Frozen Shoulder Update

If you found yourself here after a google search, I am so sorry that you are living with this condition too.  It sucks, and I commiserate with you.  A little while ago I posted that I am struggling with a frozen shoulder (I am not fully frozen yet, I’m still in the freezing stage).  It’s quite debilitating and extremely painful.  After almost 2 months of very little sleep, I went back to my doctor.  I’m going to be honest here, I was a basket case when I saw her.  Tears of frustration, pain, and exhaustion were shed in her office that morning.  

She quickly referred me for a cortisone shot.  I wasn’t sure I actually wanted one, but I definitely needed some relief.  She also prescribed me something to help me sleep.  I took half a pill the first 2 nights, and it was a game changer.  It’s so much easier to cope when you are rested.  I didn’t need to take anymore than that (I always worry about narcotics and addiction/side effects).

I was very surprised when I got a call for an appt for cortisone shot a few days later.  They recommended I have someone drive me, so hubby came with me.  I was super anxious about it.  Needles don’t typically bother me, but this was something new.  Everyone I had spoken with said it hurt, and that I was in for a rough day or 2.

The doctor was great.  Explained everything well and went over all the risks and benefits.  He took his time answering my questions, and didn’t rush.  The injection itself didn’t feel much different than a tetanus shot (but into the joint, not the muscle).

My arm felt numb for a couple hours (they mix lidocaine into the steroid) and when that stopped, there was a really deep ache in my shoulder blade area. I had difficult distracting myself, so eventually I went to the basement alone and put on a show I had seen before.  I tried to sleep, but the ache kept me up.  Eventually I did fall asleep for a few hours, and when I woke the ache was gone.

My pain was about the same as normal that day, but by Saturday it was no longer constant. By Monday, it was a little less, and while I still haven’t noticed much of an improvement in my active range of motion, there has been a big change to my passive ROM when I’m using this pulley system (affiliate link).

Over the last week I have felt twinges in my other shoulder, and I am petrified it is going to start to freeze.  My doctor recommended yoga or tai chi.  I have found a few 10 minute videos that focus on the neck and shoulders, so have started to incorporate them into my morning and afternoon stretch routine.

I’m unsure how long this freezing stage is going to last, but I am eager to move past it. I don’t want to be frozen, but I know at this point there isn’t much I can do other than move through the stages, and hopefully come out with full range mod motion when it’s over, whenever that may be. 

Frozen Shoulder

 

AI generated image 

Many months ago, I noticed that at night, my left shoulder felt “overstretched” when I was trying to sleep.  I would readjust my position and all was well.  This happened periodically over a few weeks. Then, I started to notice the same feeling when I would reach above my head.  It was sporadic, maybe a few times a week.  

At some point, I started having “zingers” (excruciating pain delayed by a few seconds that radiates rapidly down the entire arm, the arm goes numb, if I’m holding something it ends up dropped, and often times I actually drop to the floor / the pain is THAT bad).  This would happen if I made a sudden movement, or reach too far (closing a car door, reaching to grab something etc)

I made an appt with my doctor around the 8 week mark, and she recommend physio and an ultrasound.  The u/s didn’t show any tears or anything serious.

I started physio and my range of motion seems to be steady, but I’m still having pain.  In addition to the “zingers” I also pretty much constantly have pain in my bicep and deltoid muscles in that arm.

Apparently, I’m in the freezing stage of frozen shoulder.  I didn’t even know what frozen shoulder was until this happened.

There are 4 stages:

Pre-freezing (what I was noticing at night at first)

Freezing (losing range of motion and intense pain)

Frozen (less or no pain, but incredibly restricted movements)

Thawing (gradually increasing range of motion)

I have been doing my exercises, seeing physio and RMT, but sometimes it feels like there is no end in sight.

Lifting things increase pain (and also comes with risk of dropping it).  Even walking the dog is difficult. I use my good arm, but sometimes the way he turns jars my shoulder and then it happens.  Sleeping is difficult and most nights I only get 3-4 hours of broken sleep.  Exhaustion then adds to the stress of dealing with it.

I plan to buy a pillow or wedge like this to help with sleeping.  I have been using pillows we have, but none seem to work well, they are too thick.

I’m using this post as a venting tool, but also for awareness. Women in perimenopause are more likely to be affected by frozen shoulder, as are those with diabetes or thyroid issues.

On average, it apparently takes around 2 years to go through the 4 stages, but some people take longer.  I’m approximately 6 months in, and still at the freezing stage.

If you have been through it, please leave me some tips if you have any or link to a wedge/pillow that worked for you. 

Summer Fun

 This summer we weren’t super social.  Our oldest graduated in June, so we had a small celebration for him.  We always throw a big Canada Day bash, and we hosted a small end of summer pool party.

Other than that, we mostly enjoyed the heat and sunshine alone. I spent a lot of time in my oasis floating and reading (I just finished my 35th book of the year)!

One of my favourite additions to our household last year was the Ninja Slushi (affiliate link) that my husband purchased me for Christmas.  I made many batches of frozen lemonade this summer. It was super refreshing in the heat and humidity.  The original reason he bought it for me was to make daiquiris.  However, I found out that while it does have a “spiked slush” option, it doesn’t make alcoholic drinks super slushi. It’s much better to use the non/alcoholic liquid and add in after. I typically just used it for frozen lemonade.  Sometimes I would add a splash of amaretto and have my own version of a frozen amaretto sour!

Frozen amaretto sour made using Ninja Slushi

Wisdom Teeth Removal

Canva AI generated image

The time came when my oldest was told that it was recommended to have his wisdom teeth removed. After the consultation, he chose the date he wanted and we waited. The day prior to his surgery, he came down with a cold. Unfortunately, that meant we had to postpone by 4 weeks.

I took that time to get prepared. I know how important ice can be in reducing swelling, and I have seen many people with massive swelling after oral surgery.  I ordered an ice pack from amazon that straps around the head for hands free use.

When we got home from the surgery, we went through the list of things we were told to do. Once the time came for ice, he wore the ice pack.  We tried to keep it 20minutes on 20minutes off for his waking hours the first 48hours, and then he went to 20 minutes on, 40 minutes off for the last 24hours.  He still found comfort in using it on days 4-7 when the meds were starting to wear off.

It does take more than 20 minutes to freeze again, so having 2 that you could rotate would be a good idea.

I am happy to say that he had hardly any swelling, and very minimal bruising also (only a small amount on one side, which happened to be the side that was more painful and took longer to heal).

Watching My Garden Grow

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Years ago I had a small veggie garden in the backyard. I grew tomatoes, cucumbers, peppers, and zucchini. I tried beans, onions and watermelon, but I didn't have much success with those.  Many years, I tried strawberries in a hanging basket. However, every time I would find berries almost ripe, the next time I would look - they would be gone.

When we transformed our backyard in 2020, I lost my garden. We just did not have any room for it.  I have missed it so much over the last 5 years.  Hubby and I were talking about it this spring, and decided we would try doing some container gardening in our front yard.  We get full sun for many hours, so decided it was worth a shot.

I bought a cucumber plant, some tomato plants and some lettuce. We are starting small, and if it works, will expand next year.  As I was wandering the garden center, I saw a strawberry plant.  I added it to my cart and it came home with the rest of the plants.

Everything was going well, until the first berry was *almost* ready to be picked. It needed just a little bit longer. The next morning, it was gone. I was devastated. I didn't want to give up on my plant that had so many flowers with fruit starting

I did a search, and I found some mesh bags you can use to cover plants. I figured it was worth a try. I ordered them.  It is a 4-pack, and I only needed one, but I have extras now if needed. I covered my plant immediately.

I went out to check on my garden yesterday, and I had 3 berries that were ready to be picked. I legit did a little happy dance in my front yard.  

Ripe Strawberries!

Wordless Wednesday: November 13th

 

Wordless Wednesday: November 5 2024