losing my mind and talked to my regular Dr. Stating I just couldnt take it any longer, here I was a woman under 40, couldnt work and all the active things I use to do and enjoy I couldnt no longer due, sleep deprived and usually laying in a dark room with pain and migraines... He said there was a new ortho Dr. In our area that specialized just in difficult shoulders and referred me to him, by now almost another year had passed. My 1st visit he examined me, checked my new MRI and told me if he wasnt looking at me but only my MRI he would think I was 80 to 85 due to the condition of my shoulder. My only option he stated was a shoulder replacement but at my young age was complicated due to replacements are usually good for about 10 yrs. after which you start having trouble and need to have the replacement fixed and that the 1st replacement didnt have a very good success rate due to how long my shoulder had went and due to this muscles and tendons weakened, atrophied and possibly could not support a replacement, and a revisement on a replacement would be 80 to 90% less affective.. Again in tears I felt hopeless, my options and this didnt seem encouraging and I just knew what was next, he wouldnt touch it...i told him the last Dr. Said my only option was to live with it and by this point I told him I just couldnt any longer, Id rather cut it off... Or other option was to fuse it... He said yes that would be a normal option if you was 80 yrs old, you are a young woman and I would never do that he stated... He then said he would do the replacement but had to tell me the chance of me gaining full use of my shoulder EVER even with the replacement was very slim and in his opinion I never would, his goal was to reduce the pain some for me so my quality of life would be a little better.. Surgery was scheduled and after he said he could only do a partial replacement after seeing the true condition of the shoulder. He removed several large chips of bone that had been ground off the shoulder, no cartilage and bone rubbing bone, the muscles and tendons that hold the shoulder in place was so wore out and loose they didnt even hold the shoulder in place where it was suppose to be, leaving the shoulder dropping down and not being able to work properly causing even further damage, that it had over time tore 2 spots of the muscle and 1 in a tendon. He did a partial replacement, scraped the other part and covered it with something, repaired muscles and tendon and inserted a mesh net to try and hold up the replacement in the position it was suppose to be, removed alit of scar tissie( 4 previous surgeries) my prognosis he said was bleak, he was hoping I would have less pain but range of motion even with physical therapy was bleak that I would regain much range of motion back ever.... After months of painful physical therapy of every sort they could think of I had a little less pain and not much range of motion... Have had to have it scoped twice since to break it loose and today I can only lift my arm not quite straight ahead in front of me, I still do wall climbs with it and a few other exercises just to keep it at where it is, I cant lift it to curl my hair, have to even place my arm up on a wall to simply shave under my arm and to put on deodorant. I have severe chronic pain that they have had me eating every pain med on the market including a dose of regular methadone by pill. Anti-inflamatory drugs until I have a bleeding ulcer. I a few months ago moved from my home and started traveling the RV life full time, seeing the United States, in doing so I went off all the pain meds that by the way was eating me up and still had some pain.. I know this is very long but I felt you needed the full picture before moral of the story....always listen to YOUR body and not a Dr., take charge of your life and your medical issues, so many Dr.'s dont give a crap, they are not the ones in pain or experiencing this major negative life change, they go home to their families, homes and are living their life which isnt affected as yours so most dont care. ALWAYS see a specialist that focuses just on the problem your having... i.e. a shoulder ortho if the shoulder is the problem... The longer you allow the medical profession to give you the run around the longer you are waiting and the more damage is done... How my shoulder lost ALL cartilage and became ate up with arthritis and so damaged so quickly at such a young age, well I dont know and the Dr's never had a answer either but I do know the lack of caring and putting off treatment by Dr's was a huge factor I believe.... Shoulder my last ortho told me are the most difficult due to their structure and i have known people that have had good success with surgery but also not just myself but many I met had a nightmare... Hind sight if I had to do all over again I dont think I would of let them touch it surgically to begin with, I was better off in the beginning even tho I didnt realize it then...maybe not doing nothing would of landed me in the same spot, I dont know. I do know life is difficult with not much use of it and this severe chronic pain I experience constantly with not much relief... Now on the road traveling I am trying to find herbal remedies to help with this constant pain.... Anyone out there with ANYTHING similar that can offer any good suggestions?????