shoulder arthrogram (dye injection)

[ddj]

Has anyone here ever had an arthrogram of the shoulder? I had dye injected into my right shoulder Wednesday morning for an MRI. It's still hurting. The sad irony is that I didn't have chronic pain before. I had some soreness and popping and only had pain when I suddenly reached behind me. Now I have chronic pain. The doctor said my shoulder would be sore for three or four days. Well, I'm on day four and I see no relief in sight. Just wondering if anyone here has ever had one and how long it took you to get over the pain.

TIA

[bubbles76]

I had a hip arthrogram 12 years ago and was sore on that site for a week. Have you tried relief with an ice pack or ibuprofen?

[ddj]

Hi, Bubbles. I haven't tried treating it because I like to know where I am with the pain. That probably sounds stupid.

The arthrogram was horrible all around. The radiologist told me my shoulder would feel full that day and I'd be fine the next. The ortho told me I'd be sore for three or four days. But what I experienced was not fullness or soreness but pain. And that's still what I have. The procedure itself was so painful I ended up passing out twice between there and the MRI room. DH was upset that they didn't code me because I'd never had contrast dye and people can be allergic to it. They had no way of knowing what caused me to drop out. I've fainted a few times in my life, but I've never been as disoriented as I was with this one. I was very much aware that I was not okay. To make matters worse, I have a rash where they swabbed me with the topical anesthetic. The whole experience rates right up there with one of the worst experiences I've ever endured.

I start PT tomorrow. I'm afraid this pain will make that worse. Bleh.

Thanks for responding.

[bubbles76]

Awww hon I'm so sorry! That is nothing like my experience. Can you go to another doctor and perhaps have the pain site checked out before you start PT?

[bjones]

A lot of this doesn't sound right to me. First, you definitely had a reaction to contrast and that should be noted for the future. Second, have you even received the results of this test from your ortho? Why would PT be ordered before there is even a diagnosis? You need a follow up appt with your ortho before any PT is started. PT can be very damaging to an actively inflamed tendon or joint. Don't be bullied into anything without a full and satisfactory explanation of everything.

[ddj]

Hi, bjones. Yes, I did get a diagnosis: Tiny full-thickness tear of the far lateral portion of the anterior fibers of the right supraspinatus tendon adjacent to the greater tuberosity of the humerus.

The ortho doesn't want to do surgery because that would be invasive. He seems to think I can live with this and just need to strengthen the other 3 1/2 tendons of the rotator cuff. The odd thing is, when he examined me initially, he said there was nothing wrong with my RC and that it was my labrum. The MRI showed no problems with the labrum. But I'm not convinced my injury involved the RC. I'm going to try to work with the PT on all this. But the pain from the arthrogram may make it hard for awhile.

I wondered about a reaction to the dye, but I also wonder about vagal response. I do have a tendency toward that, and I was definitely miserable during the procedure.

Thanks for responding.

[Floren]

I don't have any info, but just wanted to say sorry you're going through this and hope that you find relief soon.

[sherry7899]

Dede, I am so very sorry you are going through this. I hope the pain has gone away by now and you can get relief.

Hugs,
Sherry

[bubbles76]

Originally Posted by ddj

The odd thing is, when he examined me initially, he said there was nothing wrong with my RC and that it was my labrum. The MRI showed no problems with the labrum.

Initially, the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with my hip either. I was also put on PT. It wasn't until after I had the arthrogram that they saw that I had a labrum tear in my hip. It was pretty big from what I remember. I had the surgery and more PT; didn't help.

[Vantreesta]

Just curious, was a regular non-dye MRI done first? My hip labral tear was seen on MRI with no dye.

Dede, I'm sorry the procedure caused pain where there really wasn't any before. That is scary that you passed out twice! I agree, does not sound right and should certainly be noted for the future. I hope PT will help you. Feel better soon!

Bubbles, surgery was never even mentioned for mine, and a few years later when I had all my records regarding all the damage to my hip and hamstring tendon sent to my chiropractor he couldn't believe surgery wasn't brought up and said there's a good chance I will end up having to have hip replacement down the road bc of it (I did tear more than my labrum though so might be bc of the extent of the damage done that he foresees that). But it sounds like your surgery didn't help. I'm sorry to hear that! I had four sessions of PT and then did it on my own about 5 days a week for I think 10 months before I found relief from the pain. Of course I haven't always kept up with it since then so I have bouts where I have to go back to doing it a couple times a week (injury was in June 2009, PT didn't start till Nov 2010).