Anybody know about cortisone injections in shoulder?

[Spiky Bugger]

If you get one of those, for tendonitis, can you drive immediately afterwards?

 

[DianaCox]

Absolutely - they inject them with some sort of 'caine (lido/xylo? benzo? nova?) so your shoulder will feel great for a few hours - until it wears off. Then it will ache for a couple of days. The the cortisone will kick in and it will feel better for a couple of months or more.

 

[Jbandmmomma]

I think so too. My mother gets them in her hips and shoulders and she drives herself to/from the appointments.

 

[southernlady]

Never had one in my shoulder. Only had them in my hand. Hope you get relief.

 

[kirmy]

Had three. Your joint is crunchy with air bubbles and feels bloody weird but you can drive. Don't go lifting heavy thigns though because it is numb as well and you run the risk of injuring yourself.

 

[DSRIGGS]

Yep. I had one right before my revision for a suspected rotator cuff issue /tear. Worked for about 2.5 weeks and then right back to normal. I am trying to find a new ortho because the lazy ass didn't do the peer to peer review/appeal in time so the insurance company didn't approve the Mri to determine if tear or not.

But yes there was absolutely nothing afterwards keeping me from driving home.

 

[Spiky Bugger]

Thanks! This was for Mr. Sue. His rotator cuff MAY have a slight tear...the MRI wasn't perfectly clear. He got the injection today...and drove home...and is feeling okay now. Ortho said that if the cortisone doesn't work in 4-5 days, he may need arthroscopic surgery.

 

[DianaCox]

My shoulder surgery was the second best elective surgery I had - I was MISERABLE with my shoulder pain - made me almost literally crazy from lack of sleep (I sleep on my left side, and I was constantly waking up), and I couldn't lift my arm over my head. After the PT (6 weeks?) my shoulder was better than it had been in 30 years - and 9 years later (knock wood) it still is.

The CT was "inconclusive" - although the weird "put your thumb in this position and then try to lift your hand up and to the left while I press down" or something like that test indicated Bad Things. Sure enough, although the surgeon warned me that he "might get in there and find nothing to fix," he found EVERYTHING to fix and then some. In addition to long-standing injury from sports (volleyball) and carrying a backpack with law school books on that shoulder for 4 years, I had fallen earlier that year while rollerskating (FOOSH injury - fall on outstretched hand). When he went in, he found: arthritis on my acromial-clavicular joint, which required cutting off the ends of the bones; an inflamed bursa which needed to be removed; a frayed rotator cuff; and a torn labrum (cartilage between the shoulder and scapula).

The same surgeon fixed Charles' knees two years ago.

 

[DSRIGGS]

My shoulder surgery was the second best elective surgery I had - I was MISERABLE with my shoulder pain - made me almost literally crazy from lack of sleep (I sleep on my left side, and I was constantly waking up), and I couldn't lift my arm over my head. After the PT (6 weeks?) my shoulder was better than it had been in 30 years - and 9 years later (knock wood) it still is.

The CT was "inconclusive" - although the weird "put your thumb in this position and then try to lift your hand up and to the left while I press down" or something like that test indicated Bad Things. Sure enough, although the surgeon warned me that he "might get in there and find nothing to fix," he found EVERYTHING to fix and then some. In addition to long-standing injury from sports (volleyball) and carrying a backpack with law school books on that shoulder for 4 years, I had fallen earlier that year while rollerskating (FOOSH injury - fall on outstretched hand). When he went in, he found: arthritis on my acromial-clavicular joint, which required cutting off the ends of the bones; an inflamed bursa which needed to be removed; a frayed rotator cuff; and a torn labrum (cartilage between the shoulder and scapula).

The same surgeon fixed Charles' knees two years ago.

That sounds very similar to what I have going on. Lifting my left arm above my head or slightly too far behind me like putting my arm in the sleeve of a jacket after having done the other arm, sends a horrible pain down my left upper arm. I am talking to your knees in agony kind of pain.

How soon after surgery were you able to go back to work? I am preparing for the worst case scenario where I would need surgery so not missing much work is important to me. Is a surgery on Friday and then back to the office in a sling on Monday feasible?

 

[DianaCox]

I'm pretty sure that was about what I experienced - though I might have been on pain meds for a bit longer.