2.11.2010
hello again, frustration!
it's been a while since i've bitched about my shoulder, and after the events of this week, i need a release. here we go.
the doctor who did my second surgery convinced himself that my current shoulder pain is from a totally different impingement than the first one i had. this second impingement is of the coracoid process, and hey, guess what? it's very rare that this happens. he's done exactly one of these surgeries out of the 3000+ he's done. and given that he gave it only a 50% chance of helping, i opted to seek out the advice of my original doctor, Dr. W (who did the first surgery).
Dr. W wasn't convinced that a coracoplasty was necessary. since the need to have this surgery occurs so infrequently, he decided to have a bone scan done. this would tell me if the coracoplasty was necessary or not. i had the scan done on february 2 and the initial report from the radiologist came back that friday. to sum it up, nothing conclusive except for abnormal uptake of calcium in soft tissue in my shoulder.
i was scheduled to see Dr. W to get his impressions of the bone scan this past monday. my appointment was for 4:40 so i left work at 4:00. the office is a whopping 6 miles away from work, so i figured i had plenty of time. 50 minutes later, i'm stuck in traffic. call the office to say i'll be late, and they tell me that i was the last appointment of the day, the doctor won't be around by the time i get there. (and how many times have i waited 30 minutes to see him?!) 20 minutes later i was able to turn around and head back towards home. fortunately traffic wasn't moving at all so i had plenty of time to go through kleenex packs and try to get the puffiness in my eyes down before i saw anyone again.
while talking with my coworker today, i mentioned the calcium uptake in the soft tissue. he thought about it and then said that it made sense. whaa? well, he's a smart cookie. got his PhD in a lab studying cellular responses of bone formation and such. he said that the molecular mechanisms involved with the inflammatory response are osteogenesis are similar and that if an area has been inflamed for a very long time, then the bone formation pathway can kick into overdrive. very cool, and makes sense, but i'm still not sure what it means in terms of treating my shoulder.
i'm still skating, though nowhere near 100%. i'm tentative and while i had no shot to begin with, it's even less than that now. no power, no reach, nada. but seeing my friends every week keeps me going, so i'll keep showing up as long as i can bear it. i've put coed pickup hockey on hold for now simply because it's too fast and (completely unintentionally) a little rough. i miss those skates - good people, lots of laughs. hopefully i'll be back there soon.
the doctor who did my second surgery convinced himself that my current shoulder pain is from a totally different impingement than the first one i had. this second impingement is of the coracoid process, and hey, guess what? it's very rare that this happens. he's done exactly one of these surgeries out of the 3000+ he's done. and given that he gave it only a 50% chance of helping, i opted to seek out the advice of my original doctor, Dr. W (who did the first surgery).
Dr. W wasn't convinced that a coracoplasty was necessary. since the need to have this surgery occurs so infrequently, he decided to have a bone scan done. this would tell me if the coracoplasty was necessary or not. i had the scan done on february 2 and the initial report from the radiologist came back that friday. to sum it up, nothing conclusive except for abnormal uptake of calcium in soft tissue in my shoulder.
i was scheduled to see Dr. W to get his impressions of the bone scan this past monday. my appointment was for 4:40 so i left work at 4:00. the office is a whopping 6 miles away from work, so i figured i had plenty of time. 50 minutes later, i'm stuck in traffic. call the office to say i'll be late, and they tell me that i was the last appointment of the day, the doctor won't be around by the time i get there. (and how many times have i waited 30 minutes to see him?!) 20 minutes later i was able to turn around and head back towards home. fortunately traffic wasn't moving at all so i had plenty of time to go through kleenex packs and try to get the puffiness in my eyes down before i saw anyone again.
while talking with my coworker today, i mentioned the calcium uptake in the soft tissue. he thought about it and then said that it made sense. whaa? well, he's a smart cookie. got his PhD in a lab studying cellular responses of bone formation and such. he said that the molecular mechanisms involved with the inflammatory response are osteogenesis are similar and that if an area has been inflamed for a very long time, then the bone formation pathway can kick into overdrive. very cool, and makes sense, but i'm still not sure what it means in terms of treating my shoulder.
i'm still skating, though nowhere near 100%. i'm tentative and while i had no shot to begin with, it's even less than that now. no power, no reach, nada. but seeing my friends every week keeps me going, so i'll keep showing up as long as i can bear it. i've put coed pickup hockey on hold for now simply because it's too fast and (completely unintentionally) a little rough. i miss those skates - good people, lots of laughs. hopefully i'll be back there soon.
