I have been (very slowly) recovering from a bad car accident for the past 3 months. My right shoulder got messed up, and while the good news is that the orthopedic surgeon doesn’t think there’s anything structurally wrong and I don’t need surgery, which is great, he says I have post-traumatic adhesive capsulitis, or “frozen shoulder.” Both he and my PT doc recommended a corticosteroid shot into the shoulder joint to really kickstart getting rid of the inflammation and helping PT work better. I had it done a week ago Thursday, but have seen no change at all – where most people see relief in 3-5 days, from what I’ve read.
My PT doc says to not give up hope until day 14, because according to him my body doesn’t seem to respond to things like a normal person, lol. He also said the fibro could delay the shot in helping or squash its benefits completely. Or, I might just need a second shot in another few weeks.
Have any of you had steroid shots in joints, and were the results affected by your fibro?
Cortisone shots was the ONLY thing that helped my fibro. had it 37 years. for 10 years, i got a cortisone shot in the butt every 90 days. i was almost pain free, BUT every medicine has side effects. Dr. told me it would cause osteoporosis, but i was working and needed to function yes, now i have severe osteo and nothing helps my fibro pain. i cannot take anymore shots. But i don’t regret it, i had 10 years of life i would not have had. It usually took about 5-7 days to kick in.
I have not had the cortisone shots in my shoulders, but I have had them in my hips for bursitis. It helped.
I got frozen shoulder when I first started working on my PhD in 2013. I work on a computer at my job full time, then went home and worked on assignments at home, plus it was winter. So, I wasn’t stretching or using my left arm (I’m right handed) like I should have been and it froze. OH THE PAIN! LOL. I didn’t get shots to losen the shoulder, I just had PT. I trust my PT totally, so when she would manually work on that shoulder, I would work my hardest to relax. I told her that it hurt so good. It was painful, but she never took it past my breaking point. Thankfully. I’ll never see another PT who doesn’t care when I say I’m about to pee my pants from the pain.
Hang in there. I would imagine the shot will eventually help, too. And it’s true about FM. Our joints and muscles are so stiff that things take longer to heal.
Thanks, you guys! Right at day 9, it seemed to suddenly get noticeably better. Of course then my PT doc started REALLY working to break up the adhesion, and that is a whole new world of pain, lol. But it’s a different pain, and I get the whole worse-before-it-gets-better thing. I had to bail on PT yesterday, though – It just still hurt too bad from Tuesday’s session. My doc gets that FM is a real thing and not just in my head, but I don’t think he quite understands that every person’s FM is a little different, and for me it doesn’t mean all over every day pain, but very heightened perception of pain and a much longer duration of pain when it happens. Stupid fibro.
Hi, this is my first time posting. I am very fortunate to have a doc who specializes in rheumatoid arthritis & fibromyalgia. He has given me many cortisone injections over the years. I also get a bone density test plus other blood work to make sure my bones are ok. I had major back surgery a few years ago for sciatica ,& had shots every 6 weeks in my back just so I could walk(before the surgery) I’ve had shots in almost every part of my body for joint pain. Some pain never comes back,but some comes back after 6 was. 30 yrs ago I had a nervous breakdown & developed FMS. So I try working out,ie,walking but get quite pooped out for days after. It breaks my heart because a long time ago, I was a long distance runner,& it was such freedom & those endorphins are such a high. I’m 67 so the body is just tired,but I wish I could at least walk a mile or two without the after effects. Housework is also very hard. I get a spurt of energy & do it all in one day & really pay for it for days. So glad to find this site & hear like minded friends w/like minded issues. I need to eat heathy unprocessed food & stay away from sugar.
Thanks for being here.
Sharyn from New England