Shoulder/arm tenonitis..??

[sunlver]

Anybody have experience with tendonitis in shoulder/arm??Well I am going through this now,and all I can say is WOW..OUCH..
About 9 yrs ago I had my first experince with it..DR gave me a cortizone shot, and a couple pain pills..next day I was fine.

A couple months ago..it acted up again..but seem to be better a week later. If I turn my arm a certain way I can feel a pulling sensation..but normally just ignore it..as its not really painful..

Well I have had no injuries to this arm..BUT.. I am a righty, and do everything with my right hand. I have 4 big dogs who I walk daily(not at same time),and I know a lot of pulling goes on, butnever really thought about it.

Sunday, spent the day at the pool with the kids. Monday no problems..Tuesday my upper arm getting a little sore. Wednesday mornign up in PAIN..I do sleep on my side...I go to dr Wed afternoon...he does xrays, and says he sees nothing, but is pretty sure its tendonitis..He gives a prescription for Naproxen It does nothing for pain., well at least for me..I try to go to bed..couldnt pain so bad... Im up and down, pacing the downstairs, trying to find a comfortable postion.. I am crying , it hurt that bad. Around 12:30 am told my husband I need to go to ER.. that I couldnt deal with the pain...Luckily have teenage son at home to stay with sisters..
Go to ER...doc gives me aprecription for Percogset(Sorry, spelled that wrong) and nurse told us they dont keep cortizone injections down there and pharmacy was closed..meanwhile, Im sitting there with the cold shakes.sweating..She gives me a Vicodon before I leave, and out the door to the all night Walgreens
He did say to keep taking Naproxen for inflamation..Fast forward to today..Iam able to sleep but arm still hurts, cant lift more thena few inches..go back to regular dr..She gives me a cortizone shot..but it really doesnt work..Said it can take 24-48 hrs..all drs said MUST keep moving arm..very important...IM trying..but it hurts so bad.. as far as I can tell now..cortizone has not had made any improvement thus far..

So where do I go from here??? Ive tried some of the exercises onte sheet..but honestly could only do a few. Still cant lift arm over my head..so painful..

Anybody have experience withthis???
Any helpful info I am missing?

 

[golfgal]

I have never known anyone to have THAT much pain with tendinitis. Not that it doesn't hurt but it sounds pretty extreme. I would try to get into a sports medicine doctor and have them evaluate your shoulder. It could still be tendinitis but it could also be bone spurs, torn rotator cuff and a host of other things. It is not common to get tendinitis in your shoulder unless you play tennis, pitch baseball/softball, not that it can't happen it is just unusual since it is an overuse injury.

 

[OK!]

I've had bicipital tendinitis for about 20+ years now, off and on, due to competitive swimming. I have an insanely high tolerance for pain and have pretty much gotten used to it, so I don't really notice it too much unless I do something especially jarring that causes it to really flare up again. Doctors usually told me to take ibuprofen, do the exercises, ice after exercise and heat to warm it up pre-exercise if I felt like it. I had 1 cortisone shot several years ago, but it didn't do very much for me. I know it's worked well for others, though, including my mom.

ITA on having it checked by an orthopedist if at all possible, just to make sure it's not a rotator cuff thing or something else.

 

[Figment22]

Just wondering if you're taking the antibiotic Levaquin, which can have shoulder tendinitis and/or tendon rupture as one of its side effects:

http://www.youhaverights.com/dangerous-drugs/levaquin/

Levaquin (levofloxacin), a popular brand of antibiotic made by Ortho-McNeil-Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Inc., has been blamed for an increased risk of tendon ruptures, tendinitis, and other injuries in patients taking the drug. Anyone who has taken Levaquin, even for brief periods of time, is potentially at risk.

This drug is most commonly prescribed for the treatment of respiratory infections. The most common injuries reported by Levaquin users are tendon ruptures and tendonitis, particularly in the rotator cuff in the shoulder, the hand, and the Achilles’ tendon in the foot. Some injuries require extensive surgery to repair the tendon.

Levaquin Side Effects and Injuries

Levaquin users may also experience one or more of the following injuries:

Tendon ruptures & tendinitis
Rotator cuff in the shoulder
Tendons in the hand
Achilles’ tendon in the foot

 

[sunlver]

Just wondering if you're taking the antibiotic Levaquin, which can have shoulder tendinitis and/or tendon rupture as one of its side effects:

http://www.youhaverights.com/dangerous-drugs/levaquin/

I am not taking any antibotics..it is interestingthough that this antiobotic could cause all that.

 

[piglet50]

my symptoms were similar. i had enough pain at night to wake me up. after x-rays and an mri, i was diagnosed with frozen shoulder. had steroids, cortisone shot, but physical therapy worked for me. the arm must keep moving. it did get better. the sad news, 10 years later, i had it in the other shoulder. the therapy worked the second time, too.

 

[Christine]

I had very bad pain although maybe not as bad as yours. I didn't really have it in my arm but in my shoulder and deltoid area (very upper arm). It was a rotator cuff injury and thankfully not torn. But VERY painful. I couldn't do things like put my arm in my coat or reach back into the backseat of my car from the front without getting an awful stab of pain and having it, literally, take my breath away.

You need to go have physical therapy. It took close to 6 weeks to get it to totally go away but it worked. This will keep happening to you if you do not strengthen that area.

As someone suggested, go to an orthopedic doctor who can isolate the exact muscle, tendon giving you the problem and then this doctor will usually order physical therapy.