Menopausal Frozen Shoulder

First of all, I was happy to read about others going through this miserable condition. I had never even heard of this condition and I think most people have little to no sympathy as it doesn't sound all that bad to have a "frozen shoulder"I am 48. I first injured my shoulder in October 2012 while playing tennis, running and "diving" for a ball landing on an outstretched arm. It was very painful for a few days and I was convinced I broke something. Went for medical exam and a low-grade shoulder separation was diagnosed. I was 100% improved a month or two later. January 2013, the nightmare begins. I was slowly getting painful and more restricted movement in my left shoulder.I was still trying to play tennis with using only my right arm, but I would have episodes (while jerking the left shoulder) of excruciating pain that I would have to stop playing and wait out the agony for a few minutes. I eventually had to serve underhand as I could not toss at all. Went back to doc and he diagnosed an impingement and sent me to therapy which was too painful and I was regressing. The therapist advised that I quit the therapy and return to the doctor. This time, he gives me a more thorough examination and immediately diagnosed a frozen shoulder. I also had an MRI somewhere in here and a possible labrum tear was also revealed.I am doing therapy 2x/week now, but just feel it is not really helping. The pain has subsided somewhat in that I can put on baggy shirts all by myself and get a razor under my arm. Still can only do one-handed hair-styling. Some have suggested accupuncture which I haven't tried. I did have one cortisone shot which did nothing.I am taking celebrex and a vitamin-mix for joints. The worst news of all is that I think it is now starting in my right shoulder. It is not nearly as bad, but the same type of pain, and the same movements/jerks cause pain. I am trying to keep stretching it out so it doesn't freeze up like the other one. So, this second shoulder started about 3 months after the first one.I almost don't want to tell anyone I am getting it on the other side as they may think I am losing my mind and imagining things.The doctor seems willing to do arthroscopic surgery, but with some mild improvements in the level of pain I hate the thought of starting over. On the other hand, do I want to deal with this for years and then still need surgery? And, do I want surgery on the left shoulder while developing the FS on the right shoulder? Also, I have not hit menopause at this point and have regular cycles and no symptoms, but could it still be related to my age and getting close to that fun stage of life?Any thoughts would be appreciated and I was so happy to be able to read the above posts.

Hi Linda

I really do feel for you I do.

Only last night whilst sat watching TV, I said to my worst half, I feel my left arm moaning a bit. He has FS in

his left arm mine is in the right. We came to the conclusion it's psychosomatic and my Ian is the most level

headed man I've ever met. HRT worked within 48hours and I didn't need it either, but I researched it really well.. FS is not just in folk of a certain

age. Diabetics get it a lot. I've been sporty all my life but felt like a cripple for months. But now becuase of

the accupunture working I can see an end to all of this. So for it. I have it done on the NHS and David who

does it has a vast knowledge on FS so it's a win win situation. Surgery, he said yesterday only have it done

if you cannot bare the pain after the FS as gone. If I can live with the pain of the torn tendon after all of this,

then it's all been worth it. I take 2 zapin at night time, which helps so much with the tossing and turning. Iburofren x2 in the morning and that's it now. Before I used to rattle with all the medication.

Hope this helps.

cheers

Sharon from Sunny Cornwall

Hi Linda

I really do feel for you I do.

Only last night whilst sat watching TV, I said to my worst half, I feel my left arm moaning a bit. He has FS in

his left arm mine is in the right. We came to the conclusion it's psychosomatic and my Ian is the most level

headed man I've ever met. HRT worked within 48hours and I didn't need it either, but I researched it really well.. FS is not just in folk of a certain

age. Diabetics get it a lot. I've been sporty all my life but felt like a cripple for months. But now becuase of

the accupunture working I can see an end to all of this. So for it. I have it done on the NHS and David who

does it has a vast knowledge on FS so it's a win win situation. Surgery, he said yesterday only have it done

if you cannot bare the pain after the FS as gone. If I can live with the pain of the torn tendon after all of this,

then it's all been worth it. I take 2 zapin at night time, which helps so much with the tossing and turning. Iburofren x2 in the morning and that's it now. Before I used to rattle with all the medication.

Hope this helps.

cheers

Sharon from Sunny Cornwall

Hi Linda

I really do feel for you I do.

Only last night whilst sat watching TV, I said to my worst half, I feel my left arm moaning a bit. He has FS in

his left arm mine is in the right. We came to the conclusion it's psychosomatic and my Ian is the most level

headed man I've ever met. HRT worked within 48hours and I didn't need it either, but I researched it really well.. FS is not just in folk of a certain

age. Diabetics get it a lot. I've been sporty all my life but felt like a cripple for months. But now becuase of

the accupunture working I can see an end to all of this. So for it. I have it done on the NHS and David who

does it has a vast knowledge on FS so it's a win win situation. Surgery, he said yesterday only have it done

if you cannot bare the pain after the FS as gone. If I can live with the pain of the torn tendon after all of this,

then it's all been worth it. I take 2 zapin at night time, which helps so much with the tossing and turning. Iburofren x2 in the morning and that's it now. Before I used to rattle with all the medication.

Hope this helps.

cheers

Sharon from Sunny Cornwall

Hi Linda

Please try not to get too downhearted. Frozen Shoulder IS a self limiting condition. I can identify exactly with the pain you talk about, especially the sudden exruciating pain on sudden movement. This is a spasm, and is well known in FS.

I doubt you will ever know if it showing up now is related to your hormones - but in most women of a certain age - it usually is. I have done a lot of research on this, and a LOT of very athletic and sporty women are felled by it after a lifetime of being very flexible and fit. The second shoulder starting up at the same time is also very common, and I would say an indication that your tendons have indeed been affected by low estrogen.My understanding is that frozen shoulder itself is not an actual symptom of perimenopause - but the slow changes to the tendons and connective tissues that come with the start of meno can lead to frozen shoulder - especially as you also had an injury playing tennis.

This condition can cause pain almost everywhere in the area of the back and shoulder and neck. For a while, as well as the FS I had terrible constant pain in my left bicep and shoulder blade and elbow. Then I had spasms behind my clavicle. My right arm had the same pain in the shoulder, but it never fully progressed into FS. Mine started in July last year, worst time for pain was November December, and I have almost full range of movement back today in May.I do still get mild aches and pains, mostly after sleeping and lying in the same position for a while. I never ever get spasms now. There are three stages - and I believe you are in the very painful stage when the spasms are frequent. This will shortly be followed by less movement, but not so much pain. My experience was that physio made it worse as I could not bear to move my left arm at all.

My advice to you would be to monitor yourself closely. Firstly, find a wall you can make a pencil mark on, stand sideways to it and raise your bad arm as much as you can. Mark the height your fingers can get to.Do gentle exercises, by throwing a long scarf over a door, wrap the ends round both hands, and use the scarf like a pulley to raise your bad arm with your good arm. Monitor how much movement you start to get back. One day I could not believe it - it was like something had 'released' and I could raise it a good six inches more with no pain. It really did happen almost over night for me.

However the whole process wont be quick I am afraid. This is a notoriously long lasting slow condition, and I would give yourself a year at least before you start thinking about surgery. You will have to make up your own mind about that, but for many people, surgery is not the answer and it comes with its own complications. The tendons around the shoulder capsule have adhered to each other, and to your bone, and they eventually release themselves....I personally do not think it is a good idea to force the process. perhaps you should read up on it to get a full understanding of what is going on. When you see diagrams of tendons, and impingement...you suddenly really see what is happening inside your shoulder and fully inderstand the pain. DONT force anything. I probably would not even try to continue tennis for a while either, your probably wont do further damage, but you certainly wont help matters.

Sorry if I sound a bit 'doom and gloomish' at the moment....it is a long process, and you are at the worst part,. but IT WILL resolve when the time is right for you. No one ever had FS for life, and you do not get it again.

Don't worry and look after yourself.

Lesley

Linda - I also meant to add that I had almost no other symptoms of peri meno, except for periods getting a little erratic. No sweats, no flushes. I am 51 now and missing periods, but STILL have had no 'normal' symptoms of meno, just the aches and pains.

The only way to be sure where you are in meno is to get your FSH levels checked in a blood test. Mine were very high, so I went on HRT - low dose was no use, high dose worked almost like a miracle for the pain andstiffness I felt in my other joints, back and neck.Obviously it did not 'cure' the FS as I mentioned above, which is a by product of the changes - but I definitely felt it was making things better. Unfortunately had to come off it due to high blood pressure and new migraines...but I would recommend HRT to anyone. I just wanted to tell you this as you mentioned you had no symptoms of meno yet. I believe we should never underestimate the power of hormones and their effect on every part of our body. We are not all the same, and some women think they have sailed through the change, only to one day wake up and be hirpling around like a 90 year old with aching joints.

....one last thing, I tried Bowen Therapy, its a bit weird and feels like nothing is being done...but it definitely worked for me.

Like the rest of you I remain very confused as to how to treat a frozen shoulder but I have found your discussions reassuring and it's just good to see other people find it so debilitating and I'm not just a whimp. Don't know whether this will be of use to anyone but I had a frozen shoulder which I just woke up with one morning almost 2 years ago. Initially it felt as if I had slept awkwardly and I assumed it would go away. Within a few days it had got worse and the whole thing had fully set in within about 3 weeks. Like the rest of you I had never heard of the condition and decided it would surely get better if I rested it. So one weekend I literally did nothing and sat nursing it in a sling for 2 days. That was it really because after that it had seized up completely!. I now know of course that that's almost the last thing to do. Anyway I then suffered the really bad pain for about 3 months before going to my doctor. Fortunately my job provided private health care so I was able to progress quickly. They recommended physiology but after only 3 sessions he said he wouldn't be able to help and suggested I see a specialist. I did this within a week or so and he suggested arthroscopic release under anaesthetic. I had this and it worked wonderfully. I don't know why though? I thought the pain is caused by the inflamed capsule.? So if that's the case quite why cutting away the scar tissue should help so much is a mystery to me. Anyway the reason I'm back on this subject is I now have my second one! It's the other arm and it's not as painful as the previous one but still awful. I'm at the physio stage so who knows this time. If anyone wants advise about the op please just ask.

Oh yes and I'm 53 and in total agreement about the hormone theory.

Oh yes and I'm 53 and in total agreement about the hormone theory.

Hi everyone, I too am a Fs sufferer. I got my first frozen shoulder last year march, and like some I too thought I had something seriously wrong with me i had several visits to the GP . Then I had enough I demanded a scan and they said I had a Fs . I went to pyhsio every week didn't make a bit of difference . I was in agony I ended up going on sick for 3 mths and returned back to my GP and insisted I wanted a second opinion and wasn't leaving until he referred me . He referred me to the skeleton and muscular team , it took 8 week for my first appointment and as soon as I saw her she said she was booking me for hydrodilatation, which involves injecting salty water directly into the shoulder.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-525162/How-simple-salt-water-key-unlocking-frozen-shoulder.html#ixzz2X9vVIPgp

It was absolutely amazing the following morning no pain and got 70 % of my movement back then the following day 90% of my movement back ) yep I was one happy person ....and then out of the blue BANG !! The symptoms returned again this time in my left shoulder not as bad as my first one but very very painful as you all know . Anyway to cut the story short I'm off for another water injection this week and I can't wait .. So what I'm trying to say is insist in one of these injections for a quick fix

Hi Debbie, I think you have hit on something here, I've booked an appointment with the doc who gave me 2

steroid injections for FS... Had 10 sessions of ache puncture and still having physio which started in Feb.

So far I still can't raise my arm up, I have brown arms with a white stripe under my armpit...not a good look.

A bit like a skunk!

I have sent the article to my physio who is brilliant and will push for this treatment.

I have 10 exercise to do everyday and am back training because I'm so determined to kick this thing.

It's horrible to say this, but what really works is the following

My dog suddenly stopping when were out walking. It gives my arm a massive jolt, afterwards it feels loser.

Also picking a pan up and the handle is hot. Wow that kills but it moves it.

I wouldn't recommend either.......

Will post tomorrow when doc gives me his feedback. Postcode lottery or

NSH Cut backs?

Ps sorry Debbie. Thank you very much for your posting

Hi Sharon, well had my water injection today so got to rest it now for 48 hr . You made me laugh about your brown arm with a white stripe lol I walked around with one hairy armpit lol . Fingers crossed for you to get the water injection you can demand it but I think it'll be the GP who will book you in . But like you I had to do exercises which seemed to loosen it but then it would go back within minutes I've sacked the pyhsio with my second Fs although she was very good but nothing helped really . Anyway let me know how you get on good luck

Hi Debbie

Will do.

Oh yeah, hairy armpit, such a good look. I'm right handed and going to the loo. Great what a wonderful life!

If This is linked to the menopause ... Then I'd much rather have hot sweats.

My hubby and his younger brother have FS

Male menopause, they just have to get in on the act as far as I'm concerned.

Mind you my old man is getting more and more grumpier .