Shoulder Pain

On Saturday, May 21, I woke up at 4:00 in the morning with a stabbing pain in my shoulder blade. It hurt so bad. I tried to walk it off and took some medicine, but at 4:45 I had to go to wake up The Doctor. We ended up going to emergency room.

I was in so much pain. I was crying and sobbing. When we got to the hospital they took me into the room and it ended up taking 4 doses of morphine and other pain medicine for the pain to go away. They did a chest x-ray and 2 e.k.g.'s on me, and everything looked normal. The doctor was stumped. Also my right arm was going numb, my fingers were numb, and out to my elbow was really numb. That was really freaking me out.

They sent me home with prescriptions for Lortab and Ibuprofen and a nerve pain medicine but no answers. When we got home I crawled into my chair and fell asleep from the morphine. The Doctor went to the store and filled the prescriptions. He took care of the house and the kids. I tried sleeping in the bed, but I just couldn't get comfortable, so I slept in my recliner for the next week. 

We have since figured out that I have a pinched nerve in my shoulder.  I was worried that it might be a slipped disk in my neck and would need surgery, so I am grateful it isn’t that severe.  But I have much more compassion for those who have chronic pain.  I have been going to physical therapy a couple times a week ($40 copay every time!) and my shoulder is doing much better.  It’s still very weak and I have to be careful. 

But now the nerves in my elbow are giving me pain, and nothing helps them feel better.  I just have to deal with it  the best that I can, and I don’t do a very good job of dealing with it!  My first two fingers are still tingly numb and it’s really hard to write or even hold a pencil.  Which makes doing my work such fun.

I figured out that between the cold/infections/bronchitis and my shoulder, I was sick the entire month of May.  I spent the whole month sitting in my chair and watching life go on around me.  I lost the whole month.  Not fun.