X-Rays

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XrayjonI had some x-rays taken today. I’ve been plagued with intense shoulder pain the last couple of weeks and I need to find out what’s going on.

About eight or ten years ago I started getting some pains in my shoulder.  I had x-rays (and an MRI I think) and they determined that I had DJD (Degenerative Joint Disease).  It’s basically osteoarthritis.  My doctor then put me on an anti-inflammatory drug and I was just fine….. no symptoms at all as long as I was taking the meds.

But two or three weeks ago my shoulder started acting up again.  It was a sharp pain and I had some occasional tingling in my neck and fingers.  I knew I had a routine doctor visit scheduled in March so I would just tough it out until then.  That was last Friday.  I explained the symptoms to my doctor.  He said it could be that I just got a bad batch of anti-inflammatory medicine the last time… or I might have a pinched nerve.  He prescribed a different anti-inflammatory drug and said I should feel a difference in a couple of days.  He also said applying heat might help. 

He was right.  I felt a difference.  The pain seemed to get a little worse each day.  By Tuesday evening I was so miserable I decided to try sitting with a heating pad on my shoulder as I “scoured the web” for B&P.  I was in so much pain Tuesday night that I could barely sleep.  I actually got up and went to the bathroom and sat on the toilet and cried.  I couldn’t even pee.  I don’t cry often, but I was miserable.  Wednesday I went to the drugstore and they recommended some Salonpas pain patches.  They really seemed to help lighten the pain for a day or two.  But it came back.

I tried calling the doctor Wednesday, but that’s his day off, of course.  So I got hold of his nurse Thursday and she took my number and said she’d have the doctor call me.  He didn’t.  I called again this morning (Friday).  She said he was coming in at 12:30 and he’d call me.  He did and suggested I get x-rayed to rule out anything skeletal.  I’ll probably get the results Monday.  He also called in a prescription for Vicodin for me.  I got it filled but haven’t tried it yet.  I think I’ll have it before I go to bed.  Hopefully it’ll help me sleep which hasn’t been too easy lately.  But the worst time is right after I get up in the morning.  Once I get moving around after an hour or so I seem to stop moaning.  (I’m such a baby!)

I’m really amazed I’ve been able to post as much as I have the last week or so, because sometimes it really hurts just to sit here.  I was supposed to play poker tonight, but I just didn’t feel up to it.

Anyway, enough about my problems….. on with the show!

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43 thoughts on “X-Rays”

  1. In spite of what I’m going to tell Kate, I’m no doctor. But after examining that xray, I think I can see why you have a pinched nerve…dunno.
    You might be eating too much seafood…did the doctor mention anything about crabs, too?

  2. So sorry to hear about your pain, Jonco. That’s a bitch and takes over
    your life. I hope the test results come back as something minor and you
    will be on the road to recovery in no time at all. Try to get some sleep buddy.

  4. Jonco, I hope by now you’re feeling no pain, looks like you might’ve brought back something from Florida.Be well.
    Btw, I was gonna play poker tonight also, but I can’t catch her.

  6. jonco,i had the same thing,i spend a good 8 hrs a day on here,(at work) i had my chiro do an adj,on me,took 2 trips,finally got better, good luck.
    oldbear.

  7. I sent along something to help you sleep and preserve that…ummm…specimen.
    I think you also need to drink a cup and a half of melted butter.

  8. Take the vicodin and welcome to la-la land. If all else fails, chiropractors can actually be of help for most folks. I didn’t believe in them until I could not stand a pinched nerve in my back. I crawled into the chiropractors office and walked out an hour later. It may help you as well.

  11. Had something similar a while back. Seems as we get older things don’t line up quite right. They ended up (after several cortisone shots) cutting a 1/4 inch off the end of my right collarbone. Impingement was the diagnosis. Amazing thing was it was arthroscopic surgery and it took about 6 weeks and I’m pain free…. BTW.. you might want to throw that little lobster back…

  13. I find Vicoden relieves the pain but, at least for me, it’s a stimulant… like 3 cups of coffee. Of course if you’re tired enough, from not being able to sleep well for a few days, the pain relief may allow you to zonk out. Good luck.

  14. Good luck, yea right. He hosed up our poker game, one guy has the flu and can’t make it. Jonco claims to have a lobster in his guts,his best axcuse yet. We used a full deck tonight, amazingly they are all accounted for. I will never forget the time you could not make it because you had a gator stuck in your butt. Man Fla. is not kind to you.

  16. The cure is fish oil or krill oil caps, concentrated or regular liquid oils, minimum of 2 a day, up to 2 or 3 in AM and again PM for 4 to 6 or even 8 a day, hard to get too much omegas, the more I take the better my shoulders feel.
    Omega 3 oils are anti inflammatory and will relieve any condition that ends with -itis, which means inflammation,
    tendonitis, bursitis, arthritis, even gingivitis, inflamed gums, realized one day my gums don’t bleed anymore when I brush.

    Check out Know The Cause.com and study up on the Phase 1 and 2 antifungal diet and consider going on a grain free diet, the secret is to not eat ANYTHING that causes chronic inflammation. What makes bread rise? It makes you too.

    For serious bouts of radiculopathy, intense deep burning unrelievable shoulder pain I do Vicodins and Flexeril and just tough it out, usually resolves in a week or so.

    Mine is caused by partially blown C5-6 disc, ran my head into a steel beam and pile drived myself, inflames depending on what I eat and pushes on a nerve, also have numbness in right thumb and forefinger pad, can’t feel much, hard to do up buttons.

    “Let your food be your medicine, and your medicine be your food “, Hippocrates

  20. Hm….i hope you get better soon. In the mean time, you might want to try and avoid any food you might have allergies to or irritates you (even in the slighest.)

    Eat well, rest well, and I hope you feel better soon!

  23. Hope it does turn out to be a pinched nerve – as that sounds more easily fixable than the alternatives. There’s nothing worse than a pain you can’t escape and, generally, pain in your bones is largely unnaffected by over the counter pain relief.
    You’ve obviously done the right thing by seeing the doc sooner rather than later. Hope you get sorted soon.

  26. It’s about 8:40 your time and I hope you are feeling refreshed and pain free! Look after yourself Papa Jonco, we need you!

  28. Andez, I’ve been on fish oil for over a year now. 4 a day. (1GM capsules). I take those for high triglycerides which is why I had the appointment in the first place – 6 month blood workup. My overall cholesterol level is fine but my triglyceride level is high. (Triglycerides are the fat in your blood.) I should be at 150 or less – my reading Friday was 432.
    They tell me the fish oil is also good for your memory.

  29. I survived the night. I took the Vicodin right before I went to bed but I didn’t feel or seem any different. I slept OK – not great, but not worse either. I just took another Vicodin this morning. I don’t feel any relief yet. I have to pick up my granddaughter from a school trip a little later. I’m assuming it won’t be a problem to drive.

  30. The pain may be due to that spinal chord being severely missaligned! It doesn’t follow the center of the neck very well!

  31. I am not a doctor, but it looks like you are on your way out.Perhaps the Homer simpson clock will make your final days more pleasant.It shipped from the U.K., so hang in there so you can watch your final hours tick away. HOPE THIS CHEERED YOU UP.

  32. KLAW, I’ll try to hang on as long as I can. I need plenty of extra batteries if I’m gonna take the clock with me. Oh, and thanks for the diagnosis Dr. KLAW.

  34. You’re all heart KLAW. Couldn’t you buy him a shovel
    and a couple of pots of daisies, while you’re at it?

  35. jonco let me know if you want me to haffa Klaw. the bears are coming out of hibernation and are hungry we can make it look like an accident.

    PS delete this comment if its a go. wouldn’t wand any evidence laying around.
    Comment deleted by moderator.

  37. Owwww! Poor Jonco. I feel for you. I hope you’re feeling better very soon. I suffer from shoulder pain due to an accident at work over a year ago. I also hurt my left hip 🙁 it’s horrible. I don’t take drugs though, because I don’t like to take medicine and know of people who stared taking pain killers and went on to worse drugs.

  39. ALN, that is very crafty and I won’t say anything but maybe
    KLAW better be getting “as much” as he can while the getting
    is good. Your secret is safe with me.

  43. Jonco,
    My 2 cents’ worth:
    A few years ago I was plagued by joint pain, and it affected my shoulders to the point that I had lost significant range of motion (couldn’t shoot hoops with my daughter any more) and the pain was terrible. The orthopaedic doc said that I had “diabetic frozen shoulder”, and that surgury would be required to fix it. Well, I had been a diabetic for about 15 years at that point, and I was having other symptoms as well. I kept a log for a few weeks, to see if there was anything that could explain the problems. One thing that seemed might be unusual was my consumption of dietetic sweeteners in food products, specifically “Aspartame”, also known by the brand name “Nutri-Sweet”, or seen on labels as “phenylalanine”. I researched aspartame on the internet, and found that there is a lot of evidence that this substance does not belong in our bodies. According to one source, there are 93 known symptoms of aspartame poisoning (joint pain is one of them), up to and including death! About 10% of aspartame metabolizes in the body into formaldehyde, and about 10% is converted into methanol (wood grain alcohol, the kind that makes you go blind). I quit using all forms of aspartame in December 2002. Within 3 months, the pain in my joints and shoulders went away completely, and full range of motion returned within 6 months! Also, as a diabetic, I see an ophthalmologist every 6 months. My symptoms of retinopathy actually reversed,and my eyesight gradually improved, from 20/55 and 20/50 to 20/25 and 20/20! At 55, I can read without my reading glasses again! I don’t know if you (or any of our dear B&P’rs) consume this toxic substance, but it’s definitely worth giving up. Its effects are cumulative, and it takes a long time to undo its damage. Unfortunately, some things may never be fully normalized, depending upon the amounts consumed, and the duration. I know this is lengthy, but I felt it necessary to share all this info. Best wishes and prayers for your situation.

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