Shoulder saga

[MusicalFurbaby]

Hi all, as some of you know, I had surgery in March this year for a hernia. Since then I have had horrible burning pain in my shoulder. It’s not getting better and painkillers don’t seem to touch it.

In the past few weeks I’ve been back to the surgeon for MRI results on the shoulder and I’ve also seen a physio. The MRI shows a small SLAP tear in the shoulder, plus bursitis, plus tendonitis, plus an impinged nerve! So it’s no wonder I’ve been feeling awful!

Obviously I wondered if the surgery had caused all this, as I felt fine right before the surgery and awful afterwards. According to the surgeon, he was very careful with me during the surgery, and laid my arms out flat beside me (spread-eagled) with padding all around so they wouldn’t fall. The physio thinks it’s just bad luck, not medical negligence, that has caused this, and he mentioned my anatomy (differently-shaped bones in my shoulder) could have something to do with my current shoulder pain. So apparently I’m just naturally susceptible to these things, and something like surgery can set them off for no apparent rhyme or reason.

Anyone else experienced strange complications like this post-surgery? Any opinions on whether lupus can make you more susceptible to these types of complications? Is it something to do with the fact my body is always in a state of inflammation due to lupus? I’m interested in any and all views!

BTW I’m seeing a shoulder specialist in 3 weeks. Here’s hoping he can do a cortisone injection, rather than more surgery!

[DogHospiceMom]

lupus takes a toll on joints. Last September I had a full reverse shoulder replacement on the right side. Today I am at the hospital to get a MRI on the left shoulder because the pain has become unbearable. I had put off the surgery for years, getting steroid shots instead. Unfortunately the steroid shots raised the glaucoma numbers and I had to stop the injections or risk even more damage to my eyes. I wish I had the surgery earlier because it has made such a difference.

[MrsMarigold in reply to DogHospiceMom]

Hi DHM. your words give me hope. I hade same procedure 2 weeks ago today. What a hard, painful surgery. Begin passive exercises today. Can you please tell me what your recovery was like?

Also for the original poster: lupus truly can destroy our joints. MM

[DogHospiceMom in reply to MrsMarigold]

I had an amazing recovery. I only needed pain meds about 10 days. It is one of those surgeries that most people say, including me, should have done it sooner. My rehabilitation manager was amazed how quickly I healed. The one thing that happened is the bolster that was part of the brace to keep my arm away from my body pulled my back out so instead of wearing the brace for 6 weeks I stopped wearing it after 3 weeks. Best wishes for your recovery.

[MusicalFurbaby in reply to MrsMarigold]

Thanks for sharing your experience of this. It seems lupus targets shoulders more frequently than I realised!

[MusicalFurbaby in reply to DogHospiceMom]

I’m so sorry to hear that. Lupus does take a toll, doesn’t it? I do hope the surgical options provide you with some hope and ultimately relief. Please keep us posted on how it goes.

[Krock1]

I have mixed connective tissue disease since 2016, which seems to be concentrating on tendons. I had rotator cuff surgury ten weeks ago with repair of impingement, spurs, and multiple complete tears. While recuperating the pain in my other shoulder led to an mri with similar issues. A years ago I had total hip replacement due to necrosis.

I believe all of these surgeries can be attributed to the disease, since I have them occur spontaneously rather. Than being due to specific causes such as falling.

The shoulder surgery went well and I was off of pain meds within a couple days. Rehab has been progressing but I have been experiencing some pain since taking off the sling. It is probably best to take the rehab slow but steady and pay attention to not pushing through pain.

Best

[MusicalFurbaby in reply to Krock1]

Totally agree with you on the pacing. We must listen to our bodies! Thanks for sharing your experience, it’s interesting to hear that others like me have had significant pain and injuries without the typical ‘trauma’ attributed to them such as falls and the like. Hope your shoulder continues to improve and that the rehab is truly helpful.