HISTORY OF LEFT SHOULDER INJURY

[BenHall1]

Left shoulder XRay report dated 25 Sept 2020 stated:

1] Moderate degenerative change in the a.c. joint and minor degenerative changes in the glenohumeral joint.

Since Sept 2020 the condition of the left shoulder has progressively worsened until mid November 2023 when I got up during the night and tripped over the cat. As I went through the air I thrust out my left arm and hit the floor. The ensuing pain was beyond belief.

I later went to our Hospital Minor Inuries Unit who checked it out, took an XRay and pronounced nothing broken. By coincidence later that day I had a pre-existing appopintment with my Surgery Physio who suggested, when the pain subsided, I do various exercises.

The pain never subsided, just lessened Didn’t put me off work ( I drive buses part time ) so I returned to work, lasted 6 days - phoned GP who then put me off work until 15 January 2024.

Earlier in January I attended an Ultrasound. This revealed a torn tendon on the rotator cuff. GP prescribed two advanced pain killers at different times - Gabapentin and Amitriplyne. Neither were successful due to unpleasant side effects - so I stayed with my old standby CoCodomol 30/500.

Since those distant days I have been referred to the care of an MSK Interface specialist who put me through a range of exercises and gave me an injection of Kenalog 20mg. Again sent me home but OK to return to work. He will ring me in 3 weeks.

The 3 weeks is up this coming Wednesday..... we’ll see !

So, apart from XRay in Nov ’23 and the Ultrasound no further image diagnostics has occurred.

My question is ....... apart from Ultrasound and XRay - what imaging techniques are available for me to explore the bone joint of the shoulder. NOBODY IN THE HEALTH CARE PROFESSION LISTENS TO ME ! I STILL CANNOT REACH, LIFT, STRETCH MY LEFT ARM WITHOUT PAIN.

So Since last Novem,ber I’m still in pain, still scoffing CoCodomol. They don't get it, the pain is emanating from the bone. Nobody gets it !

I would appreciate your thoughts please. My thanks.

John

[Cavalierrubie]

Hi John. Can understand how frustrating this all is as well as painful. What l would ask for is another ultrasound to see if the torn tendon has healed and take it from there. If it has healed then further investigation is needed and you will have to do some banging of fists on the dr’s table. I believe this can take weeks months to heal? Internal healing takes longer than external. You certainly don’t want to keep taking these strong drugs. I sympathise with you as getting help and care is such a hassle and prolongs our suffering leading to anxiety. Best wishes for you.

[Cavalierrubie]

John, l looked up torn tendon on internet and it states 12 weeks for healing and 6 months to get movement back. Ok? Plus, my personal opinion, we are not young anymore and healing takes longer.

[BenHall1 in reply to Cavalierrubie]

Hi Cavalierrubie,

Thank you for your words of wisdom ............. yeah! yeH! YEAH ! I get the age thing. Mrs BenHall1 says exactly the same thing ..... maybe I'll just have to put up .... and shut up. 😂😂😂

John

[Cavalierrubie in reply to BenHall1]

You need to get checked though John. Hope you soon get some relief from the pain. All the best.

[BenHall1 in reply to Cavalierrubie]

I'll bounce it off thwe MSK specialist tomorrow, when he phones me for an update after his injection 3 weeks ago.😢

[Cavalierrubie in reply to BenHall1]

All the best.

[Smilesalot in reply to BenHall1]

Hi sweetie 🙂🤗,I'm sorry ur in so much pain 🤗.

I truly hope you get the treatment you need to help😉

Be careful with the meds. I'm on Gabapentin for fibromyalgia and osteoarthritis. Doesn't do much. And I'm speaking to her today about a steroid injection in my hip .

I wish you luck fingers crossed sweetie hugs Dawn 🤗🤗🤗🙃🤗🤗🤗😍❤

[BenHall1 in reply to Smilesalot]

Hiya Dawn,

My GP has been trying to get me off Warfarin for years ... I've refused on the grounds ... "if it ain't broke, don't fix it". However last November she had her wicked way with me !! My shoulder pain dramatically increased and so she said she'd try Amtriptyline ... that gave me diahorrea. So then she said try Gabapentin - that had the same side effects. She did tell me that I would have to come off Warfarin and switch to Eboxaban ... I was desperate ... I agreed.

The side effects of these 2 new drugs were so anti social I rang her and told her the problem and said I'll just stay with CoCodomol 30/500 ......... so now I'll go back to Warfarin ........ I could tell from the tone of her voice she was most displeased. Anyway - she did finally agree.

So - for now at least CoCod and Warfarin are my regular, reliable, dependable best mates ... ever !

May the force be with you Dawn. Thanks.

John

[Smilesalot in reply to BenHall1]

My GP has got me off co codamol tramadol and sort of paracetamol. Now she wants me off morphine which helps grrr.I'm glad you persuaded ur Dr😍 well done sweetie 🙂

Hugs sweetie Dawn 🤗🤗🤗🙃🤗🤗

[Imagine1 in reply to BenHall1]

You shouldn't have to put up and shut up? your pain is really bad and something needs to be done about it. My husband has had the same problem, his was due to a bad fall 8 months ago. He broke his shoulder and now it turns out he has a torn rotary cuff, he hasn't slept properly for 8 months and he has to sleep upright in a chair due to the fact he can't lie down. He was told by a so called specialist at the hospital that due to his age 73 he won't get an operation which he badly needs. We saw a different specialist and she said completely different, age has got nothing to do with it, if he needs an operation which he does he will have it. She gave him pain relief in a steroid injection other pain medication didn't work for him and up to yet his shoulder seems a lot better. he still can't lie down but the pain is easier for him to deal with. Have you had a steroid injection? it might help you too. If you need an operation, no matter what your age you should have it. I hope this helps in some small way. Let me know how you get on. Take care.

[BenHall1 in reply to Imagine1]

Hi Imagine1,

Thanks for those comments, sorry only just getting back to you. I've had a dodgy shoulder issue since way back in 2018. First the right shoulder .... my GP gave me a steroid injection ..... I figured if it lasted 6 to 9 months great - but here we are over 2 years later all is well, although just lately it has been grumbling, probably mainly due to the damn thing doing more of the work that belongs to the left shoulder.

Since late 2020, the left shoulder has been kicking off until ........... mid November 2023, got up during the night - tripped over the cat - went flying aggressively thrust my left arm out to ease my fall impact and bang onto the floor by a door jamb ! Gawd !! Pain was so bad it made me want to vomit.

Long story short ... GP put me off work for about 8 weeks, returned to work mid January. Still in pain but less so. Early February 2024 I had an Ultrasound which showed ligament torn from rotator cuff. Got referred to an MSK Interface specialist who played questions and answers with me ... then phoned my GP for a chat, then gave me an injection of Kenalog 20mg. Told me Physiotherapy the way to go, but, only when pain is gone !! Then told me he'd be in touch in 3 weeks for a check up.

Needless to say ............ its all crap ............ Kenalog didn't work and MSK guy hasn't been in touch. Still in pain. He must have referred me for Physio because I eventually got a letter from the hospital physio dept saying I have been put on a waiting list as my injury has been assessed and has been prioritised accordingly.

On the matter of your husbands age .... a comment was made to me by a hospital health trust ... something along the lines ........ what's a 75 year old ( as I was at the time ) doing still working and driving a bus. Sensing this attitude may affect my treatment, I made a formal complaint to my MP and requested that he take up this issue with the Secretary of State for Health on the grounds that such a comment contravened the Discrimination Act, particularly with reference to Age.

Wow! ............. sorted!!

Unfortunately ya gotta stay yer ground these days ......... there is always somebody ready to walk over ya. As it happens I work for a major player in the UK Bus industry, I am passed fit to drive a heavy vehicle by them and I meet fully all the DVLA legal health/age requirements also. From the standard of driving I've seen around in the course of my work ( particularly holiday makers down here in Cornwall ) I'd suggest many 50 year olds have a massive problem driving a car and could do with retraining ! before they end up imprisoned for some driving offence.

For now at least ..... my undertaking a massive logistics exercise with cushions and pillows at night I can get a fair nights sleep ......... daytime is hell.

I wish you and hubby well and every success in the future with any surgery - and I will get back with any outcomes.

John

[Imagine1 in reply to BenHall1]

Thank you for your reply, you have been through a lot haven't you? It makes me sick how the older generation get treated. Whenever there is a problem, like too many people in the country, the older people get blamed, the government say that they are living too long. Oh, sorry about that, it isn't their fault. My husband had a steroid injection recently and the doctor said it might not work, luckily it has and he actually could lay down in bed after 8 months and got a decent night's sleep. He is not telling the doctor this though because they will refuse the operation that he badly needs. Thank you for wishing us both well, same to you too. Keep me updated.

Karen x

[DumplingsLover in reply to BenHall1]

Sounds like you might need an MRI which is the only thing that will show up all the problems you have in your shoulder. Good luck with that though I have been waiting for an MRI for 6 months and have been told I will probably wait a year. Obviously I can't go private as I'm on a senior pension and nothing else. Doctors don't seem to have empathy for their patients any more and it looks like it's all down to money. Good luck. Lauree

[BenHall1 in reply to DumplingsLover]

Hi Lauree,

Thanks for your comments. My comments to Imagine1 may be of interest to you. Matter of interest ......... on my shoulder issue - I phoned surgery the other day and asked for my GP, then I was put through the Spanish Inquisition, then I was downgraded by the receptionist and given an appointment with the surgery Physio, one day next week.

Poor woman doesn't know what she'll be in for when she phones me. I will stand my ground and will go through all the recent history with her and remind her .......... why would I want to undertake Physio which will only worsen the pain ....... AND .... when nobody knows exactly what is going on inside the shoulder joint - recognised as one of the human bodys most complex of joints. I'll explain that any physio could well cause more damage within the joint than it repairs.

I plan to only accept an MRI or some other advanced piece of imaging technology. If she refuses I'll ask her to justify her position. I can see it all damn well "kicking off" !

I totally agree with your sentiments .......... "Doctors don't seem to have empathy for their patients any more and it looks like it's all down to money".

John

[Bevvy]

I wonder if it would be worth having an MRI? This would show the greatest detail, especially with regards tendons and nerves.

You would probably have to argue the case with gp because they don’t readily agree to MRI’s!

[BenHall1 in reply to Bevvy]

Thank you. So does an MRI give more detail than an Ultrasound which I've already had, back in early January 2024.

[Bevvy in reply to BenHall1]

It gives clearer and different details. I would certainly argue the case that it should be carried out become despite other tests being negative you are still in significant pain and unable to use arm properly.

[DumplingsLover in reply to BenHall1]

Definitely! Hope you can afford it. If Not you will be waiting a year like me. Good luck. Lauree

[kookie999]

I had the same thing and was supposed to have surgery but made the decision not to have it after the pain lessened but strength and motion range of my arm is still affected .I currently have physiotherapy once a month and she says it's not as stiff .To answer your question I had the initial ultrasound and that's it . The surgeon also told me that it's not guaranteed that surgery would fix it and that this kind of tear never heals or at least mine won't.

[Smilesalot in reply to kookie999]

😕😱😰😨😢 I'm sorry kookie999. I hate people being in pain or disabled it hurts😢 .Hugs sweetie Dawn 🤗🤗🤗🙃🤗🤗🤗🤗😴😴😴😴I hope get peace now and then 😍😇🤗🤗🤗🤗

[Imagine1 in reply to kookie999]

My husband was told that physiotherapy was making his arm worse. Once the physio found out what was wrong with him after having an MRI scan, he said that he needed to stop having physio and that he needed an operation. My husband has had a steroid injection and his arm feels a bit better, but he is still having an operation, Key hole. it won't heal on it's own and the tear could get bigger. You definitely need an MRI scan then at least you know what is happening to your arm. No doctor will guarantee that the operation will work because of compensation claims, until you have an MRI scan no doctor can tell you that your tear won't heal, how do they know? I hope this helps. Take care

[caringkriket]

I am in the US but I would request a MRI. That will show everything! I am having my 2nd reverse shoulder replacement in 6 mths and had the same symptoms. I am 68 years old. Hope this helps! Good luck!

[sue32]

I know exactly what you mean....I empathise completely. I was diagnosed with septic arthritis at my left sternoclavicular joint in 2017 after trying and suffering for 2 years in terrible pain. The infection was removed, but so was quite a bit of diseased bone. I was told that I would never have full use of my left arm/shoulder again. OK, I could deal with that but I'm still in excruciating pain. I've tried most painkillers but nothing touches it. As you say, it's bone pain, not muscular and no one seems prepared to deal with it. I've been offered Morphine but I don't want to go down that road right now. I've also tried heat pads and ice packs...nothing. Although the ice did numb the area for a wee while but that's it. I wasn't even offered any physio and it's too late now anyway. So good ol' arthritis has set in...with a vengeance. I'll just carry on with my herbal (!) self medication...🤭 I wish you well, and I hope you find some relief ultimately....🙋‍♀️