Shoulder/ arms- I'm in agony

[CatGrins]

I've had on/off discomfort in my shoulders for several months, GP says it's bursitis and referred me for physio which I have in November.

But in the last 24 hours my pain has ramped up, it's much worse at night so I hardly slept and painkillers aren't touching the sides. Only thing that helped for about an hour was Ibuprofen gel.

I can barely move my upper arms in certain directions without pain and no idea how I'm going to get through tonight.

Any tips or advice?

Are you over 50? Older? Ignore if younger as it would be unlikely.
www.nhs.uk/conditions/polymyalgia-rheumatica/

Could be a torn rotator cuff, I'd ask for an ultrasound

I was just diagnosed with rotator cuff tendinitis. Constant shoulder pain, hard to use my arm, disrupted sleep. I am not in the UK so I don’t know if you have this, but once I got to the specialist, they gave me a steroid injection and it is heaven. I still have to do physical therapy, but I am sleeping again.

for tonight, ice your shoulder.

them go look at YouTube videos for pillow arrangements for rotator cuff injuries. Even if that isn’t your problem, they will help. The right configuration depends on how you tend to sleep. I now have a wedge under my problematic shoulder so I don’t roll over onto it.

Thank you!

I'm 40 so hope this is just an injury I can fix rather than my body giving up on me.

Is it likely to be a torn rotator cuff if it's both shoulders? My job involves lifting (children) so that could be a trigger but it's definitely made worse by sleeping on my sides which unfortunately is how I prefer to sleep.

I had this and it was agony - pain killers didn't work and Distrupted sleep. I found a neck massager worked wonders, I used it about 4 times a day and it reduced the pain

I've had a tear in both shoulders so it's possible, you need further investigation and imagining to find out what it is .

It could be autoimmune, things like Sjogrens Syndrome, in which case you need to see a rheumatologist

True frozen shoulder can happe on both sides. Whilst it's unusual to have them at the same time it's not improbable. Actual frozen shoulder whete a Thickened capsules has been seen on imaging, (some GPS seem to diagnose when it is something similar but mimicking it),is absolutley the worst agony of my life worse than a broken neck. Child birth, the lot. All for a referral to a orthopaedic surgeon specialising in shoulders. Ask for hydrodilation if they diagnose it via imaging. It's a good treatment. Either way imaging should be able to identify the problem.