Cortisone injection - is this normal?

[roseyone60]

First off, if this is in the wrong spot, I'm hoping an admin will move. I searched the topics and this one seemed appropriate.

I was diagnosed with tendonitis in my left shoulder over a month ago and did physical therapy for a month. I did get better but I hit a plateau and my therapist suggested a cortisone injection which I got last Tuesday the 10th. I felt immediate relief for about an hour. then the pain returned. I took a pain med (tramadol) that my doc prescribed. She told me that it would get worse before it got better and that's why she prescribed pain meds. and she told me to take it easy the next couple of days and not do any of my exercises. Next day I felt 98% normal, the best I've felt in about 8 weeks. Thursday I awakened in pain so took a pain med and was able to work okay. I sit at a computer all day (financial analyst) and this is part of why I have tendonitis. Friday was worse and I took two pain meds. By Saturday I was feeling pretty good and only iced twice but didn't do exercises. and by Sunday I was feeling pretty much back to normal! YAY!!

Enter Monday when I'm back to work sitting at my PC all day. by mid afternoon the pain returned but I also restarted my exercise/ice regimen(although I did keep up the icing over the weekend even tho I felt good). then yesterday I awakened feeling fairly normal, with minimal pain. again, by the afternoon I was in pain yet again. I'm now thinking that my work set-up is a detriment to my shoulder/tendonitis issue. I ended up taking another pain med yesterday later afternoon. I awakened today with very little pain, but it is still there. I get a reprieve of sorts this morning as I have a doc appointment so I won't be sitting at my desk.

My doc told me it could take up to two weeks to feel the full effect of the injection. but, my question is this: is it normal to be going back and forth like this? I was so hoping on Sunday that I was finally over the hump. and then Monday and Tuesday happened.

Has anyone else experienced something like this? Am I going to need another injection? or....?? I'm not really sure. I guess I got my hopes up that I was finally done with that awful pain and yesterday I was just beside myself

Any experiences that anyone would like to share with cortisone injections would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you so much.

[roseyone60]

so I'm pretty sure I'm correct about my work station, that the way I have been working the last 6 or so years has helped to cause the tendonitis. so, I have a new question and I'm hoping someone will help.

Will the cortisone injection that I got last week still be effective even though I have been putting strain on my arm to cause the tendonitis to reappear? If I get a new chair so that I'm no longer putting strain on that arm, will that help?

any advice is greatly appreciated. thanks!

[feelbad]

hi rosey, i am also from mn. just a factiod for ya. what i am really wondering here is just exactly 'how' was the tendonitis originally Dxed? have you ever had an MRI done on that shoulder just to rule out ANY possible rotator cuff tears or other problems that could also be impacting that area as well? i had a mess in my right rotator that i knew i felt some pain in but had no freaking clue just how bad this was til one morning i just went to lift my purse off the top of my fridge and my ROM went and i had to drop the purse, i just could not pull up anymore at all. i also felt immediate pain.

here all this time i had actually had what must have been a pretty good sized tear in the tendon that runs across the very top of that shoulder(this is also the most commonly torn tendon)? it just completely snapped on me that morning. well i had that one very revealing MRI and it showed that complete tear,and another one starting in the one directly below it, tendonitis and bone spurs and just wear and tear injuries all in my R rotator/shoulder area. really kind of blew me away actually.

my thinking here would be either, and this could be only 'part" of, the way you are working i am sure is more than likely contributing to this, but if this was 'only' tendonitis,i seriously think that your pain would not be reoccuring like it has been? i would seriously see about just getting that one MRI done on that shoulder just to really 'see' into that rotator area and the joint as well. like i said, i just had no real clue just how truely bad my shoulder/rotator actually was til that one MRI just showed alot. i of course had to have repairs done. if you need the name of a really fantastic place with great orthos to see, just PM me and i can give you the info.

the thing about having ANY actual tendon tears is to find them and get them repaired BEFORE they just continue to keep tearing and eventually doing what mine did on me. trust me, if there are actual tears in your tendons, getting them repaired now before they go is a much much easier surgery and recovery for YOU, vs the total tear. that one is just a really painful recovery with alot of PT after. an MRI would also show just what is actually creating the tendonitis too in most cases. anything that has the suffix 'itis' IS pure inflammation from something underlying that is creating the inflammation. just some stuff i thought you should know about rosey. please let me know how you are doing. FB

[roseyone60]

hi feelbad. thanks for your reply. I guess I'm "convinced" it's my armless chair due to being 99% back to normal last weekend, just 5 days after my injection. enter Monday when I'm working all day in the armless chair and the pain returned a bit. by Tuesday afternoon I was nearly back to square one. two days of no support for my arm is what did it. today I have a bit of pain but nothing like on Tuesday. I dragged a dining room chair with arms in here so that I could have some support for my left arm while I worked and it did help. I don't need it for my home PC because I'm not reaching across to type on my laptop. I have my work laptop on top of my desk and have a keyboard tray for my home PC so my arm is lower.

Initially, I did not get an x-ray. but she wanted one the day I got my injection because she thought I might have arthritis in my collar bone? hmmm.....I didn't exactly agree but I wanted the xray anyway since I did not get one at the get-go. I really doubt it's a tear in my tendon but I guess I won't know unless I get an MRI. and, at this point, I don't think I need one. the pain is tolerable and since I'm off most of next week I am anticipating having little to no pain. I hope. guess I better not get my hopes up! oh yea, the xray showed nothing abnormal which is what I figured would happen.

however, if the pain is still there I am considering calling my doc to see about another injection AFTER I get my new chair. but I appreciate all the info. thanks so much!

[feelbad]

no problem. the thing about an x ray only being done is that they wont show the soft tissue structures at all(tendon and muscle among other things), only the more solid boney structures in any given area. that is why, if this should retun or get any worse, the MRI seriously should be your very next step. just an FYI for ya. you can have actual tears in any of the rotator tendons among other crappy things and really not have a clue til one just snaps when it has been just overly used to the point that little tear just keeps getting bigger and bigger over time? like i mentioned above ,i simply had NO clue that i even had a tear til the whole thing just went that one morning. pretty sneaky ya know?

the one thing you just really WANT and need to actually know here is whether you have ANY level of actual tearing, espescially in that very top tendon that is the most commonly torn among the tendons? its called the supraspinatus, and its the one that decided to kill me that morning. its just when the tear is small the repair is alot less painful surgically and post op and the PT is less too vs doing what i did, ya know? just really be careful with this hon. let me know how things are goin,K? marcia