New MRI's-shoulder damage

[capricorn]

Hi all....thought this was the best place to put this. Hoping some shoulder people can help. Injury was 2 years ago. Cervical, shoulder, lumbar, rt. knee and rt. ankle. Right knee continues to buckle and I roll over on my ankle and twist my back at the same time. Exactly how injury on lower body occured. Obviously I am careful how I walk so I won't fall. Early in the injury I did some aquatic PT for my back which really helped and some ankle PT. That was 18 months ago. Knee has never been treated and back and ankle haven't been treated since. Started to try lumbar PT a couple of months ago and had a sciatica attack each time I used a bike or treadmill. Spine specialist wants another MRI of my back. Last one was a couple of months after the injury. He wants to know why I am having almost constant attacks of sciatica, also he wants a lower EMG>

Cervical MRI looks the same as two years ago, the EMG showed schronic nerve damage. The good part is that the stenosis has stopped progressing since I stopped working. It was progressing every 3-6 months while I was working. Occupational.

New Left shoulder MRI I had about a week ago.---- has so much more wrong that wasn't there before my surgery. I kept telling all these Dr.s and PT's that something has been wrong ever since the surgery and that PT yanked my arm 2 weeks after surgery. I have severe tendonitis in my entire rotator cuff,a deformity of the acromioclavicular ( now I understand why my collarbone hurts all the time and is still swollen after one year) deformities of the anterior and superior labrum,a full thickness tear of the distal infraspinatus tendon. The rest I think i understand but I don't understand know how this all happend or what some of it means. I had none of this before surgery and no one has touched my arm except PT's and Dr.'s since the surgery.

I am so pissed off right now. After one year of complaining about the pain in my entire arm < FINALLY someone listened and did new tests. We are in the process of talking settlement. The IC can kiss my Italian butt until I get second opinions on all of this and know what is going on and what went on. Progressively getting worse with no pain meds, except lidoderm patches and occasional Tylenol 3. PT makes me worse, in all body parts, except aquatic and no one will allow that for more than 4 weeks. I guess it's time to yell. Right now with all that's going on in my life this was the last thing I needed was for me to get worse.

God bless all who reads this.

CAP

[sparkey]

I hope you feel better soon Cap. I know how it is to live in pain. At least they are going to give you another MRI which is good. To make sure everything is looked at. I had to fight to have one, and only ended up getting one ordered through a chiropractor. I wish you luck and hopefully a pain free day : )

[RNvic]

Cap- ask to see a plastic recontruction specialist there should be one at either John Hopkins or university of PA. They would be able to know what can be fixed and how to fix it. The damage was done to mine in the OR as they put to much weight on the elbow when fixing the shoulder and cut the neve at the shoulder. It took 14 doctors before they were able to figure out what went wrong and why I still have limited use of the arm 5 year out, still turns blue and swells with any use, pain that never goes away. Some days it is better than others but never gone. The doctors wanted to go in and see if they could fix but didn't know if it would work. PCP said NO WAY, he thought there was to much risk with my other health problems. So just have to live with it.

[Bad Boy Bad Boy]

Cap, just so you know, I find my way to this board every day. I may not always have some thing to say, because I might be to choked up to say something.

Some how, I can relate with what you have going on. Like when I had all my stuff done, and something kept popping in the collar bone area. Is when I found out I have TOS. The bone just pops out, hits a nerve, and the pain is feirce and quick. I had elected not to do anything for it.

Cap, I think you have a good idea of what happened to the shoulder. Getting it to a point of no pain to less pain may be your next goal. I will keep saying those prayers cap, trust me.

[sparkey]

RN? How did they find you had that problem with the nerve in your shoulder? I am curious because I have had shoulder/neck problems that make my hand tingle, swell in the wrist and turn blue alot. I have had almost 10 doctors total sofar and not one can say it is anything but recurrance carpal tunnel. I had the surgery for that almost 10 yrs ago, and the EMG came back " mild carpal".

PS. I love the new avatar.

[RNvic]

Sparkey- My pain is in the whole arm starting at the neck. Post-op the arm was two times the other arm, blue/purple cold to touch with no capular refill. It had hurt before surgery but the pain was twice after. Then after the swelling went down two weeks later, the arm was numb from the elbow down. Unable to hold anything . My daughter asked that I send her a copy of the OR records, She is a first assist, she took them to the cheif surgeon at the university where she was working and he said something is missing in these records. My surgeron got real mad when I started asking questions about position and amount of weight used in OR, told me there was nothing wrong ( sorry I've done enough recovery of patients) and knew this was wrong. Went back to PCP, he had all the doctors in his office looking at it, sent me for doppler study, (preop showed no nerve damage) second EMG, vasuclar work up, then another round of test MRI, Cat scan, second doppler- 50% loss of blood flow do to pinched ular blood vessles, third EMG RSD, Neve damage at the clavical due to cut during surgery. Sent to Barnes Jewis Hospital and Plastic reconstruction specialist and more test Another MRI, EMG, Doppler study and strength testing. That is when they finally stopped PT as it was just doing more damage. Strength testing showed that after 1 year of PT 5 days a week 4 hours a day I still could only grip 3-5 pounds with limited movement, that is when the doctor at Barnes wanted to open my arm from the middle of my hand to the spine and see if they could find and reconstruction the neve and using neves out of my stomach (NO WAY) . I elected not to have the surgery as to many risks with my other health problems. Also my daughter had been in on some of this type surgery and said there was more failure than worked so asked if there was anything else and they said no, the nerve will regrow at 1/2 inch per year so by the time it reconnects I will be over 100. So at that point I had to except that I will never be able to do some of the things I did before. I started learning to write and do thing with the other hand, I have gotten to a passing level with the right hand now. Still at times try to do things with my left hand then cry as it doesn't work right. After 5 years you would think I would just except it and go on, but I don't and will continue to work the arm and try to get the strength back.

Sparkey hope this gives you a few ideas of what to ask for and what might be causing the problem.

[sparkey]

Thank you RN. The only surgery I had was carpal surgery about 10 yrs. ago. The doctors have put me at MMI and I gave up working in the hosp. I cannot hold a needle anymore safely. I know how it is to try to use a hand other than dominant. I still cannot do it, and put alot of stress on my dominant hand to do things. I try to think of it and remind myself to not overdo it. My tens unit works very well to sit and relax and let it run for a few mins.

[capricorn]

Sparkey...getting the second series of MRI's was no problem here. Had cervical, and shoulder done and will be having my lumbar done sometime next week. Needed no approval from IC. I guess that's one of the differences in states. I'm glad my PM Dr. finally suggested follow- up MRI's or we would have never known why my shoulder, arm and hand are worse since having surgery.


Badboy......Thanks my friend. You are also always in my thoughts and prayers. The have outrules TOS from a Brachial Plexis MRI but some PT's still think that's what it is. DUe to the findings in this mew MRI I think we can clearly see why I'm in more pain than before surgery. I have complained ever since that first PT yanked my arm. I did report her and logged everything that happened in that facility. It went from bad to worse and I was constantly told that shoulder surgery is painful and I have to put up with the agony of PT afterwards. Then my shoulder froze and they continued to pull and push it in every different direction until I was in tears and screaming.

RN....plastic reconstruction huh? I'm looking at all that's wrong in there and feeling like I will probably need another surgery. UGH! worse surgery I ever experienced. Same problem as you. Arm was twice the size and purple down past my elbow. The pain was worse than it ever was before surgery. I'm leary of having another surgery since I have excepted the fact that my arm will always hurt and I don't have full use of it. I am so afraid another surgery will make it even worse. Plus th e MRI says the humeral head is deformed, cystic and has gross deterioration. None of this was there on the first MRI. I am thrilled that my neck has stopped deteriorating. Now we will wait for the results of my lumbar and see if that stayed the same or If I am having these sciatica attacks for a reason. Thansk for your advice.

CAP

[Lilly]

Oh Cap....I am so sorry, but yet happy for you at the same time! Your injuries are awful...but they found em...and that's what counts!! I don't think it's uncommon for a shoulder surgery to come undone, or be worse after initial surgery. PT is too much, too soon, if you ask me. Just because THEY can force your arm to move...doesn't mean that you aren't one of those people who can take pain...so since you're taking it ok but with gritted teeth, they are going beyond the ROM movements they should! I know how bad PT was for me...they would lay on my arm while I bawled and kicked...and then celebrate that I was doing sooooo much better! Hell, they were just using more force to move it! There was not one PT report that said anything about my tears and kicking....PT called it wincing!

I hope you can get your problems fixed, and it's not too late for help. At least "now ya know" you're not a wimp or inmagining things, and so do the docs!
Another dx too late, because of IC delays.
My prayers going up for you still! Lilly

[RNvic]

Cap- I understand the fear, and becoming worse, that is my biggest fear. have lost mucle and strength with what has been done. the left arm is now 1 inch smaller around and the nuckles have broke down and there is little movement in fingers, they are saying Brachial plexopathy with TOS both neruo and vascular involement. RSD due to surgery and it is spreading. The last EMG showed that it had spread to my scalp and right arm. They were not able to see signs that it was under control and would stop spreading, Lucky me I can expect the burning pain to get worse. Am afraid of any more surgery, when they wanted to put in a pacemaker, I op to go the medications as afraid something would go wrong.