Frozen shoulder and stress
Posted , 9 users are following.
I am curious as to how many others with this condition were experiencing some kind of stress when it started? I was selling house and moving across country away from son and grandkids when it started. I was also doing a lot of painting and was not to active before that for a couple years. So I think combo of moving a lot and stress brought it on. Once I moved and had family come visit I started thawing. Just curious as to others with stress.
1 like, 31 replies
Cheerio lisa80451
Posted
A fall caused mine. I had just finished the evening shift of a job I loved and I had been in the job a year. It was the best year of my life. Then it all changed in seconds with that one fall. I didn't even fall over anything. It was a totally flat surface. Strange. Absolutely no stress that day, but plenty since then because my work requires optimal health, mobility and range of motion. This site reminds me how fortunate I am because there are people here with two frozen shoulders or children depending on them, etc...a whole variety of challenges that makes me wish I lived close to all of you so I could offer day-to-day assistance. :-)
brent28997 lisa80451
Posted
Hoping I'm not about to go through menopause.
Seriously though, as rare as this is for women it's even more rare for men. I'm not sure what caused mine. My shoulders have always been a pain point for me since about the age of 30. All I know is that it's here, I'm not dying, and it will go away eventually. I take solace in knowing there could be way worse things for me to have happen. We will all return to normally eventually. Chins up!
No literally, chins up and shoulders back it will help.
madiniah33615 lisa80451
Posted
Hi .
I feel in my case it's a combo of stress and hormonal..because my right shoulder was frozen with no clear explanation and I recovered completely after 2 years ..now I feel my left shoulder acting up ..
brent28997 lisa80451
Posted
I don't agree with hormonal changes being a cause. My naturopath just check all of my levels and I am fine. Plus I'm a man and doubt we have the same changes anyway lol. Stress however does play a factor in my opinion.
Another question for the group. Could it be hereditary? I just found out that my late mother had it years ago. My step-dad just told me over the weekend. Anyone else had a family member have it too?
lisa80451 brent28997
Posted
My parents have never heard of the condition. Maybe you are starting another new thing with male menopause, lol. I think one of the most stressful things with this is not knowing how it happens and trying to make sure it doesn't happen again. We all appreciate any input everyone has. I did just post that I was also taking glucosamine, collagen 2, turmeric and a few other vitamins which I think helped with recovery. Good luck with your recovery
beverly52803 brent28997
Posted
The fact that most women get it at or after menopause does not mean it is caused by hormone deficiency. It means changes in levels could be a factor. I don't know your age, but men's hormones change as well.
I may have mentioned in this thread (or in another ?) that my father did have FS. He also had Dupuytren's which I have. Lucky me. The good news is I seem to have inherited his curious mind and love of reading. We have to deal with the good & bad
"The prevalence of frozen shoulder is estimated to be 2 to 5 percent of the general population. The condition is most common in the fifth and sixth decades of life, with the peak age in the mid-50s. Onset before the age of 40 is rare. Women are more often affected than men" (according to medicalnewstoday).
I seem to recall one doctor saying that golfers are prone to get it, but I'm sure that was anecdotal.
brent28997 lisa80451
Posted
Another question. Seems I have a lot of them.
Has anyone ever had it twice in the same shoulder? I assumed once it was done it was done and wouldn't happen again. Like Chickenpox.
lisa80451 brent28997
Posted
I have read about others stating they have gotten more than once and a couple years apart. I started in left shoulder then right shoulder a couple months later. My right didn't try as bad and has recovered faster, maybe because I started stretching and vitamins. Not sure if anything with this. I do kno doctors do not know much about it and don't seem concerned except for taking your money. If one of them got it maybe something would happen to figure it out. I do know if I start feeling symptoms again I will start stretching immediately.
eric32246 lisa80451
Posted
I just started PT for my frozen shoulder. It started about 4 months ago for no reason at all. I am now thinking it may have been due to stress
brent28997 lisa80451
Posted
I have a completely unrelated question. What do you all do about your armpits? Mine are constantly irritated and raw. Has anyone else experienced this and if so did you find anything that helped. It's one of the most annoying parts of this for me.
Cheerio brent28997
Posted
Brent, I used unscented baby wipes for sensitive skin. They had aloe and vitamin E in them. Pat the area with them instead of rubbing. If you can't reach the armpit, ask someone else to do it or drape the wipe over a long handle and tuck it in there.
Constantine585 lisa80451
Posted
I was under extreme stress and depression when my first frozen shoulder began in late 2016 (the exact date is hard for me to pinpoint, it could have been later). I was only 33 years old at the time. My other shoulder began to freeze in December of 2017. I'm turning 35 at the end of April. I appear to be on the younger end of the spectrum here, and I'm a male, so I am somewhat of a rarer case.
The stress I was under was severe. I had recently been diagnosed with cluster headaches, which are so extremely painful they give you suicidal thoughts. The diagnosis was devastating for me because of how deeply it had affected my life over the past twenty years. I have been estranged from my family for nearly three years as well.
So did all this stress cause my frozen shoulders? Simply put, I don't know. I strongly believe, first and foremost, that this is a genetic issue. That's my opinion based on everything I've read and experienced over the last year and half, even if I admit my opinion is perhaps largely anecdotal.
Now, is it possible that I was genetically prone to this occurring and that the stress I was under triggered it sooner than it otherwise would have? Possibly. But without a scientific study confirming stress and depression's link to adhesive capsulitis, I will never believe that my mental makeup in any way caused this. That's not fair to me. I've blamed myself enough for too many things in this life.
I will say this though: I do now believe that being positive through this is important. A few weeks ago I made the conscious decision I was going to be positive every single day, as much as I possibly could, for the rest of my life. I have struggled through this life in ways many people are lucky enough to both never experience nor understand. I have suffered on a profound level most will never know about. I realized that my anger, negativity, stress and pain was killing me, both emotionally and physically. I knew that the anger coursing through my veins everyday couldn't possibly be good for me long term. I knew that unless I started to look at the sunny side of things, I may be dooming myself to even more suffering down the road.
It's so hard to be positive on a daily basis when you've gone through a life of trauma, let alone two frozen shoulders and everything that comes with that. But I know it is in my best interest now to stop the mental and emotional self-flagellation. It's only been a couple weeks, but already I'm seeing some small improvements. Nothing significant perhaps, and each day is its own struggle where I sometimes fall into that dark hole, but I am noticing a slightly better day-to-day, in spite of all the frozen shoulder pain attempting to drain me of my last remaining lifeforce.
My heart goes out to anyone reading this post and suffering from this disease. You aren't alone. There are others who are struggling just like you, just as deeply as you, maybe even more than you. Stay strong in your mind as best you can. Take it one day at a time, and try to be glass-half-full as best you can. It may be practical to be angry in the short term, but in the long term, small doses of positivity can have life long benefits in ways perhaps we can't know right now.
And so, with all that said, I promised myself I would make the most of 2018 in spite of my health problems. I'm not going to let 2018 go to waste like 2017 was wasted. Life is too short to not make the most of this year. My left is frozen solid and my right gets a bit worse each day, the pain a bit worse each day. But I know I will get through this. No matter what, I know I will find a way.
brent28997 Constantine585
Posted
Constantine,
I applaud your attitude. It isn't easy to be positive when dealing with constant pain but you seem to be on a good path. Part of my stress was helping my wife deal with Trigeminal neuralgia also known as "the suicide disease." Her headaches were unbearable and constant. Towards the end she never had any relief. Fortunately we found a remarkable neurosurgeon that did brain surgery and some two years later she is 80% relieved of the head pain. One month after my wife had surgery my son decided his time on earth was done and he said goodbye. At that point I don't think my stress level could have gotten any higher. I also had 3 daughter's decide to get married in that the same year so financially at that point I was struggling.
It breaks my heart to hear that you are struggling AND estranged from your family. I can't imagine going through the stress of life with pain as well and not having my family to turn to. I do know this, if there is any way to mend those relationships do it. Even if you were not wrong. I would give anything to sit and spend one more day with my son. Maybe I could convince him that his problems weren't life ending and better days were ahead. Don't wait until it is too late and you live with regret. Go's bless you and good luck.
Constantine585 brent28997
Posted
Brent28997: Thank you so much for your deeply personal and honest reply. My cluster headaches are also a trigeminal nerve disorder, and if you read the wikipedia page on it (which unfortunately has a lot of misinformation on it, but is better than nothing), it sounds very similar to what your wife is going through. It is also known as "suicide headaches," and that term is used frequently to describe the condition. The pain is truly unbearable, but I found a support forum online where people really help each other cope through it. Clusters and Trigeminal Neuralgia are very similar in nature although different in some ways as well, from what I've read.
People understand that nerve pain is horrible, but those of us who suffer from it in our heads are truly in a dangerous, life threatening situation; not simply because of the pain, which is awful -- but because of the complete reduction in quality of life, the anger, the frustration and loss of self-worth. Of course, I can only speak for myself here, but the negative day-to-day for those who suffer from these kinds of illnesses tends to be universal, regardless of who you are or what your personality is or was. My heart goes out to your wife in her struggle to live with that condition. Quality of life is paramount. It truly is a daily struggle, and for the family as well. 80% relief is amazing because I know that that's probably on the higher end of the success column. I truly hope she continues to see a reduction in her pain.
But I am so deeply saddened to hear of your son's passing. That breaks my heart to read. I wish you could hear my tone as I write this to know how much I mean that. I have suffered in my life there is no question, but what you go through is something else entirely, something I can only see from the outside looking in, something I know I know nothing about. And I am humbled by that. Very, very humbled.
As for me and my family... I just don't know what to say. I feel terrible telling someone who has lost his son that I cannot fix my relationship with my family. I wish I could. I know I have regrets, and regrets will just continue to mount if I don't everything I can to stop them, but sometimes I feel caught in a storm, and all I can do is hold onto the nearest rock and hope I don't get pulled away by the intensity of the wind. I know family should be that rock, but for me, it is not. I have to be that rock... because I don't think they are emotionally capable of offering any meaningful support. It's simply an unfortunate reality of my situation that extends decades into the past.
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Adhesive capsulitis IMO is a genetic disorder of some kind none of us should blame ourselves for. But stress doesn't help the situation. That much I'm confident in saying.
I don't know how much optimism will help, but I do know that the dark hole makes things worse. Managing stress is no question very important for all of us, frozen shoulders or not. And certainly with frozen shoulders, every problem we have is more challenging to manage.
The loss of your son puts my situation in a different perspective. Thank you for being so honest with me. I'll try as hard as I can to do better today and tomorrow, for me and your son's memory. I hope that's okay for me to say.
brent28997 Constantine585
Posted
Constantine,
Have you looked into microvascular decompression surgery? I'm not sure if it is effective for your situation but I encourage you to look into it. My wife is a different person today because of it. I truly hope that you find some relief from your headaches as I know just how much they can wear on you both physically and mentally.
Thank you for the kind words regarding my son. AFC Christopher Michael Zook was a great soldier, husband, father, and son and he is deeply missed.
lisa80451 Constantine585
Posted