Joint and muscle pain

[eddie1968]

Hi. For the last month my right hand, arm and shoulder have become very painful and are getting stiffer too.

I'm currently taking Codeine Phosphate 30mg and Ibuprofen 200mg several times daily and also using a TENS machine a lot to ease the pain along with a hot water bottle.

Could this be the start of diabetes complications?

The pain is so constant and is interfering with my sleep and daily activities too.

I am beginning to feel depressed too, understandable with constant pain but antidepressants are not in my solutions, just becoming pain free would solve this.

Anyone got a similar story or situation? Anyone got any solutions.

I think I must see my GP asap.

Thanks for any replies.

Edward

 

[Tim55]

Hi Eddie

I am no doctor but I know what its like to be in pain and its no fun.

I have peripheral neuropathy and a bad knee.

I was initially diagnosed with Type 2 when I went to my GP with the neuropathy symptoms but it has never been linked by him to my knee problems.

Basically, it is stiff, weak and painful. X-ray showed mild arthritis, but "nothing to account for the levels of problems you are experiencing"

However, after reading through the thread on help with dealing with neuropathy I decided to try Alpha Lipoic acid, Benfotiamine and Methyl Cobolamine to see if that helped my neuropathy pain.

What I noticed first though was the pain in my knee started to decrease, although it is still far from "right" and gets worse in the cold, camp weather...

So I suspect your GP is unlikely to attribute your joint pains to diabetes, but I also think the medical profession tend to stop looking for underlying issues once they can tell you that you suffer from diabetes.

I would go see the GP anyway though, I am sure I would have saved myself a lot of grief if I had gone to see mine sooner.

Hope you get on top of it mate, and best wishes for the New Year

 

[Brunneria]

Hi,

Sorry to hear this.

Frozen shoulder is very common amongst diabetics, but I haven't a clue why. Worth bearing in mind. There have been a few threads on the subject, if you have a search. You may find them interesting.

Also, a question - are you on statins? Muscle aches are one of the more common side effects of statins. Although having said that, not everyone gets any side effects at all!

Muscle aches are also common with Vit D deficiency, I think, and a heck of a lot of us are Vit D deficient nowadays (something like 1 in 3 people was the last stat I saw).

 

[catherinecherub]

Frozen shoulder is a possibility as is T.O.S.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/frozen-shoulder/basics/definition/con-20022510

https://www.vascularweb.org/vascularhealth/Pages/thoracic-outlet-syndrome.aspx

Hope your G.P. is able to give you a diagnosis.

 

[eddie1968]

Thanks for the replies so far. Brun I take Vit D in winter here in Scotland due to the lack of daylight. I also do not take any Statins either.

I have read a few articles on frozen shoulder and sounds like what I have and it's apparently very common in diabetics.

I have a GP appointment tomorrow. Thanks.

 

[eddie1968]

Frozen shoulder is a possibility as is T.O.S.
http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/frozen-shoulder/basics/definition/con-20022510

https://www.vascularweb.org/vascularhealth/Pages/thoracic-outlet-syndrome.aspx

Hope your G.P. is able to give you a diagnosis.

Could you enlighten me to what T.O.S is please?

 

[catherinecherub]

Hi @eddie1968,

T.O.S. stands for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and the link in my post explains what it is.
As you also have the pains in your hands I thought it might be relevant.

What is thoracic outlet syndrome?
Your thoracic outlet is a small space just behind and below your collarbone. The blood vessels and nerves that serve your arm are located in this space. Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is the presence of hand and arm symptoms due to pressure against the nerves or blood vessels in the thoracic outlet area.

 

[eddie1968]

Hi @eddie1968,

T.O.S. stands for Thoracic Outlet Syndrome and the link in my post explains what it is.
As you also have the pains in your hands I thought it might be relevant.

What is thoracic outlet syndrome?
Your thoracic outlet is a small space just behind and below your collarbone. The blood vessels and nerves that serve your arm are located in this space. Thoracic outlet syndrome (TOS) is the presence of hand and arm symptoms due to pressure against the nerves or blood vessels in the thoracic outlet area.

Thanks for the information.

 

[eddie1968]

I have started with some baby steps and found massage, NSAIDs + Codeine a start. I found some "loosening up your joints" exercises on youtube and on web pages related to physiotherapy.

I am not expecting instant results and will see my GP. Thanks people

 

[mariacoward]

Hi. For the last month my right hand, arm and shoulder have become very painful and are getting stiffer too.

I'm currently taking Codeine Phosphate 30mg and Ibuprofen 200mg several times daily and also using a TENS machine a lot to ease the pain along with a hot water bottle.

Could this be the start of diabetes complications?

The pain is so constant and is interfering with my sleep and daily activities too.

I am beginning to feel depressed too, understandable with constant pain but antidepressants are not in my solutions, just becoming pain free would solve this.

Anyone got a similar story or situation? Anyone got any solutions.

I think I must see my GP asap.

Thanks for any replies.

Edward

Hi, Im on the same as you and get the same pains, I find moving more helps and also doing good stretches, as crazy as it sounds it does work.

Maria

 

[eddie1968]

Hi. Just an update, I saw my GP today and he reckons the problems are with my rotator cuff in my shoulder and needs further blood and imaging tests to establish the cause

I have been given Naproxen 500mg twice daily and Co-Codamol 30/500mg PRN up to 8 daily. He has informed my physiotherapist of the problem.

Now medicated and using my TENS machine I am feeling better.

 

[catherinecherub]

Good to hear you are getting sorted @eddie1968. Constant pain wears you down.

Take carer.

 

[Molly56]

My partner has a similar problem with pain in his shoulder area ...it has been xrayed following visit to GP and from what I can gather from he (my partner) just puts it down to arthritis .....he refuses to believe that any sort of physiotherapy will help to alleviate the problem and has point blank refused this suggestion from the GP....based on previous referrals it would probably be a waste of time anyway as he has always refused to follow any instruction so is probably best that he is not wasting the physios time (previous referral made for knee / hip pain)...has got to the point where I have lost the will to try and help him anymore with his aches and pains on the basis that he just totally ignores any suggestions made....have come to the conclusion that some people just can't be helped if they can't put the effort in to help themselves...
...sorry for negative thoughts but it is so wearing when you try to help someone and they just won't take on board the advice given by medical professionals thinking that they know better than they do......am learning to adopt 'blind eye' and 'deaf ear' syndrome to his complaints about his aches and pains.....wish sometimes there was a better way but have tried in the past and probably just wasted my breath / got stressed and frustrated....is down to him now....

@eddie1968 ....am pleased to hear that you are making some progress in sorting your issue out...
@catherinecherub ...there would have been a time when I would have suggested some of the things that you mention but for the reasons stated above I don't think I will bother....