DH terrible pain in shoulder, help!

[Skeppers]

I'm trying to get to the bottom of what on earth is wrong with my husband.

Over the Easter weekend he went to the golf driving range to practice. He came back complaining of a pain in his left shoulder which became increasingly worse; to the point where I had to take him to the walk-in centre at the local hospital (he couldn't drive himself as the pain was so bad) on Easter morning. They said that he'd most probably torn a muscle playing golf, prescribed some painkillers and sent him home, saying it should feel better in a week or so.

Jump to 6 weeks later: the pain is just as bad as the original injury, like someone has stabbed a hot knife through his shoulder. He's had numerous doctor's appointments, x-rays (which have showed no soft tissue damage or dislocation) and he's taking so many painkillers that he rattles. He can't sleep due to the pain and the only way he can get any relief is laying on his back which is affecting not only his work- he's tired and listless from the lack of sleep and cocktail of painkillers- but I am 28 weeks pregnant and need him to help out with more manual things around the house (ie. painting/moving things/putting together furniture, etc.) which he just can't physically do because of the pain. He's usually the 'tough-it-out' type, but I've seen this drive him to tears. His arm is literally starting to physically shrivel, like the muscle is wasting, and he complains of increasing numbness in his fingers. He's worried that if it continues he won't be able to hold our new baby when it's due in a couple of months, and it's heartbreaking.

Doctors repeatedly say they can't figure out what's wrong- he's had three appointments and seen two different doctors- but won't refer him to a specialist or do anything other than keep prescribing painkillers. He has a physio appointment on Monday but is sceptical that it will do any good.

Does anyone know what it could possibly be, or have any suggestions for relieving the pain? He's so down about it and obviously in agony on a daily basis; I really worry for him. Any advice welcomed!

TIA.

He needs an MRI scan asap

I know this sounds really odd, but DH had something which somes very similar a few years ago and it turned out to be kidney stones. Strange but true.

Your poor DH - it sounds miserable, and worrying for you too.

Thanks GoodToesBadToes

Why an MRI? Do you have an inkling what it could be then? Can you just go into the GP and ask to be referred for one?

(In all honesty, this is what I had to do when I had gallstones and they didn't believe me...I strolled in and demanded an ultrasound and they finally booked me in after months of prescribing me Omeprazole for reflux...Guess what? I had gallstones and needed surgery. facepalm)

Cheers TheReturnoftheSmartArse

It is really worrying. I hate seeing him like this; he's never been so down, and the painkillers are making him so tired all the time. He's really not himself. I almost want to wade into the GP surgery and harness 'pregnant rage power' to kick some ass and get him taken seriously!

Just in case there's something trapping a nerve, maybe in his neck which can present as shoulder pain. Poor husband.
I would demand an MRI and not leave til I got one

GoodToesBadToes He had thought that it may be a trapped nerve, but there's nothing that can be done about that (just waiting for the nerve to die basically) so I think he's looking at that as a worst-case scenario! Whenever he suggests this to the doctors they ignore him. Literally. It happened again this morning; he mentioned the trapped nerve and the doctor completely ignored him and went outside to speak to a colleague. Do you think it's because MRI scans are expensive!?

There's a mobile MRI unit at our local community hospital sometimes which is literally 2 mins up the road; I'll get him to phone them up and ask about it.

Thanks for the tip!

Physio could be the right person to see him- could be trapped nerve, could be an rsi type thing from golf swing, dh had shoulder injury which was called frozen shoulder but didnt feel numb just agony to him- we used hot then cold then rest treatments - ibuprofen in large dose as anti inflammatory (check with doc first)

the physio also used a raygun type thing (cant remember what it was called ) and maybe able to sort an mri- however in our area you have to wait ages for one so you may have to go private to get quickly...

Really tough time in pregnancy to not have help- when you want to get things ready.....but rest maybe part of the answer so maybe prioritise what needs to be done and get help from friends/family of urgent or pay if just decorating type stuff....

I would definitely push to have it investigated further as shoulder pain can be referred pain from elsewhere in the body.

Thanks averythinline

He's got a physio appointment on Monday so he'll mention it then.

I think it's a trapped nerve; apparently his dad had the same thing a few years back and still has no feeling in the tips of his fingers on one hand. The symptoms sound too similar.

parsnipbob I was worried initially about referred pain too, but I'm pretty sure it was a direct result of the golf practice. He'd not played for ages and decided to hit about 100 balls over a short space of time. All that twisting and bending must have messed something up! He's not getting any younger...

Good luck, hope he feels better soon :)

I've had some horrendous problems with my shoulder, and the pain was indescribable - painkillers did nothing, including liquid morphine. Even breathing made it hurt. I do remember saying that I would rather give birth again. I also had numbness and tingling.

I was (eventually - and yes, I had to fight for it) referred to an orthopaedic consultant, had a scan done and was diagnosed with a frozen shoulder, a torn tendon, bursitis, calcification and goodness knows what else.

X-rays would not have shown up the problems. There is also no way a physio would have helped as I couldn't cope with the pain from even the slightest of movements. I had various treatments, all of which helped.

Hope your DH gets the help he needs.

Might be something completely different but my dh had very similar symptoms for months and months. He eventually got referred to a consultant who did some tests MRI etc and said they thought he might have a torn tendon and calcification and they would put him on the waiting list for a repair.

When they actually went in and had a look he has a complete tear in a tendon which was re-attached, a calcification growth removed and cysts removed and also something or other else (a lot according to the surgeon). He's been off work for nearly three months, seven weeks his arm on a sling and he's still not able to move his arm (in fact we think the repair has failed) - anyway that's another story!

Get him back to the docs ASAP. Do not be fobbed off. They tried to convince my husband that it was just something he was going to have to live with at his age (he's 49 ).

If the pain isn't brought on by moving the shoulder, could it be from elsewhere? Stabbing shoulder tip pain is a classic symptom of ectopic pregnancy. Now obviously that isn't the cause of your DH's pain but I'm wondering if the same nerve could be stimulated by some other abdominal issue?

@westcountrywoman that is wrong advice severe shoulder damage will result in pain even at rest when not moving the shoulder. I had a dislocated shoulder misdiagnosed for 6 weeks. I have torn literally everything in it just my putting my arm to prevent a fall. It was not dislocated at the time of accident but dislocated 3 days later when I reached out for toilet paper! These things are so easily done. My money is on the golf. The dislocation was so slight it was missed on X-Ray. It was a complete mess. I now cannot put my arm behind at all. I was off work for 9 months. I was 7 hours in theatre having it repaired. I had a complete shoulder reconstruction.

OP what painkillers is he taking? Anything codeine based makes me so tired. I find Tramadol best. I am sleepy for 2/3 days when I first start taking it and it can make you feel sick but then I feel totally normal. Also NSIAD at maximum dose too on prescription. For sleeping I would recommend about 6 pillows so he almost sleeping upright on his back. So sorry post the pain is pure agony post back if you need any more practical coping tips.

He does need an MRI urgently it sounds like nerve damage which they were very worried in my case. The Physio missed dislocation too and made it a million times worse by trying to rehabilitate a dislocated shoulder be careful with physio if he had torn something in his shoulder.

Could he have a rotator cuff tear, horribly painful and wouldn't show on a xray.

I found physio didn't help much with my shoulder so I visited a osteopath which did really help.

@tubbytimmy that was my thought too. He knows to be careful it does dislocate later like mine did. OP how is he?

Exactly the pain I had when I tore my rotator cuff too! The pain was so severe sometimes, I would vomit. Please badger for a consultant.

^
He needs an MRI scan asap
^
No he doesn't. What he needs is to be assessed by someone with a good neuromuscular knowledge.

MRIs often pick up all sorts of damage in most middle age people. Often these are incidental findings and not the cause of symptoms. MRIs are also not the best modality to view certain anatomy. Finally the wait for a shoulder MRI is going to be a couple of months even if the GP could request one (in many areas GPs cannot request MRI scans).

In summary a MRI is not the answer.

Seeing someone who knows about shoulders would be the first local step.

LOL @hellomynameis which is why I have partly lost the use of arm through lack of mri!

Just seconding that if it doesn't appear to have a direct muscular cause, it is indeed possible for lung problems to present as shoulder pain.

Hope they can help him soon