FROZEN SHOULDER?

[Richmond162]

Hi. Reducing pred only 5mg a day. But lots of pain. Now right shoulder is soooo painful. Can hardly lift my arm. Wondering if it could be a frozen shoulder? At moment cannot get appt for GP. Told to go to A and E. Any one had a problem like this? Thanks.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer]

My so called Frozen Shoulder was actually the beginning of GCA… so are you sure it’s not a flare [even though it’s more one-sided]…and what do you mean by ‘lots of pain’?

The usual treatment is painkillers [not ibuprofen though for you] and physio -and very often a steroid injection.

nhs.uk/conditions/frozen-sh...

But it might be worth treating as a flare, following this protocol - just to see if it makes any difference whilst waiting to see GP -A&E is not really appropriate for a FS.

healthunlocked.com/pmrgcauk...

[Richmond162 in reply to DorsetLady]

Hi. Well i do have GCA on left hand side. I am due to see consultant in October. I cannot lift arm very much and definitely can’t lay on that side and am struggling to dress. But I won’t give in! I am taking Co-codamol, eases for a little while. Wonder if a steroid injection would help as you mention.

[PMRpro Ambassador]

It could be - or rotator cuff perhaps? However - is that the only pain? It sounds as if you have pain everywhere which suggests you have gone to too low a dose and the inflammation is no longer controlled. Has this just happened at 5mg? You should never feel worse at the end of a taper step than you did at the start - that is always a sign to slow right down whether it is the PMR you are feeling or the lack of adrenal function.

I am appalled that the GP is not doing their job and handing it over to the ED - but it is very common and why the EDs are overwhelmed. However - you might at least get an x-ray there.

[Richmond162 in reply to PMRpro]

Yes. I think 5mg is too low for me.Of course I want to get off Pred but I am really struggling. Perhaps I try again to see doc. Our surgery has no permanent doctor and we keep getting locums. Thank you for your advice.

[DorsetLady PMRGCAuk volunteer in reply to Richmond162]

No point in struggling- if your disease need more Pred, it needs more Pred…

Sorry to hear about surgery, but sometimes locums are good news, they look at things with more of an open mind.

[PMRpro Ambassador in reply to Richmond162]

We ALL want to get off pred but the idea is to get your disease into medication-mediated remission so that life doesn't come to a painful grinding halt for years until it does go fully into remission. It does so for well over 90% of patients eventaully but it may take years and there is no way of identifying who is in that small percentage who don't and why wait on the platform for the train that is delayed or doesn't come when there is a warm waiting room on offer?

Locums can be good sometimes - see things the usual guy is bored with, Treat to target is being introduced in PMR/GCA having already been used in RA, PsA and a couple of other rheumatological conditions. The target is remission of symptoms - you would think hardly difficult to define!

[Richmond162 in reply to PMRpro]

Thank you for your thoughts.

[LittleJane]

I have had two frozen shoulder in the last three years, first the right then the left. Both times treated with physio and steroid injection. Both took around 18 months to resolve. I am recently diagnosed with PMR and it is very different

[Bramble2000]

My PMR started with what I thought was a frozen shoulder. By the time I’d been to see I don’t know how many physios and had an ultrasound, no one could decide if it was FS or not. By that point, both shoulders and hips were bad and it became obvious, at least to me, that I had PMR.

[AtopicGuy]

There's a little test you can try, so long as you are not too frail or have dizzie spells. Sit on a kitchen-style chair. Tip your upper body forwards towards you knees. Can you extend your arms until they reach your ears, now that their weight is helping rather than hindering? If the answer is Yes, can you wiggle them about at the shoulder, or are the shoulder muscles too painful and stiff?

My upper arms haven't risen above the horizontal for years (except when on medication). However, the above test proves that my shoulder muscles are just too weak to work against gravity, not injured, stiff or paralysed.

[Richmond162 in reply to AtopicGuy]

Hi. I can do this. But it is a struggle. It should be should it? I will try again the morning as I took 2 co,codamol earlier to,ease pain. Thank you.

[Poshcards]

Yes, really bad pain, I went privately to a sports rehab. therapist and he did the Emmet Technique, it sorted it within about 7 sessions xx