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frozen shoulder not sleeping

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Hi all of you out there, Now I really understand constant pain and I really sympathise with you all. When I was first diagnosed it meant nothing to me I was going on holiday to a hot country and thought it would right itself. I cannot afford to stay off work, but am drugged up to the eye-balls but that does not cover the pain, I am not able to do anything I planned and have very sleep interupted nights. I am waiting to see a Surgeon , the Physio said that there was nothing they could do - I lost over 50% movement from the start, so the pain, the longevity of this condition combined makes it all very gloomy. So all the best to you fed-up people out there, I just hope that you can have a comfortable night and get some sleep.

4 likes, 69 replies

69 Replies

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  • swanara
    swanara

    Posted

    i simply cannot believe the level of pain i am having to endure and that is WITH extremely strong pain kiollers and Napraxolen. i tried doing without the pain killers yesterday, just sticking with the N, but by the evening i was nearly passing out with the pain and and am now drugged up to the eyeballs again. And to what end? So i become a junkie? Well great, that i can do without. Sorry to moan but to say that this has impacted on the quality of my life is an understatement. This on top of a horrendous menapause is just dandy. ironically since the onset of this horrible thing my menapausal symptoms have abated somewhat but maybe my hrt is finally kicking in. i have gone stir crazy and rashly thought a walk would be nice. it was nice to feel the wind on my face but every step resulted in the most unpleasant boring pain through my shoulder and arm. at the moment i can't see how i can do my job or if this condition entitles me to a period of leave. i have just started half term so i have a week to 'improve'. or do i just go to work and just endure the pain. so fed up. reading through everyones posts makes me realise i am not making this up or exagerating. What a horrible condition it is. I love the way drs brightly say 'oh yes, it will get better' and when you ask when they say oh so blithely 'Oh, between 18months to 3 years'. When the dr said that to me i thought he was joking! Clearly he wasn't. Oh well i just needed to rant a bit and to say to all you sufferers out there i so feel your pain (ha ha ha hadi ha bloody ha!). Do you know what im going to do now, have a bloody drink! x
  • angel103
    angel103

    Posted

    Oh Swanara, I feel your pain! I wish I bloody didn't. Until August I'd heard of frozen shoulder and thought it meant a stiff shoulder. Nothing like the excruciating pain that is this. I take paracetamol and codeine, gabapentin and amitriptyline for a bad back and none of it touches my poorly shoulder. My GP prescribed me naproxen but I had to stop taking it despite taking ranitidine because years of eating diclofenac like smarties for my back pain has left me with a bad stomach to boot. I'm off work sick, my life is on hold, can't make any plans. Can't do my hair, shave my armpits, use a knife and fork at the dining table, take off my own coat. I've seen a surgeon and got to have capsular release surgery if no improvement within another 7 weeks. I tried going for a walk the other day to see if I can make my arm move but the shockwaves of pain with every step made me realise this was not a good idea. I hurt my upper arm months before my shoulder froze up but I am just beginning my menopause and I can feel twinges in my good arm. God forbid I get this in my other shoulder, I just can't cope with the thought. I had a steroid injection 3 weeks ago and that's not helped. I bet all the doctors who tell us how painful they know it is (how??) and how long it will last (oh, it is self-limiting and will get better on it's own, in about 18 months and fastening your own bra will be the last function you get back) have never suffered from this horribly painful condition. A drink might help actually.
  • angel103
    angel103

    Posted

    I wonder, has anyone tried swimming? I am desperate to get moving and wonder if swimming would help. Despite the hairy armpits (can't raise my arm to reach/shave), will I be able to swim with only one working arm? I'm getting a grandson in March, my first grandchild and I won't be able to pick him up if I'm not better :-(
  • sharon80036
    sharon80036

    Posted

    I tried swimming a few months ago (on vacation) and could manage the breast stroke and in fact I felt like it was doing my shoulder some good but don't have access to a pool now. The other thing that I've tried in the way of arm exercise is a rowing machine. Because it's all forward motion, for me at least, it's do-able. I don't know whether it will increase mobility, but am going to buy one because my upper arms (I have FS in both shoulders) are turning to mush.
  • katie1963
    katie1963

    Posted

    Hi folks, most of you will have survived your bout of frozen shoulder so this info will not be pertinent to you. I am from Canada and am in the process of going through my second bout of frozen shoulder; started 4 years ago in my non dominant arm and has now moved to my dominant one (has been coming on for probably the better part of a year but it is the last month that it has rapidly progressed to limiting arm movement and is starting to effect my sleep. When I had it the first time I was in TERRIBLE constant pain for about 5 weeks while PTs kept trying to increase my mobility (not something you should do during the freezing stage as your shoulder will just recreate the adhesions and you will only cause more pain for yourself) which only ended up creating even more pain. Finally I was told to get a cortisone shot (not sure what the health care is like in the UK but in Canada it is free). I had two shots put in two different parts of my shoulder and IMMEDIATELY the pain and stiffness all through my neck and shoulders disappeared. 10 days later I had another doctor put one directly into the side of my shoulder and I never had a sleepless night again!! I still had mobility issues and when I had a day that I did too much (I am a mother of 3 busy boys with my own jewellery business) my arm would ache a bit (i would put a pillow under the arm pit and apply a bit of heat which would alleviate that) and over time, with not too much in the way of exercising, I even better mobility in my left arm than I had before. I am seeing the doctor that gave me the final shot on Wed and I know he will be able to help me again with my right arm. I have a busy life and business and without the cortisone shot I would not have been able to function. Frozen shoulder runs its course and will go away eventually but at the least get a cortisone shot that will significantly help you with the pain. Good luck!

    • alison600
      alison600 katie1963

      Posted

      HI Katie.  Thanks for posting this.  It was good for me to read a positive message from a frozen shoulder sufferer.  I have had it for about 2 months now.  I started physio a couple of weeks ago which I thought was helping but now I am not so sure.  I am determined to try to stay positive and focus on what I can still do rather than what I can't do.  My physio says there is no evidence that manipulation helps but I think I might give it a try anyway as there doesn't seem to be much evidence that physio helps!  I have been offered an injection by the GP but am not very confident that he'll inject the right place!  Thanks again.  Alison.  
    • samantha91871
      samantha91871 alison600

      Posted

      Alison, I had an injection by my gp yesterday.  there is no change although i wonder if it's too soon to tell.  I have however experienced more pain across both shoulders since it was done.  I have exercises to try but from my experience of manipulation it seems to inflame the area more.  I found it excrutiating.
    • alison600
      alison600 samantha91871

      Posted

      Hi Samantha.  Sorry to hear you had no change following your injection. Was it very painful?   I did read that a some injections (as many as 60% I read) don't get injected into the right place.  Some people say it was successful on the 2nd attempt.  Did you get manipulation treatment from an nhs physio?  I have just been to see the nhs physio for my 2nd 15 minute visit.  She says that she doesn't need to see me any more and has left me with a sheet with pictures of exercizes on.  The pictures don't make it clear what I am meant to do - I would have thought she would at least run through them with me.  Anyhow don't want to moan too much. I am trying to focus on the positive.  Just discovered I can still play the piano.  I was quite surprised as I thought that I wouldn't be able to, as I can't even eat soup with my right hand any more.  Unless I put my head virtually in the bowl !  Alison.  
    • katie1963
      katie1963 alison600

      Posted

      Alison600 and samantha91871  I have had cortisone shots several times; frozen shoulder #1 which was over 6 yrs ago now (see previous posts) I had a family doctor do it in two different places which IMMEDIATLY aleviated the cramping of all my muscles in neck and upper back but I still had radiating pain down shoulder. He said to leave it a few days and if not better to go see another doctor who was a SPORTS DOCTOR (and therefore gives injections regularly and knows what he is doing) who had also been recommended to me by someone else. I went to him 10 days later and that night was the first night that I had slept in 5 weeks BUT the pain took several weeks to totally diminish and the mobility did not come back for another year or so. I still slept for another 6 months with a pillow in my arm pit (opening up the joint and with my shoulder and elbow slightly elevated and with a HEATING PAD on my shoulder every night (warm baths are great too). Dec 2013 after 6 months of a sore shoulder (tendonitis likely) i developed frozen shoulder in my right shoulder (previous was left). I did exactky the same thing; went to family doctor who helped aleviate the pain a bit and then went to same sports doctor (because they know how to give injections) who nailed it (and yes it was painful!!) right in the shoulder joing. This time it did not get rid of the pain entirely as i am right handed and I work with my hands (jewellery maker) but I know it made a HUGE difference and made the achiness tolerable; used a heating pad at night so i could sleep and sometimes durig the day. Almost exactly a year to the day in Dec 2014 I could feel my shoulder start to thaw and the radiating pain went away. I still get some pain if I push my arm too much in one direction as I am sure there is scar tissue and all I need to do is work on moving it more. My left arm has better mobility than before I had frozen shoulder and my right arm will get there. I do too much and I am sure stress played a big part in me developing it both times but the cortisone defenitely played a big part in making the pain either disappear or be more manageable. Prior to getting an injection in my left shoulder 6 years ago the pain was UNBEARABLE !! Good luck and keep me posted! sorry for the typos!
    • samantha91871
      samantha91871 alison600

      Posted

      i will go see my friend who is a sports massage therapist next week.  i still think that it may improve in days to come as i ony got it done 2 days ago.  i have slight improvement when i'm up and about but it's worse when i am in bed.  i dont think its worth trying anything else as with a frozen shoulder it does thaw on its own in around 2 years.  
    • alison600
      alison600 katie1963

      Posted

      Thanks Katie.  I have made an appointment with my GP to discuss an injection.  In the meantime trying to keep up with the exercizing.  Alison.  
    • alison600
      alison600 samantha91871

      Posted

      Hi Samantha.  I have heard of quite a few people who say that the 2nd injection was successful, but not the first - so may be worth discussing with the GP again if it doesn't get much better.  Good luck with it.  Alison.  
    • samantha91871
      samantha91871 katie1963

      Posted

      thanks Katie.  The sleeping tips are helpful and i'll give them a go.  
    • ray59333
      ray59333 alison600

      Posted

      Hi Alison,  I have had a frozen shoulder for 6 months.  I did not go see a Doctor until 3 months after I injured it.  He gave me a cortizone injection and told me to return in one month.  I did and it was the same if not worst.  Then he decided to send me to PT.  This was very painful but you have to gather a positive attitude and believe this will help.  I went twice per week for a few month.  The days that I am not at PT, I do the same exercises at home.  Since I have been so dedicated to getting over this condition, I have phased into the Thawing state.  This is my only advice.  You have to keep moving it, stretching it and exercising.  I use a hot rice sock to warm it up before exercising and 15 minutes of Ice directly after.  I still have trouble sleeping and have limited movement, but progress is being made.  Keep the faith and stay with it.  Eventually it will start to come back.  There are exercises on Youtube to assist. Harvard Health and Dr. Brian Albertson can help, google them. Google Frozen shoulder exercises and stsretching.  Good luck.
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