Anyone else have shoulder problems?

AlaskaDeb

Anyone else have shoulder problems?

AlaskaDeb

I am really having problems with my shoulder.  I had lumpectomy and a BIG auxiliary node dissection in Jan of  2006.  There was a lot of cancer in my nodes and they removed a lot of fat and tissue under my arm.  After chemo, in August of 06 I had a bilateral mastectomy with no recon.  After I healed I did 33 rads.  While that was going on I got bad lymphedema in my arm, trunk and shoulder. 

My shoulder has never been right since the first surgery.  I had a mild case of frozen shoulder and never regained full range of motion...I am at about 90 - 95 %.  At first they said it was from the surgery, then they said it was from the swelling from the LE....now they think I have degeneration in the bone and joint.  Throw in the fact that I have had 2 outbreaks of shingles on that quadrant of my body since treatment and I can not figure out what is causing my pain!

It is not horrible, but bad enough it wakes me up at night, especially if I sleep on that side.  Now, in the past 2 weeks I figured out I am "holding" my shoulder weird....lifted up and forward a bit, and the muscles are tense and sore!

I don't have any idea which of the many things might be causing the pain, or if it is a combination...

Has anyone got any ideas for me?  Have you had anything similar happen?  Each doctor kind of says "Hmmmmm" and offers me pain pills, but what I really want is to figure out what is causing the pain.....

celia088

Deb,

I have a bad shoulder too.  It started before breast cancer--i had an injury to it a decade ago and since that time the shoulder joint has gotten lots of calcifications in it (had MRI) that painfully obstruct movement.  I can't reach for the cereal box on the top of the fridge, hook my bra, put both hands behind my back, or brush my hair real well. It hurts when i sleep on it also.  I also had a mastectomy on that side and that tightened it up even more.  I have had 3 steroid shots at different times in the shoulder joint. The last shot was the most effective one of all.  That last doc was really skilled and was also willing to put half of the steroid shot in the front of the joint and half in the back of the joint like i asked.  None of the others would do that and those shots gave very little relief.  This time the shot has made my shoulder feel like i never had a problem with it at all....amazing!  I had the shot August 29 and i still feel no pain.  I had 2 rounds of physical therapy with the earlier less successful shots and neither did much good.  I highly recommend getting a steroid shot.  Good luck!

celia

Sierra

Hi Ladies:



Alaska: sorry to hear this



and I have issues as well



arty in both shoulders now

and.. also a rotator cuff problem

other things listed on the report



I try not to use arms too much

but.. no elevator here

so up and down all the time

Yes, they offered me the coristone shot
and I am trying to avoid it, I take some advil
for now
Can not sleep on that side

I understand frozen is v. painful

Also, I take some massage
was using a topical ointment
and have broken out in a rash
so stopped that
I put some ice on it
as well at times
Trying to get a student in helping
with lifting etc..
and contacted Arthritis Society


Sending out...

lots of hugs and healing for you

abbadoodles

Ladies, I had a completely frozen shoulder 15 years ago after a lumpectomy.  The surgeon was in a study (that is to say, I was) that wanted to find out if completely immobilizing the affected arm after the surgery would decrease the incidence of drain seroma.  I had my arm in a sling for only a couple of days.

Result:  had a big seroma and a frozen shoulder.  I had to have pt and do exercises to get back my range of motion.  It took weeks and I was so mad!

This time around, after the mast, I was up and at 'em right away and did nothing special to that (same) arm.  Did not have a problem.

Anyway, I wanted to suggest a good massage therapist.  I used one and not only loved it but I do know that a really good one can help find trigger points and tight areas and work on them and that MIGHT help you.  Not only that, it feels great.

So, aside from steriod shots, pain pills and the like, why not try it?  You may be able to get insurance to pay for some of it, esp. if it is associated with pt.

Tina

LuAnnH

Deb,  I didn't get frozen shoulder but arimidex did a number on my shoulders.  I have terrible arthritis in my shoulders now.  I have mets but made them scan, mri, you name it they did it!  All my shoulders are is terrible, terrible arthritis and fibromylgia.

LizM

I also have problems with both of my shoulders and upper arms.  Had bi-lateral with tissue expanders (extremely tight pectoral muscles), auxillery dissection and rads to chest wall, auxilla and supraclavical area on left side.  Had frozen left shoulder last year and still have problems with range of motion on left side.  Since starting AI's, first Arimidex and especially now Femara my upper arms and shoulders on both sides hurt.  I have deveoped extremely tight muscles in my chest area, upper back, shoulders and both sides of my neck.  I also have TMJ.  I just recently bought a book on chronic pain of fibromyalgia and myofacial (sp) and have been working on trigger points in those areas.  My posture over the last two years has been really bad because I have been overcompensating for the pain in the front and I believe that has played a role in my extremely tight muscles and the development of trigger points.  I have been working on my posture with Yoga poses and hitting my hot tub and using lots of heat which has helped but I still have a lot of work to do on the muscles in those areas.

LuAnnH, do you have mets in addition to arthritis in your shoulders or are the mets somewhere else?  I am starting to think the side effects from the AI's are similar to fibromyalgia.  How were you diagnosied with fibro?

Binney4

Aw, Deb, bummer! I did have a really similar problem. First noticed the "guarding" (holding my shoulder forward like you described) when I was walking by a shop window and saw this reflection of a stooped little old lady -- quite a shocker to realize it was me I was seeing! I went for PT which was extremely gentle and gradual and it helped mightily.

With the lymphedema do be extremely careful of massage (make sure any masseuse talks to your lymphedema therapist first!) and of course avoid applying heat. WARM is okay, but actual heat will bring you grief.

Sounds like lots of us have shoulder complications of all sorts. I think it comes from all the blows we strike when we're fighting the Beast!

Hoping you get real relief soon,

Binney 

juanita63

I had shoulder problems before, but after my lumpectomy I have a lot more. I was going to talk to my pcp about it when I see him next week.

michmom

I had a mast in Jan 07 with exchange surgery in May.  I had pain more in my upper arm muscle than the shoulder that gradually worsened over time.  It got to the point where it was waking me up at nite and bringing me almost to tears.  I felt like I had full range of motion so I didn't really think it was my shoulder.  The surgery was on my right side and I'm right handed so I thought I was straining it with lifting and such.  At my last visit to the bs he examined me and felt there was unusual tightness in that arm and suggested PT.  The therapist thought I might have a frozen shoulder but my ps felt that with the cutting of muscles and nerves on that side I probable developed different patterns of movement to avoid pain after surgery that was leading to the discomfort.

I've been in pt about a month.  They feel the muscle pain oriniated in the shoulder.  I get heat, massage, exercises and icing.  I was very skeptical but must admit it's much better.  I still have occasional discomfort, mostly at nite but not to the point where I take any meds. PT is non-invasive and easy to try.

silvergirl9114

Hey Deb!



I had a frozen shoulder (dislocated it reaching for the turkey platter!) before the mast---which made it worse. The other went up after delayed recon, and having my other arm strapped in a very compromised position for 8 hours. Have you EVER tried to blow dry your hair with two frozen shoulders? I looked like Kramer on Seinfeld for a year, at least!



What really helped was PT and a massage therapist at the same time. The PT guy would try to kill me and the massage lady would stretch everything back out. If you go for this, make sure you are going to a massage THERAPIST---not a spa lady.



Jeannie