Chronic pain

Maw it’s ok to feel depressed when you are in pain. Judging by your posts depression won’t last with you. Your feet are firmly on the ground. I can’t take pain killers so use ibuprofen gel on my painful knee.

Why not go back to the GP and ask for a referral to a pain management specialist? They will be able to review your medication and other advice you have been given. Living with chronic pain is so difficult it is hard not to let it take over. Hope you get some useful advice. Best wishes

Sorry you are in pain Maw with your shoulder. I had trouble with my left shoulder some years ago and it was absolute agony. Like you I had limited use of my arm and sleeping was almost impossible. I used to use a pillow in bed down the side of me to rest my arm on.

My doctor gave me a steroid injection in it which did help and I had physiotherapy later on. It did eventually get better.

Hope things improve for you.

Is it a frozen shoulder which can be unrelentingly painful but usually cures itself after a couple of years.

HI MawBroon I'm not sure whether I've posted this before, but when I worked with "pain doctors" they rated this video and recommended it to patients:

Tame the Beast: Rethinking Persistent Pain

www.youtube.com/watch?v=ikUzvSph7Z4

I had a bad shoulder some years ago which was so painful I couldn't even go to bed - I slept on a reclining chair for 2 weeks. I blamed decorating or the way I was sitting in front of the pc - it could have been either but the pain was terrible so you have my sympathy. If it is impacting on your life have you tried other treatments such as acupuncture or a physiotherapist? I know I keep harping on about turmeric but I know four people who are now on this (my husband included) and they all swear by it for pain and also for reflux. It might be worth trying.

Chronic pain's horrid. You can take paracetamol with naproxen if you don't find that enough.

I’m also wondering whether it’s arthritis which is causing the pain. I had something similar a couple of years and no name was ever attached to it but it was nothing like the arthritic pain I have in other joints. I just took painkillers, was very careful what movements I made with the arm and waited for it to ease - which it did but not quickly. I suspect that arthritis is sometimes a convenient rather than an accurate diagnosis of pain for oldies.

My answer sounds like Merlotgran are you sure it is osteoarthritis ? It sounds so much like when I had frozen shoulder I couldn’t get my arm above waist level and it was so painful Is it a formal diagnosis or just what your GP thinks it may be

I think most of us have good days and bad days whatever ails us. My advice would be to do as much as you can when you have a good day and you'll find that your bad days are/ become more manageable.

During a Dexa scan a few years ago it was found that my left hip showed signs of osteoarthritis. Sometimes it tingles and I can " feel " that it's there so when the weather's good I'll just walk round the block to avoid it locking. Also gentle exercise helps enormously rather than sitting in the same position for hours on end.

With the hip I've been practicing getting out of the chair without holding on to the arms and I've been doing this for ages. I do find that the colder the weather the worse it is.

If you can put up with it, move the arm and shoulder in forward and backward rolls. This will prevent it from becoming static altogether. Paracetamol is all you'll need for the time being. Exercise is important though to the affected part. Try not to focus on your shoulder too much.

Have you seen a competent orthopaedic surgeon who deals with shoulders? If so would you consider a total shoulder replacement?

Otherwise your GP could refer you to a chronic pain clinic

maw you have my sympathy. No one wants to be in pain and most of us would avoid doing things that bring it on.
Is it possible to get some other medication that won’t upset your stomach so much or to have something which helps with the stomach problem.
Walking does help with depression so trying to keep doing that but somewhere not crowded. I would try and stick to the activities which keep you mobile but avoid the things guaranteed to cause pain. Do you have a shopping trolley or something that would help you avoid carrying things? One of those stick things with a grabber on the end (!) to pick things up.
Is an operation an option? Gentle exercise and avoid the things that make it worse I think would be the best.
I don’t think you are one to sink into self pity maw. You are in pain and that makes all of us less able to cope with things. Hope you have a better night tonight ?

Is it definitely osteoarthritis, Maw? I had synovitis in my left shoulder about eight years ago and the symptoms and my concerns were just as you describe especially not being able to raise my arm.

I tried to rest that arm as much as possible and took all the things I hoped would make a difference like chondroitin and cod liver oil supplements but in the end it took about a year to improve.

I still take the supplements every day but more for my knees than my shoulder. I also found a heated wheat bag draped across the top of my arm gave some temporary relief.

Have you had an X ray?