My left shoulder/arm has been bothering me for a few months now. And no, I don't know what I did. I noticed one night getting in the bathtub that oh, boy, it really hurt when I did that. So I quit doing that. Problem solved.
Okay, maybe not. Problem put off is more like it.
Eventually, it started aching off and on. Then most of the time. And now, all the time. And the ache is now usually more of a throbbing pain, with occasional bouts of sharp shooting pains. Throw in some random swelling here and there, loss of strength, loss of range of motion and having to have help getting dressed, because my arm won't go there and I can't do that. And there you have it. Falling apart.
I finally got around to asking my general doc about it. He took an x-ray, put me through a bunch of "can you move your arm like this" kind of tests, said it was probably my rotator cuff, and gave me some non-steroid, anti-inflammatory meds and sent me on my way.
They didn't help.
So I turned to Dr. Google, and my sister, who is a Physical Therapy Assistant and got their opinions and some information about rotator cuff injuries. I started doing some of the exercises to try and increase my range of motion. After a few more weeks, and no noticeable improvement I went back to the doctor. I wanted an MRI. I didn't see the point of torturing my self with painful exercises, because if it is torn and needs surgery, painful exercises won't help one little bit.
On my next visit he again put me through the "can you do this" tests, looking perplexed the whole time, which can I just say, did not instill huge amounts of confidence in him. Then he gave me some steroids, and tried to send me on my way.
I didn't want steroids. I took steroids twice last year for sciatica pain (I told you, falling apart) and it majorly stalled out my weight loss. I think I ended up losing MAYBE 15lbs for the whole freaking year. I am NOT doing that again, unless there is absolutely no other option.
So I asked about the other options. He basically said the best course to follow was the first meds we had tried, then this new one, then try a couple of cortisone shots in the shoulder joint (OUCH!), and then if I was still having trouble, an MRI to see if it was torn, because then I would need surgery. I asked if we could start with the MRI, then we would know if it needed surgery and I could skip the steroids. He basically said NO, this is the treatment path I think you should follow.
Fine. I took my Rx and left. I went home, threw out the Rx and looked up Orthopedic Surgeons in my insurance book. I checked to make sure I could self refer to one, and I could. The next day I called and scheduled an appointment.
This doctor put me through the same kind of "can you do this" tests. But he did not look the least bit perplexed. He said it was probably my rotator cuff. It was either torn, which would require surgery to fix, or inflamed and frozen, which would require shots in the joint and physical therapy.
But mainly he said "First, you need to have an MRI so we know what we are dealing with and then we can decide how to treat it."
Thank you!
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