Before I get into my blog for today, here is something interesting...this is my 301st blog post and my blog site has been viewed 5479 times....most of those are me, because it counts as a view every time I mess around in here, and either blog, change the background or add something on the side. Hmmm!
I have had right shoulder pain off and on for more years than I care to admit. It really started at the bank, when I was a teller. I blamed the pain on the height of the counter where I counted money back to the customer. I assumed it would get better when we moved to Eureka...it really got worse. Over the last couple years, I would have good days and bad ones, sometimes I could not reach to put the dishes in the cupboard. Sometimes, I had no pain at all. I got concerned when Mahoney was born, and I was able to cradle her in my arms...after holding her, the pain was intense. We came home, and I started noticing things...it hurt to pull myself into the truck (I am right handed, so this is my dominant arm), I had pain reaching for my coffee mug, doing laundry was painful, I was dropping things. I thought to myself, if this is getting older, it kinda sucks. A couple months later, the pain got worse and was not going away, I would wake up a lot at night, because if I turned onto that shoulder the pain would wake me. I was clinching my fist and holding my arm close in to my body...I saw myself in the mirror and I felt like I looked like a stroke victim....not good. I was talking to my dad one day, and told him it hurt a lot...he said "you will take your truck in at the first sign of trouble, but you won't take yourself to the doctor"....so I made an appointment, because my dad was right.
I had to wait a couple days for my appointment, by then it was worse than ever...I could barely move my arm, without feeling an intense pinch at the top of my shoulder, it would ache all day, and that felt like my bones were rubbing together, just grinding away. She put me through a few range of motion tests, and I failed every one....the verdict, I had a significant rotator cuff injury. What is a rotator cuff..it is a group of muscles and their tendons that act together to stabilize the shoulder. One of tendons has either torn or was being pinched by my bones. I was sent for an x-ray, and given a prescription for Celebrex, to ease the pain and some physical therapy sessions.
I get my x-ray done. The physical therapy place calls with an appointment for me...I am thinking I am on the mend. Then the doctor calls with results of the x-ray...there are spots of calcification seen on my x-ray. Now, she would like me to have an MRI and see an orthopedic surgeon. I anxiously await those referrals (the ok from our insurance). That finally happens. I have my first physical therapy appointment....oh my goodness, he needed to get a baseline of how bad my shoulder was, then he "rewarded" me with electronic stimulation therapy...it is hard to describe. That night though, I was really in a lot of pain, because of all the movement of the day. The day after that, Mahoney comes to visit, and I cannot tell you how grateful I am for my medication...because I was able to love on her with a lot less pain.
I have done 4 of the 6 authorized physical therapy appointments (I go twice a week), and my PT guy asked my doctor for more...so that means at least another 6. I had my MRI last week (that experience, wowza...it could be its own blog entry...I hope I never have to do that again) and I am awaiting results. There was a snafu with the orthopedic doctor referral and my doctor's office is working on that....so I am in a little bit of a limbo right now. My pain is managed with the Celebrex and sometimes vicodin, if I am having a bad day. I have to take the Celebrex at the same time everyday...or whammo, The pain is back and it takes longer to go away, when I remember to take it. My PT guy did a strength test with a device....I had to squeeze a handle with all my might....my right hand got a 35, and my left got 58....my right hand should be about 70!!!
The process is slow, and I am trying to be patient, it has hurt for so long, that I am kinda used to it...but I am eager to get my arm back to normal. Mahoney will weigh more the next time I see her..I need that strength number back up to 70!!!!
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