1. Community
  2. Bones, joints and muscles
  3. Frozen Shoulder

Frozen Shoulder, round 2

Posted , 5 users are following.

midonda
midonda

I've been reading a lot of material lately about people living with frozen shoulder, so I thought I'd contribute too. I am 50, male and am going through my second round with this condition. I also have type 1 diabetes. The first time I got it was about 5 years ago in my dominant left side. I was watching the Super Bowl and threw my arm up in the air in celebration of a play I liked. I thought I ripped my rotator cuff by the way it felt. I can describe the sudden pain as taking a hard "nut shot" or maybe a "Charlie horse", but in the shoulder. I didn't go to the hospital because the pain went away after about 10 minutes, and I felt OK. As the year progressed into Summer similar incidents kept happening, and pretty soon I couldn't even put on a coat. In San Francisco we wear coats in Summer. I finally went to the doctor, got the usual tests done, and got my diagnosis. I was told it would take about 18 months to get over, but normalcy would return. Well, normalcy did return, but it took about 3 years. I chose not to receive any cortisone shots because many have reported no improvement, and cortisone tends to mess with blood sugar levels. I went to PT weekly, but it only made me realize how slowly this thing progresses. I was so frustrated with this thing I misused the TENS unit I was given by placing the pads directly over the capsule and cranking it up high. My rational was that I could blast this thing right out of my shoulder. Well, it didn't work, and was probably the reason it took so long to heal. I don't recommend doing that! After about 2 1/2 years I went back to the doctor to push for a MUA procedure. He was reluctant, and said "give it 3 more months" and if still no progress the procedure would be done. After almost exactly 3 months went by I finally started noticing significant progress. The surgeon was spot on, and soon I had full ROM. My left shoulder still feels great, but it pops and cracks a lot. I believe this is scar tissue that continues to break up. I now have had it in my right shoulder for about 10 months now. No tests needed for this episode, I knew it was coming months before I felt any pain. I'm handling this go round a lot differently than my left shoulder. I think I can beat this one in about 18 months, as I know exactly what I'm up against. This stint doesn't hurt any less, but experience gives me a huge edge, and it is extremely rare for frozen shoulder to reoccur in the same shoulder. That is something to look forward to!

0 likes, 7 replies

7 Replies

  • claire92024
    claire92024 midonda

    Posted

    Wow! 3 years? Dear loard I hope not! I also placed the Tens machine directly over the scar tissue as , like you, I thought I could blast it away! I read widely and found out all sorts of different ideas and opinions, only to discover not a lot is known about it in reality.

    I find it frustrating beyond belief and feel that someone somewhere will eventually find out the causes and cures, perhaps not intime for us though. I too wonder if my other shoulder is going down the same route. I wake up with it sore and it often aches, I truly hope not, but wisdom is a wonderful thing to have if it does happen.

    Your post was interesting and good to read.THank you. Claire

    • alison44235
      alison44235 claire92024

      Posted

      Have you tried hydrodilaion. It was brilliant for me. I had to go privately though.
    • midonda
      midonda alison44235

      Posted

      No, that is one therapy I am not very familiar with. No one at Kaiser has mentioned it to me either. I've read a little on it though, and it does make sense. I think I'm just gonna ride this out though, like I did with my left side. However, no more hard blasting with the TENS unit. The pads are meant to bracket the affected area, and are not supposed to be placed directly over it. My physical therapist thought I was crazy to do that, but I was experimenting and was hoping to discover a cure. It only angered and inflamed the shoulder even worse. Live and learn!
  • karen25221
    karen25221 midonda

    Posted

    2 years ive been on restricted duties at work since August and i had enough frelingbunder pressure with work i had surgery 3 days ago best decision made.felt a bit under pressure as work said to get it sorted by november or id have to come of my team. So wasnt impressed. i hope you getvsorted and notbin too much discomfort.
  • Th0mkat
    Th0mkat midonda

    Posted

    This forum and all your input has helped me so my has I deal with FS now, the second time around. The first time, I was in an absolute panic. I had never felt such pain for so long. I opted for the MUA because I couldn't stand the thought of dealing with this condition for two years or more. It did shorten the duration, but I was still dealing with it for 12-18 months. After MUA, PT is required to help insure the adhesions don't start to regrow.

    This time around, I'm not sure which route I will go. I'm not as panicked this time, since I know that it will eventually heal. However, the pain and sleepless nights are getting old. I started noticing the symptoms about 3 months ago but the worst pain has been in the past 2-3 weeks, making me believe I will likely have several more months of misery if I decide to let it run its natural course.

    Thanks again to everyone for sharing your experiences, it truly helps!

    • midonda
      midonda Th0mkat

      Posted

      I don't know about others, but when I got it the first time I actually experienced nocturnal panic attacks. I guess I had about 3-5 of them during my first go round. Never had them before or since though. They were wild to say the least. I'd be somewhere between asleep and awake, and all of a sudden huge uncontrollable thoughts of extreme gloom and doom. Crazy stuff. The only thing that calmed an episode down was getting outside and breathing all that fresh air. Never had one in the day though. I wonder if others went through that. They're not happening with me anymore with this second go round of frozen shoulder.
Back to top

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.