Feeling a bit fed up!

rayray

Hi all,

I know that my troubles are minor in comparison to most but I am fed up with all this inflammation. Have posted before about neck and left shoulder. Also had a THR a few years ago. Get repeated attacks of extreme tiredness which is always followed by inflammation around several joints. No diagnosis as to what yet but I am seeing a spinal surgeon for a followup following an MRI and CT scan next week. She has already said she feels I have an auto-immune disorder. I see the shoulder surgeon again in April.

To add to my difficulties two weeks ago I woke up with my right shoulder very stiff and painful. I seem to aggravate it easily - yesterday I ironed and sleep was difficult last night plus it is very stiff. I can move it but it is catching at a point so it is quite difficult and it flipping hurts! Should I wait to April to see the shoulder guy or go to my GP now? I have painkillers already for the other painful bits so not sure what they could do to help. I'm not sure what to do as without full use of either arm life is a bit tricky. Trying to work (have my own business) and carry on as normal but so exhausted. Any tips or advice gratefully received.

Thanks for reading this, good just to say it to someone.

stickywicket

Shoulders are awkward things. I was told once that, even for a steroid injection, there are two places they can inject, it's not always obvious which place it should be and, if they opt for the wrong one, it won't do much good. Great :roll:

I understand your pain and frustration. You could try ringing your shoulder guy's secretary and saying you'll take a cancellation if they have one before your scheduled appointment. Your GP might want to tweak your medication which may or may not help. Meanwhile try to remember that any repetitive action will make things worse so, if you've a lot of stuff to iron, don't do it all at once. Iron a couple of things then go away and do something else for half an hour, come back and iron a couple more etc. It's boring and annoying but it does help.

I don't think you'd be able to get a physio appointment on the NHS much before you see your specialist anyway but you could check out the shoulder exercises in Arthritis Care's exercise booklet and ease yourself gently into them. Good luck with it all.

barbara12

Shoulder are so painful, if things are to bad I would ring and ask to see them..like SW says you could maybe have a steroid injection to get you over till they decide what is going on
Has for the Arthritis it is so complex and there are so many it can take time, but you must make tell them you need some answers or otherwise some of these clinic just don't bother you become a num..I hope you can get some relief very soon
Has for the ironing its the one thing that really aggravates my shoulder..so I pay my GDs...

bubbadog

Hi rayray, I do suffer a lot with my left shoulder as well as other joints the , it only started getting painful Late December/early January. I told my Rheumatologist about it when I saw him last and gave me a Steroid injection and it was great for about a week and it slowly started to hurt again!! It's a pain when one joint starts and it's a domino effect with all the Arthritic effected joints joining in! I agree with the others try giving your Consultants secretary a ring and see if there is a chance of getting an appointment soon maybe take a cancellation spot. Hope you get some news soon.

stickywicket

Sorry, I might have muddied the issue a bit with tales of steroid jabs. I wasn't suggesting you should ask for one. I think, with an appointment coming up, it might be better not to have one as it could cloud the issue.

theresak

Sorry to hear about your painful shoulders. I have shoulder problems, so I tend to "stagger" the ironing as Sticky suggests, otherwise I`d be struggling. When either of my shoulders flare, I rest the affected one on a pillow while I`m sitting, and this helps. It`s the same when I go to bed, I rest the bad one on a pillow.

I`ve been quite lucky with steroid jabs into the shoulders - I`ve had great benefit form them. Anti-inflammatories may help too, if you tolerate them.

rayray

Thanks for all your really helpful replies. I will call the consultant's secretary tomorrow. You are right about the ironing. I tend to try and do so much but it really is too much at times. Hubby gets exasperated at times but we all try to keep our independence don't we?

Will update if I get an early appointment.

Thanks again.

dreamdaisy

I think we all get fed up from time to time and with good reason. Tiredness and arthritis go hand-in-hand, when we feel slightly better or brighter for whatever reason there is a natural tendency to overdo things and then 'enjoy' the payback for our temerity. :roll: We have to pace ourselves no matter how we are feeling, 'do a little then rest a little' is my mantra (but I do forget it from time-to-time). DD