Wow!!

I am very impressed with my shoulder surgery thus far. My shoulder still hurts a bit if I move around too much, and I'm wearing my sling 24/7. The amazing part is I have not had any migraines on that side for over a week!!! I had some on the left side from the sling strap rubbing but - no migraines on the side that usually hurts!

This is a HUGE discovery for me because for 7 years now I have been getting migraines 2x a week or more! They are usually on my right side. I can't even count the number of doctors I've been to, and none could get to the root of the problem. They helped me "cover up" some of the symptoms with meds but they could not STOP the migraines!

Lately I had started to suspect my shoulder was contributing to the migraines. I found that if I could get the shoulder to stop spasming, the headache would go away! This is confirmed by this cool website I found today: Migraine headaches: overlooked causes and possible treatments

"It is known that headaches can occur from chronic muscle tension. Based on my experience, I think this is probably true for many migraines as well. The clues to this are that migraines often start on just one side of the head and may include numbness down the arm and visual disturbances. I know from personal experience these symptoms can all occur together from tight muscles pressing on nerves and blood vessels in the thoracic outlet. "

I have been told by at least 2 professionals that I have thoracic outlet syndrome. So this website makes loads of sense to me. I'm so excited when I find these useful bits of info!!! :)

Victory

I hope you readers have not been worried about me - I made it through the shoulder surgery just fine! It all went amazingly well and pain was minimal. The doc inserted some "anchors" in my labrum which was torn, and added another anchor to help stabilize the hypermobility of the joint. I had a nifty little pain pump which pumped a continuous supply of painkillers to the area.

I found out the hard way that percocet doesn't agree with me. My stomach hurt sooooo bad I wanted to vomit but couldn't. Finally I tried some darvocet my family doc had given me, and I felt so much better. The pain was a tiny bit more noticeable but at least I wasn't green around the gills!

We had a polar ice machine to pump cold water around my shoulder but hubby kept having problems with it. It made me want to vomit when he accidentally turned the compression on my shoulder!!

Anyhoo, I can only type with my left hand so that is enough update for now. I am tired but relieved!

Pre-admissions tests

Well my pre-admission is over and I am ready to go next week! They hooked me up to a blood pressure and heart rate measurer. The nurse said "Is your heartbeat always irregular?" as the number bounced around. "Yes," I said. "That is perfectly normal for me." My blood pressure was really low as usual, 90-something over 60-something. My pulse was 90-ish sitting up and 70-ish laying down. POTS anyone? :-S

Because of the heart weirdness she decided to do an EKG.

"An electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG) is a test that checks for problems with the electrical activity of your heart. An EKG translates the heart's electrical activity into line tracings on paper."
- from WebMD.com

I have had like zillions of EKGs before so it was no big deal. She said that it looked OK and I was whisked away to have about 5 vials of blood drawn - ouch! I wasn't really sure what they were testing for in the blood tests, but maybe it is a standard procedure. The most important part was explaining to the nurse that my heart has been checked by cardiologists all over northern Indiana and they said my irregular beats, tachycardia and low BP are nothing to worry about.

Multidirectional Instability

The first EDS doc I went to said my shoulders displayed multidirectional instability. I had no idea what that meant at the time. He wanted me to do some PT at his office, but at the time they didn't accept my insurance, so I never went. My new shoulder doc said again: instability. So, I'm pretty sure that is a big part of my shoulder problem.

"What is atraumatic shoulder instability? Atraumatic shoulder instability develops in patients who have increased looseness of the supporting ligaments that surround the shoulder's glenohumeral joint. The laxity can be a natural condition (present from birth) or a condition that has developed over time. Many patients with MDI are active in overhead sports (such as gymnastics, swimming, or throwing) that repetitively stretch the shoulder capsule to extreme ranges of motion. The glenoid (the socket of the shoulder joint) is a relatively flat surface that is deepened slightly by the labrum, a cartilage cup that surrounds part of the head of the humerus. The labrum acts as a bumper to keep the humeral head firmly in place in the glenoid. It is also the attachment point for important ligaments that stabilize the shoulder. These ligaments often become stretched out with MDI, allowing dislocation or subluxation (an incomplete or partial dislocation) to occur. The increased motion of the joint can lead to repetitive microtrauma (small injuries), producing tears of the labrum or rotator cuff. MDI patients will often have increased ligament laxity in many joints. Hyperextended knees, elbows, and a self-described history of being "double-jointed" are common. These patients often have multidirectional laxity in both shoulders."

- from steadman-hawkins.com

Yep, that pretty much describes my shoulders! The disturbing part is, now that my right shoulder is shot I've been using my left arm more, and now the left shoulder is starting to freak out too :(

Selfishness

This month is gonna be an active blogging month for me as I anticipate my shoulder arthroscopy! Plus, I'm done with my intro to HTML class which was taking up a lot of my time :)

At work I am somewhat surprised (although I shouldn't be) at the LACK of concern I am encountering with people. I'm telling some of my co-workers about my surgery, so that they can give me their projects now rather than waiting until I'm gone and realizing they need something and freaking out about it. You see I am a quiet little worker bee, droning away in my cubicle and always there when they need me. Sometimes they wait until the last minute to give me things, and I am able to perform miracles.

I guess that's why they're not showing much concern for me - they use me to make themselves look good! If I'm not here then they'll have to admit they didn't plan ahead. It just irks me. I try to treat everyone with respect and give them lead time. I don't get a lot of lead time from certain people. There are a few generous ones, and I am so thankful for them. But I've become so used to working "under the gun" I don't think about it much anymore.

My latest favorite saying is "Actions speak louder than words." I will know who my TRUE friends are when instead of crying about what they want, they'll be helping me! That is one of the benefits of being chronically ill - it separates the loving ones from the selfish ones! The superficial people kind of drift away and the true loving friends remain. This is a gift of sorts, which I would not have if I was healthy all the time.

The Surprising Ingredient Causing Weight Gain

I found this article on Yahoo health. I said to myself "Right!" I lost about 10 lbs. from cutting MSG out of my diet. All the while I was eating eggs, butter and cheese! I know at least one other person who had the same effect from cutting out MSG. Check it:

The Surprising Ingredient Causing Weight Gain

POTS documentary

I saw this on another health blog - they are doing a documentary on Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) from the Dysautonomia Information Network:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC0tSgPArrE


"Often more simply referred to as postural tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, this disorder is characterized by the body's inability to make the necessary adjustments to counteract gravity when standing up. The defining symptom of POTS is an excessive heart rate increment upon standing. However, as you will discover, there are a multitude of other symptoms that often accompany this syndrome. As such, POTS can be a difficult disorder to detect and understand. Our web site provides an overview of POTS and contains sections on symptoms, mechanisms, causes, tests, myths, links and research. There are also sections with information on what may help or hinder POTS patients."
http://dinet.org/

I have not been tested for POTS - however I do have strange heart and blood pressure issues. It is common in Chiari and EDS patients.