I’m not giving anyone the “cold shoulder”, I promise! LOL. It has been a strange few days around here. On Sunday morning I woke up and could not move my left arm more than an inch in any direction. I was worried that I might have had a stroke but my mouth was not drooping so I ruled that out right away. Next I realized my underarm and hand were swollen so I began worrying I had some type of lymph node issue. I went to the doctor and he worried it was a blood clot so off to the hospital I went to rule that out. When that vascular ultrasound turned out negative, I got sent to the Orthopedic doctor and it turns out I have the very strange but common problem called Adhesive Capsulitis or Frozen Shoulder.
The best I can explain this in layman terms is that thick bands of tissue develop in the shoulder capsule and immobilize the arm and shoulder. It is extremely painful. I had never heard of this before and as it turns out, they don’t know what causes it exactly and there is also no prevention for it either. The remedy is a cortisone shot, a boatload of Advil and keeping the arm moving (easier said than done, trust me). There is also a physical therapy component to help regain the range of motion so these tissues don’t form scar tissue.
Weird, right? I get all the weird stuff. Anyway, I have regained a fair amount of motion. Reaching over the head, across body or straight out to the side is still painful but today I was able to put a clip in my hair and tie my own shoes!! Baby steps…
So…I am dying to get back to my regularly scheduled life and driving routine. Amanda has her permit now and is more than willing to escort me all over town! Ummmm…we’ll have to see about that. She has been driving all around town the last few days with Greg which is awesome. I know she will be a terrific driver.
Yesterday afternoon I sent out emails or direct messages on Twitter with partner assignments for the Summer Postcard Swap. Please check to see that you have received your partner’s name and address. If you have questions on any addresses, international ones in particular, please ask your partner to clarify. Let me know if you have any questions at all and I will do my best to answer them. This is our biggest swap yet with 20 people participating. It’s very exciting!!
Have a great day everyone!
10 responses to “A Different Kind of Cold Shoulder!”
Don’t be stingy on your exercises! I have a friend who dislocated her elbow and wasn’t as religious on her exercises as she should have been once it was out of plaster. She still regrets it. Hope it’s 100% again soon.
Thanks Charlotte! It’s much better now.
Oh dear poor you. I have heard of frozen shoulder… a few people I know have had it. Do as you are told. DO the exercises. You don’t want to end up incapacitated in any way. I am blog catching up as I rest in bed. I seem more inclined to rest during the morning when its too cool to get out and then don’t do so much the rest of the day. Glad your daughter is driving well. It is scary to have someone you gave birth to in charge of a car (and your life!!) I remember going on a big drive with first child daughter (Fangirl) I fell asleep so she must have been good. (Illegal. Yes as supervising person I was supposed to be awake but it was a long drive… 1000 km. She didn’t drive the whole way and i didn’t sleep the whole way in case you were wondering)
Glad you weren’t sleeping the whole time!!! It is a special kind of terrifying for sure. Lol. Hope you are feeling better soon!!
So sorry to hear that. A coworker was telling me that her husband was just diagnosed with it. Take care of yourself.
I had never heard of it before now and suddenly I’m hearing a lot of people have had it. Hope it goes away and doesn’t return!!
Frozen Shoulder? Oh my goodness! I sure hope the difficulties from this pass soon – and I third the urging that you do your exercises/therapy. We all want you to be healthy. 🙂
Thanks Susan! It was quite a strange thing to have happen but I’m feeling better. Will definitely be doing exercises so this doesn’t repeat itself.
Thanks for stopping by!
Yep, do the exercises. I’m one of those who had frozen shoulder – thought I had torn my rotator cuff and so was babying the arm/shoulder and that was the worst thing I could have been doing. All better now and if my shoulder even gives me a twinge, I start back on my exercise regime.
That is exactly what I was told to do by the orthopedic this week! He said if I ever feel a twinge, get right back on the exercise and the Advil. Sorry you had to go through this as well. What a crazy ailment!!