Nearly two years ago, I was out of commission for a week or two due to mysterious left arm agony. The arm agony is back, so once again I’m not paying much attention to blogging.
Last time I (after far too long a wait, due to my not having a primary care physician at the time) I got to a Doctor’s office and got a shot of cortisone, which provided relief fairly quickly. This time it’s in my left shoulder, unlike last time when it was mostly in my left forearm, and the cortisone shot I got last Wednesday (much earlier in the process this time) didn’t seem to do anything. The doctor also did some movement stuff — pulling my arm into various positions and pressing on my bicep and shoulder in various, extremely painful ways — which I’m not at all sure were not crank medicine. In any case, my arm hurt more post-doctor than pre-doctor.
Anyway, going to see a different doctor tomorrow. Fingers crossed. It is my considered opinion that pain sucks. My concentration is impaired, typing is painful, the vicodin I’m taking doesn’t seem to help much, and I’m sleep deprived. Hopefully the pain will just go away again soon, as it eventually went away last time, but until then my blogging (and, damn it, my drawing) will be extremely limited.
In fact, I’m mainly watching mind-numbing TV, since often what I need is something that will be amusing but I don’t care if I fade in and out of it a bit. I watched a ton of “How I Met Your Mother,” which was fine for season one but the writing went downhill in season 2 and I just gave up on it after the first few episodes of season 3. This is a strange sentence to write, but watching HOMYM made me appreciate how relatively skillful the writing and characterization on “Friends” were. I’m going to try “Big Bang Theory” next, but I’m not optimistic.
*hugs* Hope you’re ok soon.
Good luck with the pain. I’m guessing you have a special appreciation for “House” that most of us luckily don’t.
If you’re interested in TV recommendations, I’m kinda impressed with “Kings” thus far. I kept saying about bits of dialogue, “That sounds so Shakespearean” and finally my husband said, “Yeah, I think some of it’s in iambs.”
If the Doctor Of Tomorrow doesn’t help, you might consider a sports medicine specialist. They’re good w/ shoulders.
Aw, *Hugs* I’m sorry to hear about the pain, buddy. My advice involves getting really stoned, so feel free to use or ignore it as you choose … at best it’s palliative care, but as far as palliative care goes, it’s pretty good.
As far as mindless TV: Chuck is okay, and I’ve been watching a lot of Demetri Martin’s “Important Things” lately.
—Myca
Oh, hell, I’m sorry. You were doing so well with the book, too! I hope you feel better soon and that the doctor has some kind of helpful explanation.
Ugh, I’m sorry. I hope tomorrow’s visit goes well.
Second the sports medicine recommendation. Be careful with cortisone shots – they weaken your ligaments and can make things worse in the long run. Be sure your doctor understands exactly what you DO with your life, and how important that shoulder is to you. It may help to do some reading on your own first. Google ‘shoulder pain” and see what comes up. Find the symptoms that best resemble yours and read up on possible treatments. Don’t be afraid to question doctors or try several things before doing anything radical.
It took a long time to figure out what was going on with my right leg (turns out it’s 1/2 centimeter longer than the left). Now that I know and do the right exercises to strengthen the proper muscles, it hasn’t hurt in years and I’m able to do more than ever. In my experience, physical therapy takes a while but is the permanent solution to such problems. YMMV, of course, since we have different bodies. Good luck and feel better. Pain sucks.
Yikes, that’s awful! I hope it gets better very soon.
I can’t offer any advice about medicine, but as for mind-numbing TV, if you haven’t seen The Office, it’s hilarious and addictive. Those 20-minute episodes are like popcorn. (I’m referring to the American version, though the British one is supposed to be great, too.) I watched a full season when I had the flu a few months back — it made the experience almost tolerable.
I am sorry to hear that you are not well. As someone who lives with chronic pain I can completely understand the desperate need to have anything to draw your mind away from the suffering. May I suggest an older show? The last bit of snowy days that had my mind buzzing with pain I did back to back episodes of OZ. It is gritty and a really good watch if you missed the HBO series when it was on.
Bleh. Hang in there.
Sorry I haven’t replied more — one-handed typing sucks! But I read and aapreciate everyone’s comments and well-wishes.
Daisy, I love The Office, but sometimes find it too painful to watch — for some reason I’m acutely sensitive to certain kinds of humiliation humor, and at times I actually find myself standing up and leaving the room to avoid witnessing what’s happening onscreen. (The old Brit-com Fawlty Towers sometimes had the same effect on me).
Renee, I’ve seen most of Oz and pretty much liked it, although it definitely became cheesier as it went on. I need to find and watch the musical episode, which I’ve somehow never seen.
Jake, really good idea.
I hear you there, Ampersand — sometimes it really is painful to watch! And actually, your mention of “humiliation humor” reminded me of some parts that are really not cool (I’m thinking of the whole Michael/Jan “abuse is hilarious” subplot). Ah well.
Some questions to ponder:
1. Left-handed? Do you mouse with your left hand?
2. Do you have intense pain for 10 – 15 minutes after getting out of bed in the AM?
3. Related to 2, does intense intense pain wake you up out of a deep sleep?
4. Do the symptoms travel up and down your arm (e.g. sometimes pain the in forearm area only, sometimes the bicep, neck, sometimes the whole limb, etc)?
5. Do you experience numbness, specifically, do you experience numbness in your left thumb?
6. Do you carry a backpack and do you habitually hang it off one shoulder only–like, say, your left shoulder?
8. Is it worse in cold or damp weather?
9. Is your use of the term “fingers crossed” a symptom?
If so, could you let me know what the hell it is? I cannot bear the thought of going to a doctor, and since you’re already booked…
Hope you feel better; hope I feel better….
SSM, I hope you feel better, too. I’m afraid my answers to virtually all your questions is “no,” so we don’t appear to have exactly the same symptoms. If you can stand it, I’d highly recommend going to a doctor. (If an alternative to a doctor is more palatable to you, maybe you could make an appointment with a physical therapist, if they do that without a doctor’s recommendation.)
After seeing my doctor and a physical therapist today, it seems likely that I have either frozen shoulder or bursitis. In either case, it’s treatable, but it’ll be a while before I regain normal use of my left arm.
SMM, have you checked out the variety of carpal tunnel that affects your left hand? My mother had it when I was 8 or 9. Seems like the answer to most of those questions, for her, was yes. (It was solved with minor surgery.)
I’m not professionally trained, but I’ve just had to work through my own shoulder thing and from the research I did, that’s a totally reasonable diagnosis. Listen to your PT and give it a month to make some difference (sigh… I know it’s tiresome).
Be sure to talk to the PT about ergonomics and your computer and drawing pad (even if you’re right-handed – I can’t remember). Changes to your desk setup may be necessary to prevent recurrence. And the changes may bring more immediate pain relief, too.
Thank you everyone for your assistance (Amp, I should not have made you type–that was thoughtless of me). Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, rotator cuff, maybe both based on the reading Amp provided. BTW, this is happening in my right shoulder–I asked Ampersand about his left flipper because I think he stated that it was the left side in the OP–too painful to scroll up and look. I am right-handed.
It’s all bad from the looks of it–I work in IT so while this is not as world-threatening as it would be to a cartoonist or musician, IT is pretty much all I know and it is sobering to face a potential show-stopper with 15 years to go before the finish line.
Ann Q and Mondolin, your advice is appreciated and re-inforced in the information I read. I am in the process of re-arranging my office and workspace–flanges are crossed that from the thumb on up, it will be better for the change.
Following the links led me to many, many people who have used up workmans comp and have been fired — usually with some Christ wannabee MD prating on about it being “all in the head.” PT, maybe chiropractor or acupuncture seems more reaosnable at this point.
Getting old takes tremendous strength and grit, I find. Who knew?
Thanks again
SMM
Amp, hope you feel better soon. Constant pain wears down the mind and the body.
Good God – Oz? I watched exactly 5 minutes of one episode of that show. I turned it off when Convict A, fellating Convict B, bit off the end of Convict B’s penis and spit it across the cell. The sequence closed with Convict B being rushed screaming out of the cell. I have no idea if that was typical of the show or not, but I didn’t feel moved to watch any more to find out.
I received some cortisone shots earlier in my life for certain inflammation related to injuries. I really recommend you avoid that route. The relief is only temporary and as you know the shots can hurt like hell. I hope you find a better way to go.
Are things any better, Amp?
Thanks for asking!
Yes, they are a lot better. I’ve been going to physical therapy, and although my shoulder movement remains very limited, it’s not as limited as it was last week, and the level of pain has gone down a lot.
It sounds a bit like frozen shoulder.
I’m glad thingsare better than they were and I hope you make a full recovery.