Looks like you will still be traveling on that road of pain for a little while longer @Steve North, I pray that it will be tolerable for you until everything is fixed once again. I pray your wife is doing better too.
Thanks Babs.. I do have my Oxycodone pills to keep me out of pain which I take only if I need them.. My wife is doing much better and as time goes on, she will definitely be OK to take care of me when the time comes.. As far as travelling goes, we live in the North and we are used to travelling.. I have to go about 35kms one way just to do the food shopping every week..
@Steve North We will all be pulling for you. Having spent most of my lifetime pretty pain-free, then having the shoulder pain become excruciating has been a new "trip" for me. I fully appreciate how the shoulder can offend, never realized before that most every hand movement involves shoulder movement also! I am holding up my right elbow using my left clenched fist on the tabletop to support my only typing hand, the right one. Hurts like hell anyway. Frank
I am so glad that the heart tests came out well enough that you are able to have the operation, @Steve North . That would have been devastating for you if there had also been heart problems and the doctor felt that it was unsafe for him to operate. Having lived with the fibrillations and heart failure for so long now, I can't have any kind of knee (or other replacement surgery) because of having had the blood clots in my legs and lungs. The specialist gave me one of those cortisone shots in my knee, and said that would help the pain from 3-6 months; but eventually, I would need another shot to help with the pain and inflammation there. Because of my heart condition, I can't take any kind of anti-inflammatory meds, either prescription or the OTC ones; so for me , there is not much that a doctor can do. I ended up modifying my diet and eliminating any foods that cause inflammation , and doing exercises for the bad knee. While it doesn't solve the problem like an operation might do, it does enable me to live with it a lot better. I started the knee exercises right after the cortisone shots, while my knee was not in so much pain, and by the time the shot wore off a few months later, the knee was improving. It sounds like the shoulder replacement should help you to feel a lot better once it is over and done with, and I am glad they are moving along towards the operation date for you with no problems.
Yvonne.. I had a cortisone shot in my shoulder and it lasted about 6 weeks and then it was worse than before.. My problem with my shoulder is the ball and socket is bone on bone and there isn't anything to do about it except replace it.. meanwhile the pain is gradually getting worse as the bone on bone is getting worse as well..
@Steve North Herein lies the gist of my own questions regarding the severe pain I experience almost constantly now, worse in the right shoulder, but bad also in the left. Bone tissue has no nerve cells to my knowledge, and therefore bones themselves cannot transmit pain signals. How, then, can these bone or joint maladies cause pain? I just don't understand. But suspect the pain emanates from muscles associated with the bones of the joint. I may be all wet, but am betting muscles, and tendons are involved in the pain-producing process. Gotta quit now, shoulder will no longer hold up my arm... Frank
Frank.. PLEASE go and get professional help.. I am NOT a doctor, but by the way you seem to be, only a professional will know what the problem is with you.. Perhaps a few simple tests like an X-Ray or a CAT scan will have the answer, but you can't go on like this.. This is NOT the quality of life you deserve and you shouldn't have to put up with it... There are many ways to overcome problems with todays knowledge, so GO AND GET HELP !!! I was also in severe pain and I got help and the problem was solved.. I'm talking about my other shoulder which was replaced in October of 2010 and I have never had pain since, and not very many restrictions of use.. A replacement is the last resort and not the first option.. Perhaps just an anti-inflammatory will do the trick.. The over-the-counter ones are not going to do it.. You might need the proper one like Celebrex, Arthrotec, Meloxicam, or any other.. What the HELL Frank, ............... Your worth it, so DO IT !!!!!
Well, I'm up again at this hour (5:00am) and I just took a pain killer pill (Oxycodone) for my painful shoulder.. Seems like almost every night I am up with this problem.. I can't wait for June 27th when my shoulder will be replaced.. I know it will be very awkward in the beginning with only my left arm to live with, but after a few weeks, I will be able to start using my right arm again... The best thing of all is after the operation, NO MORE PAIN ....
I hope you listen to @Steve North and see a Doctor @Frank Sanoica why anyone would want to be in so much pain when there might be some help for this...is beyond my understanding.
@Steve North .".... October 2010............... I had my left shoulder replaced....." The results were obviously impressive, then. For you are going the "full gamut". Might I ask what range of movement is possible with the left shoulder? Can you perform the movement required of swimming? Is there any pain associated with the replaced shoulder joint? Being the procrastinator that I am, coupled with obstinacy, hardheadedness, and dubious relations with the doctoring profession in the past, I'm slow to relent. I know I am kidding myself thinking things may improve on their own. And, I cannot fail to regard your advice as being positive and encouraging. Frank
@Babs Hunt ."..is beyond my understanding." No excuses, Babs, will I bring forth. Save to say, I am no doubt one who rarely projects an image of "good sense". Frank
Frank.. I am very pleased you are asking questions.. I can with my left arm pick-up a full propane tank which weighs about 40 pounds and walk across the street with it.. I can swim (which I don't) without any problems.. I can reach up as high as my arm will go.. I have almost NO restrictions at all.. I go fishing and use my left arm as if there were no difference when casting.. I live in the country and we have acreage and I work the land.. Chainsaw, sledge hammer, hand saw, digging, shovelling, lifting up to 60 pounds, and much more are some of the things I do.. THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO PAIN AT ALL WHATSOEVER.. How can there be pain if the joint is metal??? Now the drawbacks: Remember where I live, way up north.. I must, during the winter months when I go out, remember to keep the shoulder warm.. I don't want the metal getting cold, as that could cause some discomfort.. As far as I am concerned, that is the only negative of any replacement.. Just don't let it get cold from below zero temperatures.. When I go out and the temp is around the -35c mark, I dress very warm where I have had metal replacements.. That's it !!!
My orthopedic surgeon is in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.. His name is Dr. Graham Elder and he works out of the Sault Area Hospital in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario.. By the way, there are other restrictions I didn't mention: Mountain climbing Bungee jumping Push-ups Chin ups (from an overhead bar) Javelin throwing Wrestling And perhaps a few more that I just can't think of at this moment............ Just quietly, the list above suits my purpose as I don't want to do them anyway...
I can slowly feel myself getting worse as time goes by.. I used to take one Oxycodone to kill the pain when needed which was about 2 or 3 times a day.. Now I am resorting to taking 2 pills at a time and a bit more often.. Sleeping has become quite the problem as I can't sleep on my right side any more.. The only side effect I am getting from these pills is a slight constipation which I can live with if that is all there is.. I must admit that they are working and doing their job as pain killers.. June 27th can't come fast enough............ When you think about it, I saw my doctor for the first time in mid March and about 3 months later I will be operated on.. Now that's pretty fast.... Our healthcare system really works well and fast.. This operation will cost me ABSOLUTELY NOTHING as well because I live in a small village that doesn't have any medical system, the Government will pay me to go out of town to get medical attention each and every trip..