FROZEN SHOULDER (ADHESIVE CAPSULITIS)

hi everyone.
jem thanks for the support even if u dont think it is good news it is just good to know someone who understands.
ter, glad u dont have RA but i am also glad u found my posting. it is 1am here and i just cant get comfotable to sleep, shoulder hurts so bad no matter what position. i actually have fallen asleep twice but both times got that whalup of pain from moving the arm in my sleep so i thought i would check the posts and was happy to find all the responses.
oh the bra thing- it is one thing i dread every morning - it is like psychologically i have to say ok here we go, lets do it as quickly as possible......
did either of u try lidacain patches (sp) erin told me to ask about them to place on the shoulder site. they sound yummy to me if they would work!
my doc told me he wouldnt recommend surgery unless after 2 years it didnt unfreeze, i think that is when i broke down... 2 years i dont have it in me. and i swear my right shoulder is in a flare and i am worried i will be like u jem and get it in both sholders.
well this post is long enough. ter if u find out anything interesting on line please sahare with me. i too have searched for information. am glad u found my post hope u keep in touch and together we can get through some of the worst pain i have ever felt in my lifetime. except maybe childbirth lol but that didt last for 1-2 years lol my worst was 4 days labor with 2 of them being induced but....i got a great prize at the end! :)
hugs)))))))))))) yalinda

Hey Yalinda, I can't exactly understand what you're goingthrough, but I've come very close to having a frozen shoulder twice. I have AS and the Enthesitis affects my right shoulder very badly. The first time was after an injury at work. It took 8 months of fighting with the comp carrier to get the surgery done for what they thought was a torn rotator cuff. By the time they got in there, no tesr was found and all they could come up with was inflammation and impingement.

The last time was about a year and a half ago. My xrays indicated another rotator cuff tear, but the MRI was clean, except for a bone cyst on my Humeral head. Yet, I couldn't lift my arm and I was in sheer agony. My Rheumy insisted that my shoulder problem was the result of the first surgery - 15 years earlier. I had 2 cortisone which gave me some improvement but for a very short time. My ROM was so limited that I had all the problems you are having, except on the right side and I even got a fungal infection in my underarm because of lack of air!

The only way that these two episodes could be explained would be to call them Enthesitis flares. Both eventually resolved on their own, but both times I was terrified of ending up with adhesive encapsulitis. The AS puts me at high risk for joint fusion and the last thing I want to lose is the use of my right arm. Now that I'm using Humira, my shoulders are much better and the worst I can complain about is some occasional pain in my R bicipital tendon. I have complete ROM in my L shoulder and near complete in my R. That's enough to make me really happy and keep me doing whatever possible to maintain my treatment on Humira, in spite of my chronic sinus infections.

I hope that you can find a way to end this flare too.

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Hey Ter,
100!?!?!? We had that last week...what state do you reside? Pool's a good place to be, I agree.
Again welcome...glad to have you!
Take care...stay cool!
erin

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Arthritis Forum Moderator & Co-Pilot

I had adhesive capsulitis, and like everyone here it took me many months before I finally went to the doc[my only doc is a rheumy, and I've got AS so he knows about this crap!] and told him about my funny shoulder pain.

He however, took one look at it, and says..hey! you've got a frozen shoulder man. You've got to come in sooner you know! We can clear this up in 3 weeks but you're going to have to come back every week for a shot of prednisone into the shoulder, and physical therapy three times a week, plus exercise everyday. Start slow, and off you go.

The PT's were nice, they did push and stretch things out but were nice enough to ice things down after and well, I had to relearn discipline

That was a year and a half ago and since then I've been good about making sure my shoulder is moving, plus exercise, tennis, walking stretching etc. Still...I'm going to start Remicade next week. Wish me luck!

However, I am surprised that your doc hasn't put you on prednisone/something good for the inflammation and physical therapy. Letting you suffer in pain is not cool. Time to find another doctor I think, or some other drug that works for you.

hey stanley, thanks for the input. u know i think inflammation is my big issue witht this joint. i hae responded a bit better to this last shot but until i get it under control the PT wont even touch it. to be honest i dont think it is frozen. lol i know that is what i am told but i think it is just severly inflammed, severly like limited, not frozen? but who am i just a person with 2 bad shoulders....lool those docs and their diplomas........ i think medicine is a guessing game anyway........ but if frozen they say it is then frozen i will agree it is........ all i know is ....it hourtz. thanks stan and keep on movin

Hi All. I've just been diagnosed with the Frozen Shoulder. and from reading all these posts all I can do is shake my head in agreement. If I was a pirate I would snake my head in RRRRRRgreement b/c yes it really does hurt. I strained my shoulder about 4 months ago, and the pain developed about a month later. I think I'm going into the 2nd phase of it, but with a week of fairly aggressive PT now under my belt, I think all I want to do is crawl into a hole. I've read a lot of differing opinions on the internet on avenues of home therapy, I have to believe streching over and over is probably the best.I see this forum was pretty active from late May till July, but has quieted down, I hope that people will continue to add their experiences as it seems this could take a loooooong time to get better. My biggest problem aside from pain is that I'm a commercial construction worker and Workman's Comp. along with my own ins. wont cover me. so no money at all coming in and plenty of doctor's bills going out. Thanks all Jimbo

I am soooo relieved to hear that someone else, besides myself, has frozen shoulder!!! I was diagnosed in May 2007. It is amazing that everyday tasks are so trying. I never realized how little things now are so difficult. Unless you have it I truly don't think that the people around you can understand the amount of pain you go through every second of the day. I am right handed and unfortunately, It is my right shoulder which is affected.
Things that have helped me: Physical therapy. Actually doing the exercises, no matter how painful. Lying on the couch watching a show that will help you take your mind off the pain, with a 3 lb weight over your head and slowly stretching using your good arm to pull the frozen arm outward, holding the frozen arm at the wrist. I use the corn bags that can be heated in the microwave at night in conjunction with ambien and naproxen. I also take a weight while standing and bending over just letting my arm hang, and graduating to doing small circles with the weight in my hand.
I too, have the problem of shaving under my arm. In the shower, after letting the hot water run on my shoulder I put my hand against the wall of the shower and walk it up slowly until i can get enough room to shave..some days i have more room than others.
At work i tie the rubberband the PT gave me to one of my file cabinets to do my exercises. While sitting next to my desk i will lay my arm on top of my desk and bend at my waist strectching my arm. i feel a good stretch on my side and shoulder. i hope this helps.....
i am currently working on putting my hand on my hip, which seems at this time, impossible..if anyone has any good exercises or helpful hints, please let me know..
i go back to the Doctor in October where he wants to discuss shoulder manipulation in more depth...i feel that i have made some progress and maybe manipulation would speed things up but if my arm were to break, which i have read is a possibility, wouldn't that take me back to square one ?...has anyone out there been through manipulation?

jimbo, I'm not sure exactly how i hurt my shoulder, i have been going to physical therapy since july. my ins only covered 20 visits and at 60 dollars per half hour i understand where you are coming from regarding the money situation...it is not easy and currently i am using my savings..because the PT can stretch my shoulder in ways i can't.I figure my arm is definitely something worth investing in...i keep thinking of the future and not having the movement is worse than using my savings....but i do think it is awful that ins companies can get away with how many visits you can have for an ailment that will take 18 months to 2 years (what i have been told) to heal.
good luck to you!!
dollface

Hi Everyone....I posted, but it got put as a new post.

I am so anxious to hear from you all....it's been 6 months, and where are you now.  I am in the frozen/stiff stage, Dr. wants to do manipulation.....and I don't want to.  From everything I read, if I work hard everyday, it will heal itself.   I am trying, also, to go natural on this.  Stopped taking Ibuprofen after 2 months....I miss it.....but I think it can cause stomach and liver problems.  I have stocked up on anti-inflammatories from the health food store...and they seem to be working, except after therapy when they Kill my arm.  Using ice and wet heat.........anyone can give me encouragement?  Let me know how you all are.  I am hoping, since you haven't posted for 6 months that you are all better....give me that hope.   Thanks......

Hello Im new here. I see the date is in 07. K have questions about frozen shoulder. LAny body out there? vetman

Hello Everyone!

I am going through my second FS on the opposite shoulder and yes, it's a PITA. However, it's a bit better due to the fact that I am not fearing the unknown this time (not looking forward to the known either), so I think that may be alleviating the agonizing, on the floor crying kind of pain I had 6 years ago.

Massage helped me, PT only aggravated it. MUA freaks me out because of all the negative, dangerous side effects I've heard and read about. Plus, I know that FS goes away with time and perserverance.

It did before and it will again. It's definately not fun and the idiot PA I saw today hasn't a clue about FS, so I'm going to wait until my "doctor" returns from holiday next week and talk with him.

What I found last time that helps quell some of the pain: large pag of frozen peas (15 minutes) several xs a day or whenever. Lots of pillows. Ice cream (to eat -- this is not a time to worry about gaining weight) -- for me, hydrocodone works (another word for vicodin) along with Ibuprofen, although the Ibuprofen upsets my tum tum. It doesn't necessarily take the pain away, but it does make me care a lot less about it. I don't get "high" on it either -- sometimes I wish I did.

I'm a wimp when it comes to pain, but have a high tolerance to meds. Like you V I haven't had a drink in 16 years -- Congratulations ;). One day at a time works with FS as well.

Gentle hugs to all and no doubt I'll be back to either vent or give "pearls of wisdom." HA

paragraph four should read: large bag of frozen peas -- not pag ;) typing is so much fun w/fs

Argh...it's been so long since I had FS that I forgot how the pain progresses into bad to worse.  I'm venting here, because no one else understands FS better than someone who's had it or going through it.  It would be nice if someone responded to this post.  So many posts are from a long time ago. 

fstori I'm sorry you have Frozen shoulder - it really is the most awful pain. I got it in both shoulders after tripping and falling thru a glass door (very few cuts but wrecked the shoulders!). I tore both rotor cuffs and got the old FS! This happened 18 months ago I had a treatment (2 actually) during the first stage... the pain was driving me mad.. (I couldn't sleep had to take heaps of time off work - some days I couldn't drive!) called dilitation which helped for a week or so then the pain was back apparently it works really well for a lot of people but my new Dr thinks it didn't help cos I have RA the RA . fS has 3 stages each lasting about 3-6 months. The first stage is the worst, oh the pain I really feel for you! The stiffness really sets in in 2nd stage but the pain lessens - it did but it was still there and it didn't help that my RA had flared. The third stages apparently determines how much movement loss there is in the shoulder. I still have pain but when I think it's bad I just think back to last May! I tried all sorts of pain killers and got very little relief - I had to take the maximum dose of Tramal for any help then was given Lyrica for pain and I found it really helped. (Pregabalin). Sorry I can't tell you it'll be gone in a week! Some people especially those who have had it before can get it for a much shorter time - I really hope this the case for you. I was told not to lift my arms above my head or lift anything heavy (what a joke I couldn't lift the kettle some days!) and both the surgeon who did the dilatation and my dr told me not to have physio I don't know that this is right because I think the muscles in my arms are really weak now - get good advice about physio. Take care

Osgirl -- now I'm sorry you had to suffer such a horrible experience, and yet you still made time to comfort me. Thank you for your kindness. I've heard of Lyrica but unfamiliar with it, so I'll ask my doc and see what he has to say. When I had this the first time in my other shoulder, I had PT and it was horrendously painful and just didn't "feel right." I spoke with Chief of ortho and he said, "it doesn't matter if you do something (PT, etc.) or nothing. Eventually it will go away." So, I did some light exercizes in hot shower and used the ever present frozen bag of peas along with some medication, and in time (a few years) it went away and ROM was fairly back to normal. I'm hoping that this pain doesn't get worse, but I'm not holding my breath. There are ways to strengthen weak muscles (I had a thigh atrophy -- and it got stronger with help from an exercize trainer).

But, you sure have been throught a lot.

Gentle hugs,
tori

Hi guys, I've just been diagnosed with cacifying tendonitis and an inflammed bursa on my left shoulder. I get like a white searing pain when I use it to lift anything at full stretch. The physio said something about frozen shoulder but I sort of zoned out dealing with too many other joints and don't want to know about this one yet. Yeh I'm being an ostrich.
My GP mentioned getting the bursa injected with cortisone? Is this similar or a different injury altogether? I'm going to try the frozen peas. Everytime I think its settling I lift something and set it off again! Its just so frustrating.
I'm already on pain killers for my RA and seeing a water physio for my knees, now I've added in the shoulder!
Best wishes, sorry to jump into your thread, golitho

HI everyone! I am new to the frozen shoulder post but been on GERD posts for a while.

I had surgery for torn bicep tendon August 26. At my visit to dr three and half weeks later I find out I have frozen shoulder. I had been telling everyone it felt very tight and I had lots of pain. PT said everyone is different after surgery. We just need to work through the pain. I literally thought they would break it off in therapy. After reading about frozen shoulder and how long it takes to get over, I have gotten to a very low. My ortho put the coritsone shot in and gave me demarol. First night I had sleep more then two hours in a while. Just hope this will help pain for a while.

I was wondering how do you know what stage you are in? I think I am in the frozen stage.

Thanks
Tracey

Hi Tracey, I don't know I read the acute phase only lasts for 3 weeks, well I still have white hot tearing pain after 6 weeks and 4 weeks of PT as well as a cortisone shot. My rheumy is going to try to do another shot next week. I keep feeling like its settling then as soon as I use it to lift something, like washing into the machine or trying to lift a bag and put it down behind me, I'm in total agony and feel like I'm back to the beginning. So frustrating.
What has your ortho said about it? I think a torn tendon would take a while to heal too. I remember my daughter tore a tendon and it took about 3 months to heal properly so she could fully train on it again. Surely your ortho would know. As for the frozen shoulder, I'm told they can be tricky to heal, but what that actually means I don't know.
The pain at night is awful, isn't it, I hate not being able to lie on that side and I wake with shooting pains from the stupid thing. I'm so over it.
Hope you're ok, golitho

They had said the torn tendon would take 2 to 4 months to be back to normal.  I think the frozen shoulder started within the first week of my surgery.  This is week 4.  I think I should  have tried to live with the tendon pain now.  The pain is awful.  I can only sleep about 2 hours a night.  I will be checking back in after a few days of pt and see what my progress is.  Thanks

Thanks fstori, I sort of had that feeling from the physio telling me it takes 2 years to heal, that there wasn't going to be an easy fix. I certainly am sleeping better after the shot of cortisone, I have my 2nd shot this week, so I'm hoping it will help that excruciating pain at night.
But I'm sort of resigned to long term recovery.
Thanks for the info, golitho

Well it's been a few months since the frozen shoulder and still have no external rotation.  Sleeping is a little better.  I had to get another cortizone shot a few  weeks ago because I tore some of the adhesions myself.  I go back to surgeon in a week for three month follow up.  If I have not gained five percent rotation he wants to do surgery.  Anyone have any thoughts on the surgery?  I do not know anyone who has had fs so no sure what to expect. 

My physio was telling me that often FS are now thought to be linked in with the elbow. So she has got me doing ebow strengthening exercises and I've noticed an improvement.
Sorry I don't know anything about the surgery. Just go in with a list of questions, all your worres etc. That way you know what hes going to do, recovery time, percentage of people who it works for etc....
You could ring a sports physio and get their opinion, they must deal with it alot.
Good luck Tracey, golitho

Happy New Year Everyone!  Hope you all enjoyed the holidays.