Going under the knife...

 

 

 

I met with 'THE' shoulder guy's PA last week to discuss the results of my MRI, nerve study and to get another thorough shoulder exam.  He was very knowledgeable, thorough, gentle but emphatic that we had to move the joint this way and that, several times over,  to pinpoint what exactly was causing the pain.

 

I told him how awful 'the shot' was, how frustrated I am about not really having a solid answer or even a 'plan' on how to fix it four months into my quest to resolve my pain, and how I really can't go on.  I can't function with this pain one. more. day.

 

I think he heard me.  We studied my MRI.  We looked at the big, nasty site where I have a bunch of osteoarthritis around the AC joint.  He apologized up and down before revealing to me that IF we were going to get to the bottom of this, he would have to give me another shot.  My face fell.  I was just about to resort to throwing a fit, right then and there, when he said that it was just a local anesthetic.  He needed to inject it into my AC joint so that he could pinpoint whether the pain was primarily caused by the arthritis we were seeing in the AC joint (a test that was nicely confirmed on this site), or if the tear in the labrum was also causing pain.  The result of this little test meant a huge difference - an easy surgery with one day in a sling, or a more involved surgery with four weeks in an immobilizer.  Sure... shoot me up, doc.  It hurt.  And it wasn't just one shot.  It was three.  :( 

 

Good news is, is that in about 10 minutes time, I could swing my arm around, PAIN FREE.  I told him it was a miracle.  He told me it was temporary.  Damn.  The fact that it was truly pain free, even after he redid all of the "Does this hurt if I do this?" tests, meant that even though there was a labrum tear, it was NOT the cause of my pain.  The arthritis in my AC joint (see my MRI below), combined with a bone spur digging into my rotator cuff, was the culprit, and could be resolved with a bit of arthroscopic surgery.

 

 

So I meet with "THE" shoulder guy for another quick once-over pre-op appointment this coming Tuesday morning, and then Wednesday morning is the day.  I can't wait!!!!!!!!!!!