Inquiring Minds Want to Know...

Yes, I went to the Orthopedist today.

Yes, I have a diagnosis for my shoulder.

Yes, I will share...

The Ortho Doc said I have two separate problems:

1) pain & no strength

2) tingling & numbness

The MRI I had done on the 20th shows that there IS arthritis. It also shows a large bone spur jetting down into the muscle. This is surgical. :( The MRI also showed a small labrum tear. She said it was really small. They wouldn't normally go in a just fix that, but while they are in fixing the bone spur, they will probably take a look at the tear and see if they can fix it. By "They" I mean the doctors in Fort Sill. She said they will not do the surgery here because we are moving so soon. She said that waiting 2-3 months shouldn't change any outcome. Waiting a year might, but not a couple months.

As for the tingling and numbness I am experiencing, she thinks that actually has to do with my neck and spine.

So, she was explaining all this to Jim and I...in graphic detail. She was explaining that she would like to have an EMG done on my arm to see if there is any nerve damage or circulation problems. She was telling me how the procedure takes place...with needles...that stay in my arm...and that's when I almost passed out.

Have I ever mentioned that I have a totally unreasonable/irrationally fear of needles?

I was 3 years old. We were living in Lawton for a couple months while my Dad was taking a class. We lived in an apartment complex...with a pool. Around the pool was a brick fence. I remember one day, playing with a friend on the fence. We were walking on it...and I slipped and cut the inside of my thigh.

My parents rushed me to the ER where the doctor told my mom that I needed probably 10 stitches. (this is before dermabond!!)

I remember laying on a gurney in the middle of a corridor. The doctor took a pair of scissors and a needle & thread and put them between my legs...and that's, apparently, when all hell broke loose. My mom has told me it took many orderlies to hold me down...and they only got in 3 stitches.

I have been a mess ever since when it comes to needles.

After I was feeling well enough to sit up, the doctor said she was also going to put in a prescription for VALIUM so I could actually have the test done! She said that if I felt faint just HEARING about the test, there was NO WAY I would make it through. Great...so I got THAT going for me!

And now we wait. I'll have the EMG done in the next couple weeks. I'll hand carry all my records. Apparently, the Army has finally figured out that people move and have a form I can bring with me so I can bypass having to see my PCM for a referral to Ortho on Fort Sill. Hopefully, I can have surgery in Aug/Sept.

So, there ya go...