I have a question I havent’ had a chance to ask my doctor or anyone yet. Here goes…sorry if it sounds dumb to some,but I really have no clue,… what is frozen shoulder, as in how it relates to diabetes? I have my right shoulder that has me in pain everyday and night with no relief. They are now starting physical thearpy on it which i do not understand because I was told I had bone spurs and arthritis in the collar bone. How can therapy help these? Now because my right shoulder is so painful I am over using my left shoulder and it too is becoming painful. The right sholder we thought was getting bad becauseof the carpal tunnel and ulner nervitis in the elbow and I was over using it do to the weakness in the hand and elbow. I am not getting any real anwsers out of my orthopedic surgoen lately and am getting very upset. This whole thing is depressing me cus I can’t do the things I used to be able to do! Then of course you get the attitude from people like you are faking it. That really upsets me. I feel I have enough to deal with being a new diabetic and in pain and to have to deal with these attitudes just really starts to depress me. I am trying to do what I can to get by and it all just brings me down when I want to stay up beat. I don’t understand what frozen shoulder is and if that could be the problem. So if anyone could give me some answers I would greatly appreciate it.
Thanks and hugs to all,
Karen
Physical therapy will strength the muscles in the shoulder to try to prolong surgery. Personally for me I have had pt twice on both shoulders and it didn’t help and I ended up in surgery anyway. Frozen shoulder is just when you have trouble moving your shoulder in the normal ROM. Try to avoid having the steriod injections as it will cause your blood sugar to rise.
Karen,
Frozen shoulder may be caused by thickening of tendons caused by relatively low blood sugars. I’ve had two of them. Both went away on their own after 6 months or so of misery. My brother did all the extremely painful PT and guess what, his went away in 6 months too.
The surgeon I consulted about the second frozen shoulder (which was pinching a nerve and utterly excrutiating) told me that it was so bad he wouldn’t operate on it as I couldn’t do the PT afterwards. But it cleared up. He also told me I had a bone spur.
FWIW, both my frozen shoulders occurred after I’d dramatically improved my blood sugar control for a few months. The first after I started low carbing and dropped my post-meal readings from 250+ to 120 and the second after I started using insulin.
I
I had shoulders that were “frozen” too. I had acupuncture and it really worked on one, the other one I had to have surgery. This was probably 15 years ago. I also have tendon problems in my elbow, exacerbated by my inability to curtail my sewing and quilting passions, and I went through a lot of PT, chiroprac, cortisone shots, and then I got relief from acupuncture. I recently got a recommendation on an acupuncturist who is also a MD anaesthethiologist and I’m going to make an appt with him. At the very least, it’s extremely relaxing -
Karen, I had frozen shoulder a couple of times. Once when I was little-- probably 10 years old or so, and then again when I was 21. We had no idea what it was when I was little-- we thought it must be some sort of injury, rather than T1-related. So I just went for a good while without moving my arm at all! I even wore a sling. Needless to say, I’m sure that made it worse. When I had it the second time, I was recovering from a car accident from which I broke my pelvis and was basically confined to a bed for almost 3 months. I think the lack of movement during that period was the catalyst for it. I had physical therapy for the recovery of my pelvis, etc., and the physical therapist came over to the house one day and noticed that I kept touching my shoulder. She said, “your shoulder’s bothering you, isn’t it?” I was like, “YES!!” and she briefly reached out and massaged it. I don’t know what she did but it felt SO MUCH BETTER after she massaged it. That alone convinced me that PT is the best way to treat it (although I know my experience with it may be unique). It eventually got better once I started moving it around again. Both times I had frozen shoulder, it was my left shoulder that was affected, and I’m right-handed. I really think it has something to do with lack of movement, and what “stage” you’re in (there are three stages of frozen shoulder-- here is a link with more info: Frozen shoulder - Symptoms and causes - Mayo Clinic)
Now, if my shoulders ever feel the least bit sore, I do some exercises. I don’t know if this helps, but it makes me think that I’m taking some steps to prevent a recurrence. I hold a 10lb weight in each hand, with my hands by my sides, and I roll my shoulders several times, both clockwise and counterclockwise. I also do lateral raises with a 10lb weight in each hand.
I know what you mean about getting down & out— it’s easy to get that way with D. Just come here when you start feeling that way, because everyone here understands, and it helps to know that you are not alone!! Good luck to you,
Katie I.