Menopausal Frozen Shoulder

I'm 50 and have a frozen shoulder left for almost 3 years en for aprox 6 months now on the right side. Hope by the way my English is good enough...

Lesly I do recognise 80% of what you are writing.... It's such a bad "disease" ... pain pain and a lot of stifness also in other joints. I will call my GP comming Monday. I think in Holland there also is a special ladies clinique. Will try to find that. I think and hope they must know more about the hormone treatment when you have a frozen shoulder. Since jan 12 I do not work anymore (I am a secretary and can't work with my computer, mouse etc.)

Now I have Zaldiar as a painkiller. 3 x time a day at the most. I take 1 of 2 a day. It's tramadol with paracetamol. I does help but it makes you sleepy and I feel it is not a cure... 

I hope the hormone treatment will help. As you wrote before, I also don't want to get it in other partas of my joint. I also feel my left hip a bit and after sitting whilst watching tv for example I feel 80 years  when I get up... Muscles or joints... ?

Anyway, I felt I had to reply, thanks a million for letting know your experience! I can't type as much... you know the frozen shoulder

How are you doing now?

Bye Sandra  

In march I had a full hysterectomy after a

large fibroid caused a dvt in my leg. In June I woke up with a really painful shoulder that

just appeared over night no reason for it I

have never heard of this being s symptom of the menopause so I am wondering I I should see the doctor about it its still painful and tender I have what seems like every symptom hot flushes terrible night sweats aches and pains all since the op my doctor wouldn't give me hrt because I am 53

Thanks Lesley, I will get myself some oestrogen 'wd40'!

Caroline

I've read through a lot (not all) of this thread. 

I thought my problem was due to a combination of a riding accident 20 years ago (I landed on my right shoulder) and dislocating the same shoulder in a fall 6 years ago. I just thought old war wounds were catching up with me.

Recently the pain has got much worse and like many ladies here I can't dry my hair properly any more! I automatically reach for something with my right hand, then have to send my left hand in to rescue it. I can lift my arm, but can't bring it down without agonising pain

About a year ago I askedmy GP for HRT. We had discussed this before and come to the conclusion that I would try other things (Sage tablets etc) first. Well I tried them and nothing helped with the flushes etc. He gave me Kliofem and I have been MUCH better with it.

Unfortunately I have fibroids and cysts and have suffered with Endometriosis and recently have had some breakthrough bleeding and stopped the HRT.

I'm on the list to see a NHS Physio, but in the meantime have gone private. My Physio is a lovely young girl who has worked miracles with the stiffness in my shoulder but I can't afford to keep seeing her and the pain is getting worse.

After reading your thread I am convinced that the frozen shoulder is hormone related so what to do??? Should I start the HRT again and have reduced pain, no hot flushes and a good nights sleep - with a slightly raised risk of cancer. Or give in to the bogieman and NOT take HRT?

Anyone have any ideas?

I also have frozen shoulder.  I have had it since December 2014. 

In March I started taking Black Cohosh in a few forms (meaning a Whole Foods brands Daytime/Nighttime tablet, a Pure Black Cohosh tablet during lunch and a Menopause One multi vitamin that include Black Cohosh at lunch as well).  They have helped considerablly with my hot flashes, night sweats and mood.  I feel MUCH better.  And about 3 months later my Frozen Shoulder seemed to become less painful.  

Literally, the day after the pain was lessened I saw a specialist that said MUA was perfect for me, but we decided to try the Cortisone shot first.  It has been 10 weeks and I am still pain free.  Because of this I have been able to start exercising and using that arm somewhat.  I am definitely still frozen as I do not have 100% mobility but it is better and I am pain free.

So not sure if the Black Cohosh helped - it definitely worked for me on with the Menopause symptoms.  I wanted to avoid HRT for a while so was happy to get decent results from this option.

The fact that my Frozen Shoulder is potentially linked to my menopause was a revelation.  I see so many specialists that no one doctor has all the information - meaning my GYN and Endocronlogist knew about my Menopause.  My GP and Ortho knew about my Frozen Shoulder. 

I have an appointment later this month to bring my GP up to speed on EVERYTHING. 

All I can say is the 7 months of pain wore me down so much.  Nothing could touch it and while Black Cohosh probably will not work for everyone - and it is not a fast remedy - I do know it helped get rid of 90% of my menopause symptoms (within 2-3 weeks) and seemed to maybe help with my shoulder somewhat after an extended period of time (3 months). 

I went off one of the tablets and had hot flashes come back wtihin the week so just decided to get back on all the tablets and they went away again.  Black Cohosh mimics hormones in our bodies (without actually being a hormone).  Will not work for everyone.

All this being said - I KNOW how terrible this affliction is.  It wore me down and I was so miserable, tired and unhappy.  I tried physcial therapy, airrosti - just about everything.  Found when I did exercise (with a LOT of efford) my shoulder would warm up and feel better - but that took a lot for me.  I could not wash my hair, shave or do anything with my right arm being frozen. 

I constantly feel like my left arm is tightening and I just do exercises to try and keep it moving every other day (weights and push ups etc... ).  One of my hips is clicking and painful when I do certain exercises (not walking, running or anything simple thank goodness) - so I am fearful of getting Frozen Hip too.  But I find exercise and positive thinking helps.  If my body freezes up in multiple places - and I am in that kind of pain I will definitely have a problem. 

So I am open to HRT if needed, but will continue on Black Cohosh for now and will get another cortisone shot this fall if it is needed - but am hoping I can get to the other side in 2016 without it. 

If you can get to a less painful place - I do recommend exercise to help.  If nothing else, it also helps take are minds off the aches of aging too :-)  I have not felt better in the past year and am thankful I got to this place through some devine luck honestly - taking one herb to help with menopause somehow helped with my shoulder (not realizing they were linked in the first place which makes so much sense now). 

So if you are female, over 45, having some menopause symptoms and Frozen Shoulder/Hip - I would recommend giving Black Cohosh a try.  If it does help somewhat and you are open to a cortisone shot... do that.  The shot HURTS but within 24-48 hours I was pain free. 

I am doing some light exercises and am now probably at 60-70% mobility.  I can sleep - which all helps my mood.  I feel the downward spiral has been broken and while I am not over this yet - I can try to do things that will make it all better.  Before I was in such pain, I could not do anything to help myself. 

So thank you all for this post.  It was a revelation to learn about the connection.  I am hoping to avoid MUA and just work through this with exercise, Black Cohosh and positive energy/thought.  Oh - and getting all my doctors on the same page.  When I have my bone density scan next January I will be sure to tell her and my Endocronologist about my Frozen Shoulder and Hip concerns.  They scan my hip every year to ensure I am not losing bone density. 

An important lesson for certain.  With the fractured healthcare system here in the US - you have to really work hard to ensure you get the care you need, deserve and want.  And with a painful issue like Frozen Shoulder that is not always easy. 

My heart goes out to all those who suffer from this - so please do not give up.  Have a strong heart and faith you will come out on the other side.  I am not out of the woods yet, but I have hope now which is something.

Cheers~

April

OK this could all just be a coincidence but seeing this discussion has got me wondering.  Trouble is, I have little confidence in my GP buying into this.  The GP practice has had many staff changes and I rarely see the same doctor twice.  They just check back my notes and repeat what the last doctor said.  Hope I'm not just clutching at straws here but this has given me something to think about!

Going to make appointment with nurse practicioner

Thank you

I'm now so frustrated to be dealing with this again and would love to discuss and gain support from those of you who have been through this before.

Best regards

Kathy

double FS sufferer here. About 7 yrs at age 45 I first got it in my non-dominant shoulder, then one year later, just as I was starting to thaw on that side, I got it in my dominant shoulder. I had a very bad case of it, particularly in that first non-dominant shoulder. 2.5 yrs after the whole ordeal started, at age 48, I was pretty much back to normal. Now I'm 52, and my dominant shoulder has started to exhibit terrifyingly familiar serious pain. I startled Googling for info on FS recurrence and ended up here.

What I wanted to add re: hormonal factors is that as I've gone through a very rough perimeno patch over the last 2 years, I've done a lot of research about what actually happens to women's hormones during the perimenopausal transition, and contrary to popular belief, estrogen levels typically do *not* decline until you are almost completely all the way to full menopause. Rather, estrogen levels typically *increase* during the perimenopausal transition as your body tries harder and harder to compensate for a failing reproductive system. So while I absolutely do believe that the prevalence of FS in women betwen 40-60 is related to hormonal changes, I am certainly not convinced that the problem is falling estrogen. Rather, I suspect the problem is too *much* estrogen, probably in combination with other hormonal changes as well. So starting estrogen/HRT before you are fully into meno may be adding fuel to the fire  and may be making the FS worse, not better. Hope this is grounds for careful consideration and further research for you all.

Peace and best wishes to all,

D