shoulder pain

[sammyo1]

Ok I am still on three doses of meds, sometimes motrin or something along with that in the morning. Both darn shoulders & upper back in between the shoulder is really bothering me, hurts in the mornings to move either shoulder. The surgery side I have heard some snapping noise at times, a couple times I have went to move it & it feels like it is trying to snap back in place, hard to explain but brief moment man does is hurt. I keep trying to go without a dose of perc. or cut in half but then it starts acting up or just really aching, deep ache, Like you almost know that right in the bone. Then again I swear at times I can't seem to relax, I am ADHD, the more I do the happier I am. I am back to work abit but it is hard, I always end up paying with the pain spiking, the spasms in the chest are the thing I can't stand, now if I over do it the spasms will start. If the PT brings up the muscle spasms I will be asking for something for that, I can't deal with that chest area.
I keep thinking about what the surgeon said for four months he will allow the percocet for every 4-6 hrs because some people take along time to get over this,after that he cuts back. So I don't know what to think. I know I should try to take it more easy & I am but it is hard. I can say my ribs are slowly (I hope ) getting better & I don't get the pain I was getting up to the coller bone. So I am trying to look at the positive side, but man it is hard when both shoulders are hurting. I am getting alot of tingling in the upper back on the surgical side, it is a really strange sensation.
I know you are right there are alot of mucsle things going on in there, I just wish I could cut back on the med. I really am beginning to think perhaps the arthritis is contributing to a slower healing process & adding abit more pain. Who knows, I know I feel about 80 yrs old in the mornings. No strength in my arms, can't lift them to even put the dishes away until I am up for awhile & the pain med kicks in, But I also have athritis in my hip, & in the mornings it aches so I am thinking why would the shoulder be any different? Next visit I am addressing that issue, I am tired of wondering. Next visit I will get some answers & I don't care how much of a hurry the surgeon is in. I can't sit here & worry who is going to treat this pain if it continues.
I am going to try the Relafen again but not much relief last attempt. I am actually looking forward to PT in away just hoping they can answer some questions for me.
Had migraines to, now that is pain. Have not had one in a few years & the thought of getting one scared the crap out of me. I get the Auras with them so I try ot pay attention. Seems like your healing up with the shoulder, I am glad to hear it. Now if I could only catch up to you. Sammy

[feelbad]

do you have a really good muscle relaxer to take? between the inflammation(the relafen should help alot with that) and the spasms,i really do think you could seriously benefit from one. i do have valium to take that i was already taking to just keep the spasticity down in my legs. this does help with the shoulder ick too. just a good suggestion for what you described. there is also vistral? this is also a type of muscle relaxer that actually works really well with narcotics. this was something i am pretty sure you were most likey given at the hospital or even sent home with? i would just call your surgeons office and tell them you really need something for the spasms. when i was still in the hosp post op, i was living on dilaudid,vistral and valium for my pain crap. my legs had decided it was time to do their "happy dance' along with the crap going on up in my shoulder. it was just nasty everywhere for me. i also actually pulled or really overstrained a muscle in my left arm the day after the dang surgery just trying to contort my really messed up left hand to just raise the leg thing from the bedrail button? went home already having major pain in that left. and of course it never really got the chance to rest becasue of the right being out of commission. this really has been a sucky recovery.

the one thing you have as a back up here if this pain dosen't get better and your surgeon wont Rx you anything more to help,is a good PM. they really do know the very best ways to manage even the worst of the worst types of pain,trust me on that one. its an option you always have ya know? and they would be able to do that stellate i mentioned to you before? this actually could help with your pain,or at least some of it if this is indeed some level of SNS involvement too. but this is just something you always have to fall back on if things don't get better soon for you. at some point here soon hon,i really do think you just need to have an MRI done again on that whole area. from what you are describing,there could be many different issues that could be contributing to your pain process. an MRI would either rule them in or out as possibilities ya know?

what you are describing could be so many different things all showing themselves in their very individual ways or it just could be the suregry or a sympathetic component too. its really hard to say just what is coming from what when you have alot of different things that can generate pain. this is my life. i never really know for certain just what particular part of my damage or c spine crap is actually causing what on any given day too. it does suck. about all you can do is just try using various meds and tools to try and reign it in and go with what has proven to work for you. i too have the tendonitis(along with just a touch of bursitis) and also arthitis both in that shoulder and my c spine too,very heavy within my c spine,DDD,ya know?

trying to manage all this crap and not being able to really take any NSAIDs at all really does suck since i do know they would help,alot in some ways. at least you can use those and believe me, if you were not able to,your pain would probably be much higher than it already is. they do help in just reducing the overall inflammation. they hit the "base' of the pain much more directly and actually act on 'it' vs trying to just mask the pain with narcotics.
just when is your next visit with your surgeon? i think i see mine again on like the 15th of april or something around there? i would call them tho and see about a good muslce relaxer. it really does sound like you need one. i know my valium really does help and i only take one half of the 5mg thruout my day all day long. this also helps ALOT with being able to just sleep too.

i really do hope you start feeling better soon sammy. like i said before, my pain is by no means gone at this point,but yours just really sounds pretty in depth in alot more places. using the right types of meds can really make alot of difference. i wish you had some biofreeze hon. this REALLY has helped tons with bringing down my intensity level when it flares. really helps. ya know,you could call around to any local chiros just to see if they sell it and if you could possibly just buy some from one of them. considering your post op state they certainly wouldn;t want you to have any types of adjustments ya know? or you can track it down online too. i know kissa,on the pain board mentioned there is something aviliable now only at a CVS pharmacy ,that i cannot remeber the name of but she said it actually contains that illex? this is considered to be an 'inactive' ingredient,bit it IS the part of the stuff that really does the magic. the only difference between the bio and this stuff is this stuff lists camphor instead of menthol as its 'active' ingerdient. pretty much the same thing but slightly different. it could be worth a try if you have a CVS around you. i know we don;t have one close by here. just a thought for ya hon.just using my base meds and the bio and lido patches REALLY have helped tons and i don't have to fall back onto the percs again. i just didn't want to get used to them as part of my PM.

just keep hangin sammy,hopefully you will turn a corner here soon. let me know how your PT goes too.marcia

[sammyo1]

Marcia, I know you have mentioned the Stellate, what exactly does it do & how long does it last? Is it like a trigger point injection?
I have kept a PM doc in the back of my head & will be asking the surgeon about it next visit which it 4-28, have to call today for a refill. How much do you think the arthritis is effecting the pain level? My sister called yesturday & she said if the arthritis is there in that shoulder I will probably having some sort of ache no matter what.
Honestly I keep trying everything that I think or hear of that may work, tried the Lido patches, all kinds of topical oitments & creams, had my husband rub some on both shoulders & upper back yesturday. There is simply no way to avoid this other then doing nothing which I am sure you know is pretty much not an option. I pretty much can't lift either arm in the mornings at all. With both of the shoulders it is causing the whole upper back to hurt. When it is bad it will travel down the back & the surgical side hurt to the elbow at times. Weird but right above the elbow can really hurt. I am hoping that PT can tell me how bad they think the mucsle spasms are so the surgeon can treat accordingly, my other PT always let me know, he was always amazed at how bad it was. Because of the way the docters feel about prescibing these meds. I want to involve the PT if I can. Trying hard to be patient.

My primary care only tried a couple muscle relaxers that did nothing, never attempted to try anymore, just kept pushing the skelaxin. The rehab doc gave me the valium, which I do try at night, don't want to be to out of it during the day. I will have to do something because I am breaking my teeth off, every since this shoulder deal my teeth are paying the price. My neighbor works at a chiro office so I will try to ask her about the bio. I think I may have a sample laying around I'll take a look, used it before surgery but not alot of relief, but it may help now, I hope.
I keep trying everything, keep going back to motrin in between, sometimes it helps & sometimes it don't. I can't keep taking it because of my stomach, with the Gerd/reflux. Once again I know some of the symptoms have dwindled down so I know the surgery must of helped with some of it, I am praying this guy don't just send me off to the next with two bum shoulders. I just don't trust or get how doctors are these days.

I keep hoping that it will just get better over time, as the nurse said it takes some people up to a year, so I just keep tying to hope. Of course I will have to ask him if there is something else that can be going on in there. I know, with out a doudt it is all caused through my work over the years. If you don't mind me asking what kind of meds are you on at this time?
I am calling at the last minute for my refill, got so busy I was not paying attention, I hope he is in because I would never make it. I have Norco, but it did nothing before the surgery. I know I asked in a post before but can't remember the replies, I wonder If I can take norco in the evening & the perco. in the morning? That is only if I have to wait for a refill. I can't believe I did that. I got so busy trying to help my client who has had big health issues I just forgot to check the bottle, my meds are kept in a weekly dispenser. I keep saying I am going to take better care of myself & slow down but I can't turn my back on people in need. I told my husband if I don't start I will not even be able to take care of myself much less others. To be honest it is really bothering me that I have not been able to decrease much at all of the pain med.
Therapy wed. I hope they can shed some light & I really hope it does not add any more pain. Thanks Marcia, Sammy

[feelbad]

well,the stellate can do a couple possible things for you. on the one hand,it IS a good,probably the only,diagnostic type of tool used to ID sympathetically generated pain. its pretty basic,if you DO feel ANY relief from it at all,you DO have some level of SNS component. on the other hand,people who do have RSD or just some level of SNS involvement going on in their pain process use thse for pain management. but it will,when done correctly and in the right spot(it is guided with flouroscopy if i remember right,its been a while)show whether or not you have that SNS component going on in your pain in some form,so it IS a good test for YOU to have considering the sweating you have had since like the beginning of all this?

the doc can tell when they hit the right spot(it is done in the front of your neck,sounds worse than it is)when you develop whats called a 'horners syndrome' in one of your eyes. i already have horners caused by my SNS damage but one of your eyelids would droop,that would indicate a direct hit into the stellate ganglion. than its just wait and see how things are post injection. its kinda the same thing as a nerve block but it would only block the signals coming from the SNS itself and not the surrounding nerves like other nerve blocks do,so you would know. its just pretty basic. relief,yes there IS involvement,no relief, there is not. it would be worth it to try in your particular situation sammy,really. i just can't help thinking that hand sweating is trying to tell you or the doc something,ya know? you could just get referred to a PM for just the stellate and maybe have this PM eventually take over your pain management too. it has to be done by an experienced anesthesiologist in order to ensure that the right spot is actually hit or the test would just be a waste of time pretty much.

most PMs are actually anesthsiologists or they have one on staff. my PM is one tho so that helps. he also has many many years of experience in just PM too. really caring guy.the meds i am on right now(and i really do need to change my pain plan since this plan is not really doing it for me anymore)is pretty much the exact same one i was adjusted to back in like april of 04? we have rearranged my meds and did add one 20mg increase in my oxycontin like right after my aneurysm was coiled and still waiting for my dang knee surgery that got placed on hold becasue of the aneurysm.

they did something to my c spine while i was under for the coiling,i don;t know what or if it was just the stress placed uon my c spine because of the really stupid way your head is layed away from the gurney during this procedure and i don't have the backs of my c 6 thru t1 anymore. but 'something' happened and my c spine went nuts and i ended up with brand new TPs popping up all over the upper areas. but my current dose of meds(narcotics) is my oxycontin, 80-80-40 and i am 'allowed' only two oxy IRs for BT pain daily. highly inadequate for what i am dealing with but like i said,i DO need to discuss some changes with my PM. despite the meds. i was still feeling very very hyper extreme pain post op and have still,some real good areas of ongoing pain too,which also tells me i need to adjust.

i do take other meds too,but cannot take any of the newer meds like cymbalta(increased my central pain and also created this RLS type nastiness in both legs)and unfortunetly lyrica or other anti S meds. after i went on lyrica,things turned really ugly but it was also helping for the very first time both my central and my RSD,so i hated to have to go off,but i was totally non functional on it and it also made my kidney swell? thats when it popped out of my back and into the front. the insane thing here is ever since i tried the lyrica,i keep getting the very same eye and leg nightmare crap from like any others i try now. i do think lyrica seriously altered my brain chemistry in some insane way. this was one ugly side effect med for me.

but between the lido patches for the central when it flares,and my TENS for the knee crap,i am at least able to reign in the flares somewhat. so i kind of suck up the daily pain and just treat the flares. although i have been contemplating getting another sympathetic block done in my low back for the RSD in the knee stuff. its just been soo aggrevated and inflammed becasue of the stupid side to side motion of those excercises we had to do for the rotator? they were just killing my knee with that particular motion. its that side to side stuff that actually set off my RSD to begin with one day out of the blue. since i have that brown sequard on my whole right side(just below the level of SCI under my breast on down) i have some innervation loss and just cannot always tell when i hurt something on that side. it did something that day that set it all off and its just been all down hill from there.ain't life grand?

well i gotta move on here,gotta go see what the dang puppy is up to,hes been way too quiet. probably eating another belt on me,lol. keep me posted hon,Marcia