Has anyone managed frozen shoulder pain while waiting to see the GP

[Hwanda]

I have bren diagnosed by chiropractor with frozen shoulder. Still need to verify it with GP but appointments take forever. It is excrutiating at times and 7/10 at best. Nightime and getting dressed is most painful. I have done whole heat/ ice /pain killer thing . It's been 6 weeks now. Anyone experienced similar and managed to get it sorted?
Dreading going back to work in a couple of weeks and trying to raise arm to write on whiteboard ( primary teacher).
Anyone advice welcome.

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I paid for a private physio.

It was that or wait months for the referral.

My mam has been suffering with this for months. She has ended up paying for the injection because she can't bear to wait til the NHS clinic has space for her. She's found using a TENS machine has helped cope with the pain

I would see a physio rather than a chiropractor, see GP as well but they will likely just refer to physio.
It can take many months of patient exercise.

An ortho surgeon (female) I follow links frozen shoulder with drops in hormones in women and advocates for HRT as a solution

I used to put deep heat on mine at night and ibuprofen and paracetamol just to get a bit of relief, I haven't had one in years but im post menopause so maybe that is why but I remember the agony,

Yes this, although i ended up having cortisol injections mine was frozen for a bloody year !

I also saw a private physio, was the only thing that worked

I agree. Ask around for a private physio recommendation. Mine was brilliant and was very reasonable price wise.

Second this. I tried an osteopath and chiropractor which didn't help at all. I ended up having a few sessions with a physio paying privately but worth every penny. My gp said I'd have to wait months for an nhs Referral.

It was an osteopath that sorted mine out.

A friend of mine had very good results with acupuncture and sports massages.

how old are you? Frozen shoulder is a common problem in Peri-menopause.

I had 2 injections and a lot of physio, done privately through work. It took months. I needed to do a massive amount of exercises between physio appointments. I used a stretchy band that I was given. In the end I had to just push through the pain barrier and hung of a frame in the gym! I was just so sick of the physio appointments. I think the sooner you start exercising the better, don't wait for the GP.

I persevered for months with this - finally got the injection and was cured in minutes.

I got a diagnosis but too late for treatment. I was in each phase for 4 month and it hasn't happened again, over 15 years ago. I recovered all my movement. It is incredibly painful.

I went to see a Chinese medicine doctor who manipulated it. It took three sessions and was painful but it eased it completely. Since then I’ve been scrupulous about doing exercises like Tai Chi and Pilates that keep the shoulders lubricated and I’ve never had a recurrence. I did go to the GP first who manipulated it clumsily and left me in a lot of pain for several days and I wasn’t going to repeat that experience.

Bad luck, frozen shoulders are awful. I had 4 in the last 12 years, each lasting around 18 months. Acupuncture enormously reduced the pain, just for a few days but the break was worth it. The exercises are online, you don't need to wait for a physio, and they help especially when it starts 'thawing'. But you have to be patient.

I followed exercises on YouTube religiously, pushing it all the time and using the band as others have said. It’s now completely healed but I also do regular yoga. It does take a while but definitely worth it.

So painful - you have my sympathies, @Hwanda. The only thing that sorted mine out was the steroid/saline injection. I was lucky enough to have private healthcare at the time so got it through that. It provided instant relief - I went into the appointment unable to raise my arm and came out with a normal range of movement and no pain. Two years later, I now feel some tightness in my shoulder but the mobility is good.

www.gatesheadhealth.nhs.uk/resources/shoulder-hydrodilatation-for-frozen-shoulder/

All the nhs physio did for me was send me links to some online resources with exercises - find them yourself and start doing them now

I also saw a private physio for my frozen shoulder plus they gave you exercises to do. It was worth the cost to get it treated sooner than wait for a gp referral.

Just came across this thread whilst in agony at 2.30am with my frozen shoulder.

@Hwanda have you tried max strength voltarol? That's been giving me some relief for a few hours.

I find the early hours of the morning the worst.

I've had about 3 or 4 osteopath sessions. He says there's not an awful lot to be done and you have to wait it out.

I have a doctors appointment next week and I'm going to ask for a cortisone injection (and HRT!).

I'm also considering looking into going private for hydrodilation. I can't face this going on for much longer.

Was just coming on here to say this. Frozen shoulder is a very common condition among menopausal women as lack of oestrogen shrinks connective tissue.

HRT can help.

Personally I found a great physiotherapist who had a gym full of equipment and he fixed it in less than a month. Some women can suffer for up to a year though.

Good luck op!

Can you use a projector for a while instead of a white board?

I didn't know this with my first frozen shoulder I was 40 gp never mentioned.hormones can cause it
the second was when I was 44 and the physio mentioned it and suggested I speak to my Gp about HRT, who was reluctant to give me any because I was having periods regularly, The practice nurse practitioner eventually gave me HRT. It was such a palava and so frustrating.

Sorry that turned into a tangent !

Physio, steroid/hydrodilation injection