Posted , 4 users are following.
Was taking zapain stopped working 4 months ago i tried tramadol from emergency doctor said should start taking it 50g × 2 x 4 times week asked my doctor refused. Im in agony what shall i do my family is to suffeering with my problem.
0 likes, 14 replies
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brent96828 chris41937
Posted
First off I would find another doctor. He can refuse to give you the narcotic, but he should at the least find you an alternative. Not cool. Cut him loose. Second you need to see a shoulder specialist so you can take care of the problem. 3 years of extreme pain means something isn't right. Trust me, you don't want to just ignore things. I've got 15 screws and a couple of plates in my shoulder because I ignored things. Good luck to you.
chris41937 brent96828
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Ella888 chris41937
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You have my deepest empathy. I have had 2 sets of surgeries on my right shoulder. One was a SLAP tear repair, debridement and clavicectomy to make more space for the nerves. That was December 2015. I had the surgery done after failing 6 months of physical therapy. Then, in March of 2016, just 4 months after the surgery, my mother passed away and I had to move some of her stuff since I was her only child and no one was available to help me to clear out belongings fast enough due to work commitments. I ended up ruining my repair accidentally and then fired from my job right while on bereavement! Then, all the pain came back with a vengeance. My first surgeon was abusive to me as a patient, so I went elsewhere. My second surgeon was great however! I had my second shoulder surgery in July 2016. It was a rotator cuff repair, since the first surgeon completely missed it as well as surgery on my upper arm called a biceps tenodesis. Well, things were initially looking good, but eventually a second rotator cuff repair was detected as well as my shoulder being so hyper-mobile, it now moves all over the place, re-tearing tendon/muscle fibers. I blame the instability on the first, failed surgery and how now without the biceps tendon being attached at it's natural location. I live with pain every day and sometimes the flares are so excruciating that I can't sleep, eat etc. My pain management doc wants me off the opioid completely, but I am only on (1) 7.5 Norco per day! I can't go completely off as I am just barely hanging in here. I have since had to file for Disability since I can no longer work. I type for an hour per day, with breaks and then I am done, becuase it's so painful. I was also diagnosed with tendonitis and bursitis in my shoulder and have autoimmune and neurological conditions. I also have a second rotator cuff tear that did not get repaired in my second surgery becuase the surgeon thought it was not the cause of my pain. ( * really? *)My doctors think I am having so much pain 2 years later since my last surgery due to the tendonitis/bursitis and autoimmune /neurological health problems exacerbating my rotator cuff tear, which was described as "subtle". If I were you, I would get a second and even a third opinion from doctors who specialize in orthopedic surgery. I am surprised you have not seen a specialist yet? I know how you feel. I was the main breadwinner in my family before all my injury and we have since had to file for bankruptcy since we are down to one income and can barely keep our lights on. There is not even enough food on the table, so I go hungry all day until dinner time. I tried to go back to work last year, but my shoulder hurt so badly and that combined with my other health problems ended up getting me fired again, for a third time as the employer did not want to make any accommodations and tried to force me to work overtime. I had a breakdown. It is really bad in the U.S. People with "invisible" disabilities are treated so horribly and no one wants to hire us. It's sad. My heart goes out to you and I sincerely hope you don't end up like me. Get a consult and find out exactly what is wrong with your shoulder. It is critical that the actual source of the problem is defined before going under the knife.
brent96828 Ella888
Posted
Hey Ella, I just read your post and I feel for you. I may have some useful information for you. Have you spoke to any surgeons about possibly fuseing your shoulder? If not, you should mention it. I had similar issues as you. The chronic instability and extreme pain. I had already had multiple surgeries. I wasnt a candidate for a replacement because my deltoid was destroyed. We fused my shoulder a year ago and while it does cost you a lot of mobility in that arm the pain almost completely disappears. I'm now able to go back to work and be productive. Of course there will be certain things you can no longer do, you will get some semblance of a life back. I work 8hrs a day pain free 95% of the time. If you want to know details feel free to message me. I will help with any info you might be interested in.
chris41937 brent96828
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chris41937 Ella888
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chris41937 Ella888
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Ella888 brent96828
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Hi Brent. Thanks so much for the info. I do have other health complications however. As long as I can rotate my entire arm and shoulder and be able to raise my arm and hand above my head, I would be fine. I need to at least be able to serve in my church on a very limited basis throughout the year for an hour or so. I am clergy, so I need full use of my shoulder raising certain implements and making certain religious gestures. Not sure if I would be able to even do that with a shoulder fusion. The idea of not being able to at least be of service to others once in awhile in a religious and spiritual environments as well as my Autoimmune disease, Fibromyalgia and my Neuro's recommendation against it , is what is keeping me from getting more surgery. I need what little I have left of my shoulder and these other health problems make surgery and recovery very complicated and not as successful as "normal" folks. I have no pain tolerance whatsoever also due to Fibro and I've had over 20 surgical procedures in a five year period, not just the 2 on my shoulder. My pain gets worse and worse with every surgery and I have been told to stop getting surgery period, by my Neurologist, but, I will ask my orthopedic surgeon about it the next time I go in for another steroid injection. So far, he has not recommended fusion when I asked about what more can be done and he just offered to fix the second rotator cuff tear as well as remove more bone-spurs (I had plenty removed before!). From what I understand there is really no cure for tendonitis and bursitis flares and my Autoimmune disease also causes them. I most likely would still have those, but not having my shoulder wobbling all over the place would be great! Thanks.
brent96828 Ella888
Posted
Unfortunately if it's fused rotation would be out of the question. I can get my hand to my chin and I'm doing better than most. I totally understand that you don't need to be able to do the things that are most important to you. Have you talked about possible replacement whether it be total or hemi. People do get pretty good range back on those. If your Ortho keeps saying he just wants to repair the rotation cut you night consider finding a new orthopod because obviously the rotator cuff repairs aren't working. You have to figure out something. You can't live like this. I hope for the best. I will keep you in my thoughts.
Ella888 chris41937
Posted
I have had 3 MRI's. One before the first set of surgeries one before the second set and yet another one post op from the second set of surgeries. They won't do more MRI's. And, insurance company rules have changed over the last 2-3 years. It used to be where doctors would order an MRI if a patient had a serious problem with pain and functionality in order to accurately diagnose and determine whether surgery was necessary. Now, they just send everyone to physical therapy before a diagnosis has even been made and it's just plain wrong! My pain management doctor literally apologized to me when he rushed me into PT before I had an MRI and I had 6 excruciating months of PT and it ended up not doing any good. Then he got the MRI done. After the fact. I had to wait almost a year from the time the problem started to when I had my first surgery. I see many posts on boards like these from people who have had multiple shoulder surgeries. Shoulders are hard to repair and even harder to keep from further damage as we are always using them, unless elevating our arm on a pillow during sleep, which I still do sometimes. Don't give up. It can be a long road with shoulder problems and in the interest of managing expectations, shoulder surgery has been by far the most painful surgeries I've had to date. Whatever you do, if you decide on surgery, make sure you have a great orthopedic surgeon who specializes in shoulder repairs. Do research and visit more than one surgeon before settling on one to do the repairs. i went with the first one I saw initially, which was a mistake and ended up going to a different surgeon when my first repair was a fail. Also, make sure you ask for the best pain management and therapy for your post operative healing. I opted out of having a pain-pump installed due to other health complications, but honestly, I am thinking I should have had one! Lol!
Ella888 brent96828
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Thanks. I agree with you 100%. I can't continue to live like this and will not give up trying to find a solution. I am thinking a shoulder replacement is in my future, but not the first priority as I need back surgery also. My entire body is a trainwreck and somehow, I have to be able to work at least a part time job. My career is ruined now due to all the time I've had surgery and recoveries with huge gaps in employment. I do need the rotation also to be able to wash and style my hair with both hands, cook meals ( all the reaching!) etc. as well as the other aforementioned reasons. Being able to just get to my chin won't do it for me. Mobility vs. pain is a real hard call to make. I chose mobility for now, since I can at least fix meals, wash and style my hair and do my church work on an occasional basis. Take all that away and I'd probably be in a real horrible mental state as well as physically. Real tough call. Some day, I am sure my shoulder will not work much at all and then a replacement will be warranted. In my experience, doctors go by functionality of the shoulder, rather than pain levels. I have been in pain management now for 6 years. Thanks for your support and help!
chris41937 Ella888
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You are strong i hope i am too like you I've had nobody to chat with untill i found this and others and you like me.
arj50436 Ella888
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Good point about the right surgeon. I was in so much pain that I just wanted to get it over with. After not being able to get an appointment with the doctor who did the decompression on my right shoulder, I spent hours online looking for the another surgeon who specializes in shoulder repairs and read all of the reviews. Comments like "This guy is an idiot" put the guy on my no list. It took me a few days to find mine - he has hundreds of 5 star reviews and all kinds of accolades. I had made other appointments before I found my surgeon because many of them, particularly those associated with hospitals here in NY, are very hard to get appointments with. Surprisingly I was able to get an appointment with this doctor immediately.
arj50436 chris41937
Posted
I don't know where you live, but where I live, your doctor should be referring you to pain management and I agree that you should see a shoulder specialist who can refer you.