@hanaviolet, sorry to hear you’re suffering too. Re: the heating pad, I think I overdid it on the heat at one point and ended up in even more pain. I was sitting at my desk, working, with the heating pad on for like an hour at a time. I’ve now switched to ice, 10-15 minutes at a time. The only heat I use now is a warm shower in the morning. But if I did try the heating pad again, I’d limit that to 10-15 minutes, too. YMMV, of course.
Thanks for the warning @momonymous. I can’t conceive of doing ice at this point, sounds too cold! But I’ll be careful with the heat.
Well, so much for my brief honeymoon from pain. It was a great week, but now the pain has returned in the form of a dull ache down through my bicep, sometimes all the way to my thumb. Sigh, back on the advil. Range of motion is improving though.
“I will never be able to lift my bag into the overhead compartment again. That’s okay. I can deal with it. People are helpful.”
Alh, I have a story for you. I have had frozen shoulder and can sympathize with all of you. I also had an injured disc in my neck at one point and was in constant back, neck and shoulder pain. During that period, I got boarded a plane for a 14 hour flight and stood in the aisle contemplating the overhead bin. A man who was already seated saw me and asked if he could help. I accepted and he hopped up quickly…and then hopped over, grabbed my carry-on bag and neatly stowed it. He hopped because he only had one leg! I had not seen his crutch which was stowed beneath his seat. I was embarrassed and humbled. I also got the sense that he was quite pleased with himself.
What a wonderful story, Puzzled88! I’m sure he loved having the chance to help.
I travel by train often, between NY and Boston. When I was pregnant, there seemed to always be a college-aged young man leaping up to help with my bags. Once one of them actually carried my stuff off the train (and got back on).
@GertrudeMcFuzz, you and I are on the same path it sounds. More range of motion, but more pain as well. Down to my fingertips! Now in my shoulder blade area and it’s making my neck hurt (I must be somehow standing or sitting in an odd position due to the pain, and that is making my neck hurt).
On a happy note, I got a super short haircut since dealing with my hair hurts my shoulder, and it’s CUTE! Even my husband likes it! Didn’t think I could pull off THIS short!
One of my problems with my shoulder is I keep sleeping on it at night and can’t seem to stop. Hubby just ordered this for me and it just arrived. http://www.amazon.com/Leachco-Snoogle-Total-Pillow-White/dp/B0000635WI/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1428443867&sr=8-1&keywords=snoogie
My dr’s appt is tomorrow and I think I’m going to suck it up and get the cortisone shot. Fingers crossed it does the trick, I’m getting crankier by the minute.
One of those horseshoe shaped pillows for the neck will keep you from rolling off your back. Amazon sells better ones than those travel pillows.
Gosh - this is bringing back memories and unpleasant ones! What started with some mild pain ended up becoming really awful, really fast. Several months of therapy - didn’t get me anywhere. A cortisone shot gave me significant relief. More therapy…didn’t seem like it helped. But about a year after it originally started, I realized the pain was just so much better. I don’t have complete use of that arm like I used to before, but I don’t have to struggle for the common tasks much.
Putting on a bra - the sports bras were the worst. Recall going into a store to try one and having to get the girl to assist me in taking it off 
Had to change the way I put my jacket on, couldn’t reach for my coffee cup on the desk with my left hand, having to always sleep in one position at night …I am going to stop, this is giving me nightmares!
I just came back from the ortho where I got a cortisone shot. He said sometimes all the stretching, strengthening, aspirin and ice/heat in the world can’t address the inflammation. I asked if it was better to try and move and stretch or not. He said this time he wanted me to not exercise, lift heavy things or my arms over my head for 3 weeks to let the cortisone work and to make sure it is inflammation. Supposedly another day or so of pain and it should kick in within 3 days. That shot hurt like an emmer effer, that’s why I hesitate to do it but I was at the end of my rope. I follow up in 3 weeks. Fingers crossed by the weekend I’m feeling good again.
Good luck, @eyemamom!
Today I seem to have more ability to reach up, and slightly more flexibility in other directions as well. But my neck is killing me and that’s causing a headache. Vodka really, really seems to work better than anything else, and I love V&Ts! But, alas, I have to drive to a program at the school and, in any event, I’m still at work!
Makes you long for the days of mad men with a fully stocked bar in the office!
Barfly - What I am going to say will sound like it is coming from left field, but if i mirrors your situation then it is worth sharing. When i had my bad shoulder (left side) I had a very strange phenomenon occurring. If I would sit in certain chairs or cars, I would get this odd pain traveling through the trapezius muscle and up along my neck (only the left side) and from there it would go up into my head and it was pain, but also felt like a lot pressure. Two things helped 1) a cushion under my rear end and 2) as I am sitting, I would put a thin pillow between my thoracic spine and the chair.
It is also possible that with your shoulder muscles are so tight that your neck has tensed up. Here is a good stretch. Vertically put your index finger tip on your nose and the base of your finger on your chin. Hold your finger in place and move your head/neck straight back for the count of 5-10 (like a chicken type move). Another stretch to relieve neck tension is to turn your head so it is halfway between foreword and your shoulder and then gently bring your head down and enjoy the stretch. Also try massaging the base of your skull with the pressure of your index and middle finger.
Thanks, @Kajon. I just did both stretches. They feel really good! I also noticed that stretching non-shoulder muscles seems to help. Got the idea from post #24 from @Lergnom. What I found was that I am really tight in other left side muscles, maybe from some weird compensating for the shoulder. Stretching those muscles (left hamstring, left side of back) seems to loosen up the shoulder as well.
@eyemamom, It’s been 2 weeks since my cotisone shot and I’m feeling much better. Initially I felt some relief within a day, but it has continued to improve over the 2 weeks. It feels looser now, too, more flexible, but I’m still working on range of motion. I hope yours starts feeling better soon.
I’m having a lot of trouble sleeping - just can’t find a position where my arm doesn’t ache. And changing positions in the middle of the night is difficult and painful. Aargh.
@GertrudeMcFuzz, the arm aching is the worst! My shoulder doesn’t hurt so much at night, but the ache down the arm! Last night, I woke up with a pain on the outer side of my bicep and in my elbow. Weird. Could not get back to sleep even with Advil.
The sleep loss was the worst part for me. As I mentioned upstream, I switched out ice packs through the night. That was the only thing that brought relief. As to sleeping position, I had a regular sized bed pillow (or two) for my head and two small travel pillows to position and reposition to relieve any pressure. I became quite compulsive when traveling, and brought all my sleep aids along.
I’m telling you all that snoogle thing I posted above really helps with the discomfort in bed. I’m 3 days out from the shot. My arm still hurts and I still can’t really move it. If I didn’t know it went in the joint I’d swear it punctured a lung in my back. I’m anxiously awaiting this magical relief.
Can any of you bend your arm and put your arm behind your back?
@eyemamom I cannot put my arm behind my back. I can barely get my hand in my back pocket even, and that hurts like crazy.