Shoulder Update

My shoulder still hurts.

A lot.

Enough to go see a doctor about it today.  They took x-rays, and everything appears to be looking pretty normal.  There is a little thickening of the acromion.  The acromion/clavicle joint might be a little tiny bit wide.  There are some tiny bone spurs, but nothing that should be causing problems.

This means that my shoulder still has swelling inside (which my doctor thought was less likely with the "medical history" that I gave him) or there is soft tissue damage to either the labrum (cartilage that surrounds the "socket" part of the shoulder joint) or the rotator cuff (a system of muscles and tendons that make the shoulder work).

My choices:

• Strong anti-inflammatory medication
• Cortisone injection
• MRI

I'm starting with the least expensive option first.  I'm going to be taking anti-inflammatories for the next month or so.  It takes 7-10 days for this particular drug to reach "clinical effective strength" in my system.  So after a couple of weeks, if it's not getting any better, then I'll probably jump to the third (and most expensive) option.  It would end up costing somewhere in the neighborhood of $600-$700.  And since I'm on a high-deductible insurance plan this year, all of that cost (plus the cost of today's doctor visit and the medication) will all be coming out of my pocket.  That hurts, but not as much as my shoulder hurts.

I thought about going with an MRI right away, because that's the easiest way for the doctors to see whether or not there is soft tissue damage and I could get a much quicker, more definitive diagnosis.  But another part of me thinks that even if there IS soft tissue damage, if I can just hold out until January before needing surgery (and the anti-inflammatory meds might help there), I might end up paying less out of pocket.

And that's the update.  I'm sure you wanted to know.