Menopausal Frozen Shoulder

Forgot to mention that I'm 47 years old and I'm missing my period for 3 months, wondering if it has anything to do with hormones?. Im goin to my doctor this week and see if I can have some tests done. I fall about a year ago and I thought that was the reason for my frozen hip, now I'm wondering what is the real cause. I didn't know that frozen hip even exist but now I was confirm it is.

Wondering if any of you experience frozen hip? I'm suffering and incredible amount of pain. I feel like I'm 5 years older in just a year.

All the best for everyone here.

Hello,

I am very grateful to have this discussion forum. I am almost 53 years old and female. My first FS was at 52 years and is still healing. As it finally began to heal on it's own - nothing seemed to work - my other shoulder has stated to go!!!

I happened to be having my hormones tested anyway because of mood issues related to pms, when my first FS was underway. I am perimenopausal. My estrogen levels are considered normal. I am slightly low in progesterone and dhea. I have been on bio-identical progesterone & dhea for several months. Si there seems to be no hormone-FS connection for me?!

Any thoughts on my situation would be greatly appreciated.

Donna301

Hi,

Just one question to the ones that already had a frozen shoulder in the past. How did you feel when your shoulder started thawing???Did you have any pain, did it feel numb, how exactly did it feel?

Hi all and sorry for late reply to questions ....I was not getting email updates on replies to this thread.

Dirk - I don't know for sure, but I doubt the thesis is available publicly as it was it written during her nursing degree years ago and as such was used for her examination and would never have been published.

My own opinion now - having recovered totally from one FS - is that starting HRT probably does not help directly. While I am still convinced that a sudden lowered estrogen level is significant in triggering FS in women (and although the condition is self limiting) I am of the opinion that hormone replacement does not speed up recovery or affect the the duration of frozen shoulder.

Once you have a FS, and the capsule has completely adhered to the bone, you just have to see it out to the bitter end.

My first FS started in the July, was at it's worst and most painful/debilitating around December, and was gone by February. (I say 'gone', but have been left with problems straightening the arm, still do not have full rotation, but absolutely no pain)

My second FS (other shoulder) was not as bad as the first in regards to pain and lack of mobility, but lasted longer in duration.

Judith, my experience of the thawing stage was that I noticed the pain was much less (not gradually, almost overnight) and, just as I suddenly, to my delight I was able to raise my arm about six inches more than the previous day. (I had a mark on the door frame I would use to check every day, to see how much I could lift it. )It did not feel numb, I just felt like something in my shoulder had loosened, or 'given way' oand I just knew instinctively it was on the mend.

...just also wanted to belatedly thank Margofandago for your amazingly descriptive and helpful post.

I identify completely with everything you said.....having had two separate FS's I can only imagine what you went through with a bilateral diagnosis.

It is just so terribly sad that we have to turn to the internet for information. As I described in a previous posting, my GP did not have a clue what was wrong with me. Now that I know about FS, it almost seems simple....I understand the mechanics of the shoulder and how hormonal changes can affect the tendons etc....so why the hell do GP's not know this? It is disgraceful for anyone to be sent out of the GP office with this awful condition, having been told you are either imagining it, or have 'pulled a muscle' when your who upper body has shut down and you feel like the tin man rusting up...I can remember feeling like I was slowly being paralysed and no one understood or believed me. The worry and uncertainty of it all was almost as bad as the condition itself.

However, here I am now, on the other side of two frozen shoulder's and it is easy to look back and tell others it will pass..... But it WILL pass, and I hope you all get the help, support and treatment you need to help you through.

All

I have just found this thread whilst Googling for advice and it resonates so entirely with me!

I am aged 50 and in Sept 13 I had a TAH/BSO i.e. I am recently surgically menopausal. At the time of the op my surgeon recommended I wait and see how I got on with symptoms before considering HRT. So far symptoms are intense, but manageable. But what has happened this last week has sealed it for me...

Mon - sat at my desk most of the day. By mid afternoon I had developed a stiff right shoulder. Thinking it was a result of poor posture and knotted muscles I went to the gym for a gentle workout to loosen them. Bad move! By bedtime my shoulder was so stiff and painful I spent most of the night crying with pain!

Tues - emergency trip to GP. Told to keep dosed up with NSAIDs and paracetamol and not to exercise. Tried to catch up on sleep

Weds - pain relief working but still limited ROM in right arm

Thurs/Fri - significantly better

Sat - approx. 2pm stiffness in left shoulder began! Over the next 24hrs an exact repeat of what happened with the right shoulder, except I had not exercised since Mon night

Your experiences have convinced me that this is a direct result of my sudden complete lack of oestrogen and I am off to the GP later this week to plead my case for HRT! Thank you!

Hi Lesley, thanks a lot for your response. I just wanted some hope. Im in such a terrible pain on my hip and I started feeling like numbness but also like something was defrosting some how. I I still have a lot of pain, so I though maybe is thawing now even when is pain along the way. I'm just hoping.

Thanks a lot for your great advice in all these forums.

I hope a fast recovery for everyone.

Thanks once again.

Hello all, and my sympathies to everyone suffer from this horror.

1stly, I seem to be a minority in that I don't have hot flushes, mine are fire blasts from a funace! They've been around for around 15 years now. I showered 3-4x daily and walked around with a water spray bottle and fan permanently. My gynae put me on HRT for 5 years despite me having fibroids in both breasts, high blood pressure and high cholesterol. I came off HRT in October and cannot go back on.

The fire blasts are back, as are night sweats, but the new thing is pain! Really, really bad pain. It is everywhere, my fingers seize up overnight, and anytime they are quiet for even 5minutes. Elbows, hips, knees, back and neck too. Plus I have arthritis and previous injuries from an accident years ago. My left shoulder started about a month ago, and is seizing up rapidly. Worse, my right shoulder is playing catch-up in a hurry.

My question: doctors around here are mostly old-school, besides, HRT is out of the question now. Shall I self-medicate with glucosamine, ibuprofen, apple cider vinegar and Omega 3 and 6, and do the finger-walk up the wall 2x daily. Wait out the +/- 10 months to a year to get over the hump. Or should I see someone. Finances are very limited. Thanks for this forum, its the first bit of light in my long dark tunnel

Hi Lesley,

Just one question,. Do you think getting HRT before another onset of frozen shoulder/hip would avoid it? Just because I'm thinking to get in HRT to avoid a second frozen hip.

No way to thank you for all your good information in this forum.

Once again, thanks

Hi Judith....as I personally think tendon changes leading to FS is directly linked to hormonal levels.. I would not see any harm in trying HRT to help avoid future problems. My own experience as I have posted previously is that once FS had set in, HRT was of no benefit. But ....as hormone replacement sort of puts our bodies in the same state we were in before meno kicked in...ie, with plenty estrogen to oil us up....I do think it would help. Please remember I am not a doctor or a nurse and my opinions are just that - opinions, not medical advice.

I would suggest you go down the bioidentical route if you want to try HRT, remembering it would depend on whether you are still naturally menstruating as to what you will need. For example, lots of women seem to do really well on Estradot patches and and Utrogestan Tablets. It might be worth you looking at the site 'menopause matters' (just put all the w's before it) for further advice on HRT. There is a lady on the forums called 'Hurdity' who is incredibly helpful and knowledgeable.

I would also avoid conjugated estrogens.

Cabby....so sorry to hear you are having a hard time of it. Most of the advice here on supplements and exercise are from people who have had our problems...so I would urge you to try natural remedies, but it works differently for everyone. The pain can be absolutely terrible. Please take heart that I was in agony - literally agony - with both shoulders, elbows, lower back and wrists for months...but I am now (almost!) pain free. I still get the occasional pain in my shoulder (when sleeping, or reaching for something) but nothing like before. If you are in the first stages of frozen shoulder, be prepared for a long haul. I am sorry to tell you that, but it is a long painful time, which has to be managed rather than cured.I relied on painkillers sos much in the early days. used to take two 500mg co-codamol or paracetamol TOGETHER WITH one 400mg ibuprofen when I needed them, ensuring I left five hours between doses. My GP assured me it was perfectly safe in the short term, and prescribed them for me. I took daily tablets for at least eight months. it was the only way I could get through it.

Try gentle exercises every day. Do the one with the long scarf thrown over a door - use it as a pulley to pulyour bad arm up with your good. Do the finger walk to measure how much movement you have - make a park in eye pencil on the door frame. BUT - be guided by your pain. If it is REALLY bad, don't exercise at all. Just rest the arm, protect it as much as you can. Do not let anyone manipulate or touch it (my physio tried to grab hold of my arm to push it backward...she only did it the once. I barked at her like a rottweiller.)

Have faith. It will pass.

Above should read 'make a mark with eye pencil'lol. Sorry for all the typos!

....and Judith, you are more than welcome.....I had pains in my hips too, although it did not develop into a 'frozen hip'....it must be agony. At least I could still walk with out pain with a frozen shoulder! I do pity you. Chin up! x

Thanks Leslie, I have suffered terrible pain before after a bad accident, so am not looking forward to this. I just hope I'll be able to hold my new granddaughter come May - when she is due.

Leslie, I went yesterday to see my GP. He told me I will end up with this condition forever that this will never heal since scars never really heal, I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I just can't believe some times how little some doctors know about some conditions.

I requested the HRT, he doesn't believe at all that all my joint pain has to do with menopause. I just blinked my eyes in disbelieve.

I got the estrogel and 2 progesterone pills for eveyday use. After reading about these two products I just wonder, one of the sections on the estrogel mention that it may promote fibroids, then I thought, oh, oh isnt frozen/hip shoulder fibrosis of the joint? So then I got confuse. I wouldn't want to promote more fibrosis in to my joint or encourage the one that I'm currently suffering from, what do you thin about that? plus also I heard that after you stop HRT your symptoms can come back, how you will avoid that, is this just not delaying the inevitable? Im just terrified to think about any other frozen limbs.

Thanks a lot in advance for your input.

The symptoms of Rotator cuff injury and Frozen Shoulder seem very similar - how do you tell the difference?