Results

And the MRI result is - there's no injury.  Wah wah.


I went to my PA on Friday and he told me that the MRI definitely shows inflammation, and some bursitis and tendonitis, but no tears anywhere.  Which to me just sounds like I have to learn to live with it.  He did say that there might be a surgical option where if there's some impingement they can go in arthroscopically and shave off some bone, and clean out the bursa, and that's helped some people.  He said surgeons usually like to see you've tried everything else, including more than one cortisone shot.


So I got another cortisone shot and promptly almost passed out.  I had a stomach ache Friday so I hadn't eaten lunch. Whoops.  It's actually been a few years since a needle has made me pass out, and that was when I got blood drawn.  The soreness from the shot is finally wearing off today and I can still feel that one painful pinpoint right in the front of my shoulder, which tells me the cortisone hasn't touched it.


I'm just not sure what else I can do.  I did PT for 4 months and have been on a prescription anti-inflammatory for 5 months. I've had 2 cortisone shots and now the MRI just shows vague "inflammation."  I guess the next step is to meet with a surgeon in a couple of months (after we take a trip in October) and see if that would be useful for me to consider.


In the meantime, I am so bummed out by my lack of activity.  I was so excited for PiYo, and I've had a couple of friends and teammates who worked the program for the 60 days and have seen incredible results.  Meanwhile I purposely did nothing last week just to see what happened and my shoulder is still sore.  I suppose that shows that I can work out some and as long as I ice my shoulder after, it doesn't really make it worse, so that's something.


I need to walk more, since I can do that.  I was going to wake up early this morning and do just that, but then I had a really restless night and couldn't pull myself out of bed at 6 AM.  Tomorrow!  Or maybe today after work, actually.

MRI

Had my MRI this morning.  Afterward I was wondering if experienced MRI techs know enough to read and interpret what's on the screen?  My tech was an older lady who seemed to know her way around the MRI machine, adjusting me and switching out coils to get the best image possible, and checking on me periodically to make sure I wasn't freaking out during the 40 minutes I had to lay super still while magnets grinded and ka-chunked in a huge plate about 3 inches from my forehead.  Thank goodness for open MRIs.  I can see how people get claustrophobic in the tubes.


Anyway, she casually chatted with me when I first got there about what happened to my shoulder.  Then after the MRI, she probed a little bit, asking about the trauma and the stress my shoulder has experienced to get me to this point.  It made me wonder if she saw an injury on the image.


I'll find out Friday when I see my doctor, but of course I'm impatient.  I think at this point I want there to be a discernible injury.  Something to assure me I'm not just crying wolf and that there's actually a problem.  But a fixable problem.  That's key.  I don't want swimming, kayaking, rowing, yoga, etc. to be things I just don't do anymore, because, you know, bum shoulder.

Atrophy

I saw my orthopedic PA this morning and we agreed that I should get an MRI.  He asked if it shows some fraying or tearing if I would be open to having surgery and I said, definitely.  It's not that I want surgery of course, but I do want to feel better and get back to my normal activity level.  I'm so pleased when I hear my PiYo teammates talk about their successes, but I'm also a little jealous that I'm not right there with them. 


So we're working on scheduling an MRI because insurance, pre-approvals, blah, blah, blah. 


I'm not going to lie - I'm struggling.  I have been really down and snippy with Jason and all I want to do is hole up and escape in knitting and cheesy TV shows (currently making my way through Buffy for the first time).


And the PA made a casual comment this morning about how he can visually see atrophy in one of my right shoulder muscles as compared to the left because I'm obviously babying it.  Super.


At this point, I hope the MRI shows something because if it doesn't, I'm out of ideas.

Limiting Factors

My spirit is willing, but my flesh is weak.  Yesterday I did a PiYo workout called "Sweat", which, yes, that's what you do.  I felt fabulous doing it, as usual.  My balance and wrist strength are both improving a lot after only a few weeks of doing these exercises.  I still modify some things so as not to strain my shoulder too much (no burpees, no push ups, only plank), but I'm able to do a lot of it. Then Jason and I fixed a super healthy dinner (in which we both invented a dish and I determined that we are both brilliant cooks).


Every so often I get these glimpses into how I would  be doing it if I could.  I love that feeling when the pieces of my healthy living puzzle fall neatly into place.  I feel happy and inspired to continue.  I planned to get up early this morning and do PiYo Lower Body.


Only, I woke up to a sore and stiff right shoulder and I knew if I did another workout I would probably get a headache and I'm tired of plowing through my work days with a headache.  Instead I spent a little while laying on the heating pad before I got up for the day.  Since getting to work I keep pausing to do some stretching exercises to hopefully keep my muscles from getting too tight.


I have an ortho appointment next Thursday and I will be requesting an MRI.  I'm tired of this and sad about what I'm missing out on this summer - like swimming at the fancy Brown pool while the swim team isn't crowding out the lap swim schedule.


Like kayaking.  Tomorrow if the weather holds out Jason and two of our friends are going kayaking in our favorite spot with the Groupons we bought in May.  Me?  I'll be starting at the local town beach and walking down to meet them where the river flows into the ocean.  I love a nice beach walk, but I'd rather be paddling.


I know I'm being whiny, but these are the highs and lows of my summer.  I'm hopeful that by next summer I'll be able to enjoy normal again.