ra in the shoulders | Arthritis Information

Does anybody else have ra in the shoulders? It feels like my shoulder is going to blow out of socket with every little move. Luckily it's in my left shoulder worse and I'm right handed. So I don't know. But it sucks.Yes, I have it in my shoulders, and the nerves sometimes become trapped and it sends nerve pain inot my arms down to my hands. The shoulder bones themselves are very sore to touch and they really ache when I am flaring. I can't hang washing on the clothes line anymore, so I have a contraption on the verandah!!!! You are right, it definitely sucks. Regards Janie. Good Morning - I too, have RA in both shoulders for a very long time..........BUT, about 12 years ago (?), I had a total shoulder replacement on my dominant side, and this has been wonderful!! (Even more successful than my hip replacements!) Total absence of pain, and almost complete range of motion, after lots of physical therapy - I can even use that arm to reach around, and tuck my blouse into the back of my slacks! Amazing!!

Many holiday blessings.........
Dogmom
I have great discomfort in my right shoulder.. the left a little pain...I have not been complaining too much because I didn't want a cortisone shot in the shoulder (ouch) but it's become very much an issue for me. ROM is very limited along with teh discomfort.

Dogmom... OUCH! glad it worked for you!

Have you had an MRI to rule out a rotator cuff tear?

Babs-the pain of the cortisone shot is a lot less than physical therapy to get a frozen shoulder moving again

Shoulder pain is the devil.

cortisone shots, and maintaining a range of motion is key.

Well said inflamed! I agree. It is excrutiating. There's absolutely no way I can even lay down in my bed. I usually end up "trying" to sleep in my recliner with a pillow stuffed under the elbow to help elevate the arm to relieve some stress from the shoulder joint. It seems every time I flare, at least one shoulder joins the party. I hate it so much.

Yes i get RA in shoulders. Just had an MRI of my shoulder is has a partial rotatry cuff tare and it is of course swollen. They said i did have RA in my shoulder as if i had not noticed. I got a shot in it and it feels great. The swelling was more painful than the injury. Or at least the injury could not tollerate the swelling. I have RA in every joint.

I get it too but not nearly as bad as I'm reading about! When it's at it's worse I can't take my clothes off over my head or use the hair dryer to blow out my hair. It's also painful to lie down in bed and turn over. Yes I have it. Be careful because during my first ever flare my shoulder was very tender and I wasn't sure what it was. Long story short after lifting something I shouldn't have during that flare, I now have a torn rotator cuff and frozen shoulder! It sucks!

After putting up with about 3 months of pain in the shoulder, I finally mentioned it to my RA doctor. It was the worst at night and was very hard to get comfortable in bed. Needless to say, it was difficult to raise my arm at all during the worst times. After checking the joint, he gave me a cortizone shot in the shoulder. THAT WAS ABOUT 15 YEARS AGO. It has probably acted up about 4 or 5 times since then (nothing compared to what I had before), and only lasted for a day or so after overdoing. IT'S WORTH A TRY! Good Luck!

I don't have a lot of pain right now but back in June it was terrible. Now the shoulder involvement is pretty much just stiffness and a lot of it. Also, I can pull down like I'm trying to dislocate the shoulder joint and sometimes it will pop and feel better for a while. My doc just did complete xrays of my feet, knees, hands and shoulders and said that my worst joints are the left ankle and right wrist, which are completely shot. The rest he never mentioned so they must still be in decent shape even after 23 years of this.

Bob

I get a ton of Tendonitis esp in the shoulders. Horrible pain !!I have it in my shoulders as well. Cortisone shots are well worth the discomfort..I promise. My shots only last about 2 months, so my RD says I need to try a different RA med instead of constant cortisone injections (but that's another story!)I suffered terrible pain in both shoulders much as everyone described. Not able to raise my arms over my head or find a comfortable sleeping position. I just chocked it all up to the RA and never mentioned it to my rheumy for about two years. Finally it was hurting enough that I brought it up during an appt. He pinpointed the area exactly and told me it was bursitis. He offered a cortisone injection but I declined as I really hate those and they only work briefly for me. He then offered a prednisone pack which I took. It was like magic. I can't believe I put up with that for so long. I still have bouts with the bursitis but as long as I catch it early on I have been able to avoid the intense pain that I experienced in the past.My shoulders were one of the worst parts for me 15 years ago when I was dx'ed. I couldn't raise my arms to brush or dry my hair.

A cortisone injection in both of them help more than you can imagine. I haven't had much trouble since. Course I've been on some form of DMARD since.....but I really think the shots helped. COnsider it.

I was going to ask my Dr about mine next week also. My left one also has gotten to the point that I have trouble driving. Seat belt touching it hurts plus just holding the steering wheel makes it worse not to mention when I have to turn. Have most of the people here found this to be joint damage or tendonitis? Had a shot years ago and it helped but new Dr wont give me any more.

I have it too. I also had a huge flare one time where I couldn't move it without screaming. Now it comes n goes. I also have bouts of pain shooting down my arm to my elbow and fingers. What is strange is it's my left side and I am right handed?????? My right should hasn't joined yet. (Fingers crossed if I could).[QUOTE=ncpalinda]

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Why won't your doctor give you another injection? If it's been years since you've had one it should be fine to have another one. My doctor will only give me about 4 a year. Luckily I've never needed that many....but I think I've had at least one a year in various places.

Don't know whether it's the Still's Disease or the OA in my shoulders -- but whatever it is, it hurts -- a lot. When I asked my doc about doing baselines on my shoulders, she said: "Why? We'll only find more of the same...." I had to agree with her.
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