Severe pain in both shoulders???

[durham423]

For the past 7 months I have been having severe pain in both shoulders with burning pain radiating down my left arm. I am not able to lift arms but a little before the pain become unbearable. My shoulders pop and crack often. My neck is stiff and painful and I am headaches that will not go away.

Sleep is a thing of the past. I once could fall asleep upon head hitting pillow, now, I am only able to sleep for about 2 hours at a time before I have to get up and move around.

Since Thursday, my hips feel sore and weak after walking about 40ft or so. My legs feel as if I am carrying around sand bags (very heavy and weak). I feel as if I am in a fog. My eyes are glassy and foggy looking and today I have not been able to keep them open.

I am always tired and constantly dozing off and on through out the day. However, sleep is still not happening. I only doze for about 15-30 mins at a time.

My chest feels heavy and when walking, I have shortness of breath.

Please someone help me figure out what is going on with my body.

[Tree48]

totally agree.. and get a MRI!

[Tree48]

Have you had a MRI yet? If not I think you should.. I have aggressive DDD. A xray will not show things like if your disc are going bad and such. I had a should xray and it did not show all the issues that I had with it..this was back in the early 90's and by the time I had a MRI on my shoulder it was a mess.. Don't wait to long or things will get out of control. Some of the pain could very well be coming from your disc's in your neck. I have had to have C3-C7 replaced. It is nothing to mess with. Please take care of yourself.  Hope you are feeling better.

[durham423]

Thank you so much for responding. I have been to the doctor, he took xrays of both shoulders and neck. Said he didn't see anything but a touch of arthritis, but nothing that could be causing this much pain.

What kind of test will show if it is a nerve impingement? I go to a local clinic that charges patients based on their income. However, if anything other than blood work or x-rays are needed, then the patient has to be sent elsewhere and will be required to pay upfront the regular fees associated with testing and treatments.

At the end of June blood work was taken from me and I was told I had high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and a positive ANA. Not sure what the ANA means or any numbers. Was told I needed to see a Rheumatologist but without medical insurance I have no way to afford the specialist.

Just a week ago more blood work was drawn, I received a call 2 days later stating my cholesterol was still high (been on cholesterol meds since end of june), my sugar was elevated, and my thyroid was low. The nurse said the doctor would discuss this with me at my next regular visit. However, I do not have an appointment scheduled at this time. So I assume since I was not called in right away, that these findings were not that serious.

I am at a total loss as to what I should expect from this doctor. I thought they could help me but as of yet, they just throw medication at me that does not help my problems. I am sure the foggy feeling and glassy eyes are from the medication. My headaches could be from my neck pain, high blood pressure (which Im on meds for), the lack of sleep, or the combination of it all.

Any information, advice, or input you could give me would be greatly appreciated. Again, thank you for you response.

[Rosemary1977]

You could have nerve impingement in your shoulders.  I had it., and it sounds like you could have it on both sides.  I had a cortizone shot and six weeks of physical therapy over one year ago, and I haven't any problems since.  Could your hips and sand bag feet, lt may be just fatigue from not sleeping,?  See your doctor!