Nothing like being someone with these "strikes" against her, when it comes to her joints:
- When I was in my mid-30s, I dislocated my shoulder while I was playing volleyball. The x-ray of it was rather disgusting, with the knob of my humerus bone very obviously in my armpit. For a month I was velcroed together to heal, followed up by some physical therapy -- but not enough to completely rehabilitate me. I lost my ability to do much that required a left-handed overhead motion. Forget throwing. Forget some high reaching. Forget being able to move that joint in a completely normal fashion. There would always be times when my shoulder blade would ache after I had been hunched over a desk or table, working. I learned to accommodate the limitations I had.
- Arthritis runs in my family. My mother had issues, especially with her hip as she aged. My father had issues with his lower back. So, I was not shocked the first time I was told i had the start of arthritis in my body.
- I spent most of 2012 battling breast cancer. Although both sides were affected, it was that left side that required more attention. The more intense surgery was on that side, as the more serious problems were on that side (Stage IIIA versus Stage 0). Chemo, followed by radiation were no help to my body. My tamoxifen pills also take a toll on the bones and joints
Initially, my being sent to an orthopedic office was to try to get relief for persistent tendinitis that was plaguing my upper left arm. I was sent to physical therapy, which did help immensely. The issues with my shoulder, though, would make themselves evident. It did not take too long before I was back with the tendinitis, although not as severe as before. By the following spring, I decided that I had had enough and went back to the orthopedists. In addition to PT this time, there were a few other things we tried: trigger point injections, ultra sound massage, electronic impulses, and eventually a shot in my shoulder (October). By spring, I was again having problems.
A new xray, followed by an MRI showed that the root of my problem had become a shoulder joint with no cartilage and some small tears in the surrounding tendons. No wonder I was hearing and feeling grinding and crackling in my shoulder. My choices were to endure increasing discomfort or have shoulder replacement surgery.
I chose replacement surgery. I did not want to be like my mother who had refused to do anything about her hip, and i saw what that did to her and how it affected her life -- not pleasant at all.
