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Frozen Shoulder Sufferers

Posted , 8 users are following.

Shorty015
Shorty015

I have been dealing with a frozen shoulder over 6 months now. I have to my primary doctor whom did not have a clue on what was going on. Continued to be in exteme pain and not sleeping. Next stop was to get an x-ray. That showed nothing so off I went to get an MRI. In the meantime I went to P/T for 24 sessions twice a week to no avail. Through all of this no one could tell what was wrong with my left arm. All I could tell the Dr's was how bad it hurt and where and the inability to sleep at night. After MRI my Dr thought it was next and sent me to a neurosurgeon. He said it absolutely was not my neck that it is my shoulder so back to Dr again. The only difference is this time I saw a different Dr and she said right off that I have Frozen Shoulder. I have never heard of such a thing. She put me on percocetto help me to sleep at night. For me that did no good at all. Well here I am close to 7 months with no relieve. I am so frustrated I am barking at people for no reason which I am sure is part of the not getting any decent sleep at night. I have decided to try acupuncture. I have heard of positive results with the process. Well, I have to say that last week was my first session. After the session I had more mobility than when I went in. I had dry needling while in P/T so the needle thing wasn't an issue. I am really excited to see if this will work. If not, surgery will be next and something I do not want to do.

Hoping this will since nothing else has.

Shorty015

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • christina35172
    christina35172 Shorty015

    Posted

    I had a frozen left shoulder for even longer than you.  I tried everything, cortisone shots, anti-imflammatory meds, physical therapy, chiropractor, massage, acupunture.  Nothing gave any real relief.  I had to sleep on an ice pack all night.  And sleep was not good at all - for many months.  I finally gave in and had the manipulation under anethesia.  It was a miracle!  Within just a few days I was down to almost no pain!  It has been 9 months since my MUA.  My only regret is that I put it off (due to the cost), I should have done it sooner!!!!!
    • Shorty015
      Shorty015 christina35172

      Posted

      Apparently, I am to far along in the frozen state to have cortisone shots so that and chiroprator are the two things I have not tried.  I do have to say I am in day 4 of the first acupuncture session I have considerably more motion than I had last week before acupuncture.  While in this session he also massaged (which was terrible pain), cupped and 1 other procedure using what felt like a hammer.  Will going back tomorrow.  Will keep everyone posted.  I would have to say so far so good and hopefully no MUA.  I am trying to avoid that if at all possible.
  • linda37283
    linda37283 Shorty015

    Posted

    I agree with christina! Go for manipulation asap!! You will not regret it!
  • amy729
    amy729 Shorty015

    Posted

    I had the same experience one year ago. On the recommendation of others, I kept going to PT, which was excruciatingly painful (couldn't get through it without screaming, even when using painkillers). I decided to stop PT altogether and do acupuncture once a week. The frozen shoulder started to get better within a few weeks. It's now 90% back to normal, with no pain but still a somewhat limited range of motion.

    If you follow this course of action, however, what's important is not to baby the shoulder that's frozen. So if it's your left shoulder, you need to use the left arm to do as many daily activities as you can, just short of sharp pain. This might start out very small, like drinking out of a glass only with your left hand, but you'll gradually be able to do more and more. The key is to use the arm continually every day, but not do anything with it that causes the sharp pain.

    Hope that helps!

    • Shorty015
      Shorty015 amy729

      Posted

      I am hoping that the acupuncture is going to be a success.  So far so good so will just have to wait and see.  Last night I even seem to sleep a little better.  That has been the hardest part is not sleeping.  I do try to use it as much as possible plus doing a few excercises to help regain the motion.  It has been a different experience and one I do not wish on anyone.
  • cjunkiiee
    cjunkiiee Shorty015

    Posted

    Hi all,

    I had fs for about 9mos. Im completely recovered now. Like everyone here I tried everything after a bicycle fall doc said I'll be fine. Then 3 weeks later I was not able to raise my arm. Got sent to pt and maybe I'm lucky I had a good pt. She never made me do anything that was painful compared to other horror stories I hear about p.t. while my pt is great my arm continued to be stuck. So I tried neurokinesiology which was nothing but a quack. I wanted to believe but my shoulder did not budge. My chiropractor who I really love did not dare mess with my shoulder and said I should just go and get an MRI. I have some bruising on my shoulder plus fs. Nothing more. I got a back buddy from Amazon and I was able to give myself back massages. Then I went and got an accupucnture done and then rom returned. After my one session I continued with the suggestions my pt gave me and finally I was able to raise my arm. Little by little with exercise and now my fs is gone. So if you can avoid surgery just try other avenues first but if the accupucnture is no longer helping and no more daily improvement then I guess you won't have any other options but to do the surgery. Good luck to you all.

    • frozen_stiff
      frozen_stiff cjunkiiee

      Posted

      You didn't have a frozen shoulder yours was caused by an injury. This type of injury normally gets bettter in a year or less no matter what you do. Fs is never caused by injury or operations or any of the other 50 causes attributed to it including lyme disease. I speak from experience and from scientific papers.

    • cjunkiiee
      cjunkiiee frozen_stiff

      Posted

      I did have frozen shoulder as a result of an injury. It was just as painful to me trying to get some sleep at night for the first 2-3mos before my shoulder completely froze than others who have experienced the pre-registration stage. It was painful when my shoulder got bump, yep I had all of that good stuff. And I did get an x-ray then MRI from an orthopedic specialist. My shoulder was consistent with fs. This was from UCSF which is one of top u.s. hospitals. Initially prior to my MRI my pt thought it might have been a tear in my rotator cuff which was why I ended up getting an MRI. I was just very fortunate that it resolved in a short period of time. And I did experience the cracking during the thaw period. I'm sure everyone has different experience with fs. And there can never be enough scientific theories out there. We can always learn some more.

    • lisa198889
      lisa198889 cjunkiiee

      Posted

      Hello cjunkiiee

      ?I had the xrays , the MRI to rule out rotator tear etc, all negative and MD finally settled on "possible FS", and from reading all the signs, Im positive thats what I have. Left shoulder, excrutiating pain if I jerk wrong, or make a sudden movement. Can fasten clothes behind my back, can lift arm up, but not straight up. I am one of the lucky ones that can sleep at night as long as I dont lay on that arm. I am starting PT soon. I am worried they might aggravate it more and dont know what to expect, but I do know using it can only do good rather than not using it at all. I am not sure what "stage" I am in and dont know how to tell. I have pain only with those limited movements, otherwise if that arm is just hanging down I dont have pain at all. If I do something to really aggaravate it I will have thorbbing achy pain down the entire arm all day that usually requires ibuprofen. This is why Im worried PT might aggravate it. How long before you reached the "thaw" stage, and how did you know you were in this stage. I found your experience to sound more on the positive side rather than hopeless and defeated. Some of these post can depress me. Im glad you shared your experience even though you are better, which sheds some light that this is not permanent. I prefer to stay away from pain killers as I dont want something else to occur like stomach ulcer or liver problems.  Thank you for sharing your experience.

      ?and btw, I did read that FS can occur for no reason as well as from a shoulder injury and either way its still FS and the symptoms are the same. In reading what you described I have no doubt that yours was in fact FS too.

  • henpen1980
    henpen1980 Shorty015

    Posted

    Chin up and keep sorting through the icky stuff!!  YOu can do it!!  Slow and steady wins this race!!! GOOD LUCK !!!

     

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