Shoulder gone wrong

A couple of updates before I get into the new post. We are not getting the dog. She was a beautiful shepherd I have to say. Her name is Jenna and she is approaching 4 years old. Not a pup obviously. She was very attached to her owner(s). They said she was growling at their son and that she has been aggressive since the day she got pregnant. We think they stopped paying attention to her when the baby was born. She would need a lot of work. A lot of obedience training and I don't think this is a good time do try to take on such a task because it's getting really cold.



The tree has been trimmed. Woohoo!!

Ok back to the subject of the post. I would guesstimate my shoulder pain started back in 2001 late to early 2002. I can't tell you what happened. What I can tell you is that I have been in this dental assisting field for almost 11 years now. I would say that years of leaning on my left side with all my weight would pose a problem eventually. I don't know. I'm no doctor but it seems logical considering I haven't had any falls or accidents. Suddenly I just started developing this excruciating pain in my left shoulder. Went to my then doctor who referred me to a physical therapist. So I did physical therapy for a few months. All was well for hhmmm say about a year or a little over. Then the pain occurred again and this time I just ignored it or started taking Advil. Boom. Problem went away for a bit and came back charging more than the previous occasions. This time I found a orthopedic doctor in my plan and scheduled me an appointment. I can't say that I was satisfied with his standard of care. He examined me, as much as can be examined, and asked me if I wanted a Cortisone shot. Hmmmm, "I don't know". I asked the typical will it hurt question. I factored in my pain threshold and figured it was in my best interest to accept the offer. It wasn't painful at all but it does stiffen your shoulder up a bit. The injection lasted for quite some time and then the problem reared it's ugly head again. In between that time, I had radiographs done on my shoulder. He never once told me what the findings were from the films. Go back months later and he gives me another injection and orders a MRI on my shoulder. I had that done. Might I add, it's really not all that bad having an MRI. I found the loud clanking sounds to be rather soothing if I may say so. That last injection lasted about two months before I headed back. This time, no injection. He ordered an MRI on my neck to make sure there is no underlying cause. Now why in the hell didn't he order it with the shoulder? I was pissed because here I am in pain and he wants me to wait even longer to see him again without another injection. What does a girl do in the meantime? Take Advil I gather. I get the films and scheduled an appointment as soon as possible. This poor excuse of a doctor cancelled my appointment not once but three times. That was the last time I had any dealings with that office.

Now I'm on the hunt for a new doctor. One that went to a school I can recognize, unlike the previously mentioned doctor. Someone who works in DC so it's easily accessible on my days at work. Someone who wouldn't BS me around. I was given a name by my PCP office. He assured me that I would like him. He was right. I liked him. I didn't like that it took him 45 minutes to come into my room but I liked his demeanor and I got a good feel of him. I ran down the history of the bad shoulder and he got a few more radiographs. He did a strength test also. My left side is lacking in strength. I'm not sure what the outcome of the test was on that but I don't need a gadget to tell me that. He wanted to get an explanation for my tingling fingers. He told me I had suffered enough. Surgery was the next option. Orthoscopic surgery. He couldn't guarantee that I will pain free but he projected a 90% chance I would. There is that 10% though. He read me the findings of the report from the MRI and in lam ens terms, I got out of it a tear in the tissue surrounding the disc. I requested a copy for my own personal records. He told me that he won't know how bad it is until he gets in there but there could be a minor procedure or a more involved one. He asked if I had short term disability insurance. NO I have long term. He informed me that my recuperation period can be as little as a few days up to 6 weeks depending on what lies ahead, along with physical therapy. There is a slight chance that he can perform the work and the pain will remain and my shoulder can develop a condition where the shoulder would stiffen up. I don't' know the medical term but he did inform me of this possibility. I told him that I have been living off of 800 mg of Advil and looked at me and with concern told me that I am killing my liver. He wanted me off it and suggested another type of medication. I declined the prescription.

His next question to me was if I wanted to do it before or after the holidays. I asked him what is his advice and he said it's up to me because I'm the one in pain. He can do it Monday he said. Wow!

I call this morning to set it up. I absolutely cannot live with this pain any longer and the sooner this situation can be taken care of, the better.

I was having a really bad day yesterday. I think it's the PMS kicking in again but I took it out on my dear hubby and he didn't deserve to have me kirk out on him like I did. When I got home, to my surprise, there was a big beautiful bouquet of flowers sitting right on the top landing for me to take notice to when I opened the door. They were accompanied by the most heartfelt card and upon reading it, a single tear rolled down my face. Just a single one. I have never had that happen. So it instantly made me feel better. It's good to know I have him to be there for me when I'm just down and out and not feeling very happy. The card spoke about "tomorrows" and tomorrow indeed is a new day.