Who knows about bursitis?

[Mary]

I finally went to the doctor today for pain in my left upper arm--I thought. He x-rayed it, and the joint was ok. He then tried to move my arm to check my range of motion, but, as we soon discovered, there really is no range of motion. The pain I feel in my arm muscle is referred pain from the shoulder joint that's inflamed.

I had a shot of lidocaine/ steroid and I start physical therapy tomorrow.

Here's my question. Although I felt pretty good after the shot, my whole arm seems to be inflamed now. Things that didn't hurt before, hurt now.
Does anyone know if this is a temporary situation, and if it is, how long will it last? At this rate, I think it's going to be awfully hard to get to sleep tonight, and I'm not going to feel like implementing my own cure for sleeplessness.

 

[Ross]

I finally went to the doctor today for pain in my left upper arm--I thought. He x-rayed it, and the joint was ok. He then tried to move my arm to check my range of motion, but, as we soon discovered, there really is no range of motion. The pain I feel in my arm muscle is referred pain from the shoulder joint that's inflamed.

I had a shot of lidocaine/ steroid and I start physical therapy tomorrow.

Here's my question. Although I felt pretty good after the shot, my whole arm seems to be inflamed now. Things that didn't hurt before, hurt now.
Does anyone know if this is a temporary situation, and if it is, how long will it last? At this rate, I think it's going to be awfully hard to get to sleep tonight, and I'm not going to feel like implementing my own cure for sleeplessness.

Well at least you have something to implement should the need arise!

 

[Granbonny]

Mary

Mary

I'm sorry you are still having that pain..I HATE pain...I remember before my VR surgery I had pain in my left lower arm bone..below the elbow..Didn't hit it, ect..just pain.. I remember being at a movie with my Grandson and thought I would never make it thru the movie with the pain... It went away on it's own..Also, waking up during the night with the worse pain in my neck.. before VR. surgery...Thought I would die...hurt so badly.Went away, too... never went to a doctor......PAIN is bad..and one cannot explain to loved ones..how bad you are hurting...Thank goodnes..I have not had pain for a long time.. but I feel for you.. did you get pain meds, today? I was never one to go to a doctor before my VR surgery..but, if I ever have that kind of pain again..I will go.. and not be shy to ask for DRUGS. ..... After what we have all gone thru with open-heart surgery..I am sure my PCP will give them to me. Bonnie

 

[Marguerite53]

Ouch!

Ouch!

Mary, sorry that you are hurting. I have/had bursitis in my hip. X-ray, nothing, joint was fine. I was surprised, thought it must be a raw joint or something torn. The doctor had me do some stretches. I thought, sure, a couple of stretches is going to make this go away......but it did! He offered me a shot. I declined at the time, thinking I would try the stretches first. My friend/walking partner gets shots for her hip/back fairly frequently and is in a LOT of pain right after the shot. Then it's heaven for quite awhile. I bet the PT will be really really good for you. Hang in there. Rent a good movie! Let us know....

Marguerite

 

[hensylee]

if it's bursitis, it's gonna be awhile, chile. didn't he tell you bursitis is around for some time? Implement that other thing - else you'll have to go back to dr for his sleep aid; pills of some sort.

 

[bvdr]

Mary, after you get an injection in a joint it is sometimes intially (within an hour) better and then it gets worse for 24-48 hours before it starts to really improve. It has to do with the xylocaine numbing and then the irritation from the medication sets in when the numbing wears off. Relief comes when the steroid part of the shot kicks in and starts reducing the inflammation causing the pain....and I know with Bursitis it can be considerable!

I hope PT goes well for you. I was a little surprised that my insurance didn't cover as much of it as I had hoped. You may want to think twice about accepting their kind offers of ice after your treatments....I think it cost me about 27 dollars each time and it wasn't covered at all. If I had known I would have waited until I got home.

I just finished a week or so ago and had an injection similar to yours the same day I finished. I think it has helped some but it has a ways to go yet. I couldn't get the injection before PT because my ortho wanted the injured shoulder to heal as much as possible on its own before putting steroids into the joint.

 

[Mary]

I met with the physical therapist this morning, and unfortunately, it's not bursitis. I have a frozen shoulder. The diagnosis makes me very unhappy, because he said, "Pain will be gain" in this case. AUGHHHHHHH! Just what I wanted; a month of theraputic pain!!!

Apparently scar tissue has formed adhesions which are restricting the shoulder motion, so his plan of action is to slowly break them up through God Knows What Torture Devices!

The good news is after finishing therapy he feels I will have pain free range of motion again. I've been babying the arm and shoulder for about 5 weeks, so I am ready to get it fixed.

 

[Birky]

shoulder

shoulder

I agree that it takes a few days for the pain to go completely away after the shot. I had a shot in my shoulder last Thursday and it was pretty sore over the weekend. Today it feels good. I have an impingement( not sure of spelling) and this is my 3rd shot. I have been fortunate since they seem to work for me for a couple of years. I have also had bursitis and this is painful but the shot did help. A frozen shoulder is nothing to fool around with. Hope that the pt works for you.