Hi I have been having quite severe shoulder/arm pain the past few weeks and mentioned it when I saw the rheumy consultant. He said to ask my Gp for a steroid injection which I will be getting done later this week.However,a few questions,as the pain is in both shoulders does it still mean just one injection or one on both sides? How long does the injection take to work?I was on a course of tablet steroids last year and they worked almost at once,no pain for several months.I have both RA and OA but my Gp said the pain in the arm/shoulder is muscle pain but how can he tell that,it's not as if I lift anything heavy.At the moment I'm on Hydroxy,Naproxen and Omeprazole but the Naproxen hasn't helped at all.I don't sleep at night because of the pain and have spent the last two nights sitting in a chair downstairs so I just hope the injection will work for me.Has anyone else had this type of pain and if so,were you told it was muscle pain and not the RA? I'm thinking of asking him for something to help me sleep and I read a lot of RA sufferers take Amitrypline to help them sleep at night,any advice on this medication and is it addictive.Sorry for all the questions but feel a bit depressed this morning,probably due to lack of sleep.?Brenda

Hello Anthea, My shoulder pain radiates down the arm to the elbow.I can't lie on the shoulder at night as it makes it worse. As I also have OA I thought perhaps it was OA in the shoulder but Gp says no,it's muscle pain.When I was on the steroid tablets last year it was for the shoulder,arm,hand and knee pain and the tablets really did work,infact they worked overnight and no bad pain for about 5-6 months. but as he thinks it's muscle pain I guess an injection gets right to the spot.He did say that the pain in the arm is 'referred pain' coming from the shoulder.I can't see how one injection in one shoulder will help with both shoulders.For some reason the pain is always worse once I get to bed and lie down,I can cope with it during the daytime.Strange isn't it Brenda

Hi Brenda

I'm not sure what is causing your pain, it's always very difficult to tell. I had both shoulders injected at the same time, and it helped a great deal. You need to rest afterwards as much as you can.

I take amitriptyline at night, have done so for a good few years since being dx with fibromyalgia as well as RA. I don't find them addictive, and they don't give me any side effects. I was going to try and stop taking them, but then I find the pain is bad at night, so have to continue.

I hope you find that the jab helps a lot.

Lyn

Hi Brenda,

I get really bad shoulder pain - it`s the worst affected of all my joints, and at some time in the not-too-far-distant-future I will have to have then "cleaned-out." I`ve always been told that my pain is caused by the RA - it was my shoulder trouble that prompted my GP to first send me to a rheumatologist, and it was then that my RA was diagnosed. I have had numerous injections into each shoulder, but the most successful were the ones done under ultra-sound. They were more accurate.

I take amitriptyline 20 mgs at night to help with sleep, and find them really good, but when the shoulder pain is very severe I have tramadol - either the normal ones, or the slow-release. I prop the affected arm on a pillow, but if both shoulders are bad at the same time it`s really tricky, as I can`t seem to sleep on my back at all.

Before diagnosis my GP did try steroid injections, as he was thinking along the lines of Frozen shoulder, but he would only ever inject one shoulder at a time. I think the rheumatologists do things differently, but mine doesn`t like to give too many per year.

Hope things improve for you soon,

Kathleen x

Hi Brenda - I had problems with just one shoulder last year and it was bad enough. I had an injection into the joint. The rheumy did it really quickly and I was sitting gritting my teeth expecting it to be excrutiating and it was over in a few seconds with very little discomfort. It was the first joint injection I'd had and it worked really well. I hope they sort something out for both shoulders for you though, not sleeping is a nightmare. Take care.

Julie

Hi Brenda, i had steroid injections into both shoulders and both thumbs (all at different times), the injections eased the pain in the shoulders almost immediately, and lasted for a good while.
Just a wee word of warning tho , nobody in the profession told me that one of the side affects of steroids can lead to cataracts. I just had a cataract operation and am only 53.

jenny
xxxx

Hi to you all,Well I had my shoulder steroid injection this morning and I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will work. Although I have pain in both shouders,only one was injected but my Gp said it should help both shoulders.From what he said it should last about 4-5 weeks but be prepared if I'm one of those people who it doesn't work for.Can't wait to see if I have a better night tonight.After weeks of hardly any sleep just a few hours would be great.No pain at the moment just a strange slightly heavy feeling in the top of the arm,probably from where the needle went in.He said he also used an anesethetic in with the steroid jab,so that may be wearing off.He's still keeping me on the Naproxen and Omeprazole.Anyone know if it's safe to stay on anti inflamatories for long periods of time? Brenda

Hello Brenda

I to have shoulder and neck pain, when I last had a steroid injection in this area the Gp injected the left shoulder first and as it was in both she injected the right shoulder some days later, the reason was because with some sufferers they get terrible pain during the proceedure both sinjections worked for me at least, I have made an appointment to discuss my pain with her.

Hope this helps

Albertxxxxxx

Hi, Hope you sleep tonight. In answer to your question you can be on anti-inflammatories for years ( in my experience)..If on for several months you should take a gastric inhibitor which helps to protect the lining of the stomach and therefore hopefully stop any ulcers forming. Hope this helps.