Shoulder pain and about to celebrate ten year anniversary

[DBrockington]

Good Afternoon Everyone,

      It is so good to come across a group of people who know exactly how it feels to battle AN.  As the subject said I am about to celebrate my ten year anniversay soon.  I had it surgically removed.  My life has change alot since the surgery.  I walk with the cane, and the side of my face where the tumor was removed droops as if I had a stroke.  But more recently I noticed I have this pain around my shoulder and around my back.  I remember my doctor saying that the side of my body where ther AN was removed might have problems later.  Does anyone have any advice or personal testimonies if they had a similar problem?  I been going to physical therapy, but it hasn't really helped.  As I get older, doctors keep telling me it is because of my age but I am pretty sure it is related to my AN.  Any help anyone could offer would be greatly appreciated.  Thank you.
 
DB

[Silver Sonnet]

In my opinion, when a doc tells you you have to expect certain problems because you are "getting older," it's time to find a new doc   I have a similar problem--since I was diagnosed with diabetes seven years ago, my docs want to blame EVERYTHING on that; they never want to look for a solution.  The ENT who eventually diagnosed my NF2 didn't want to run tests or anything because he said my hearing issues were a result of diabetes.  I had to insist that he do the MRI that turned up my tumors.  Fight for yourself!

As for the pain, I'm just under 4 months out of surgery, and I do have some problems with pain in my neck and shoulder on the side of the surgery.  To be fair, I had whiplash as a teenager and have had trouble on that side ever since, but this pain is different.  Mine happens when I get tired, so I have a built-in reminder to sit down and take it easy.

You said you use a cane--I'm sure that must cause some pain in the shoulder (and some other places, too   Have you changed canes or anything?  I don't know, but it seems like a logical place to start.

Out of curiosity, what kind of surgery did you have when your tumor was removed?

[DBrockington]

Thank you so much for replying.  I definitely do need to looking into a new doctor.  Unfortunately I had to go to the emergency room this past Friday because the pain became so intense.  They took a chest x-ray, found nothing and sent me home.  It is definitely on the same side where I had my tumor removed.  I don't go out to often anymore and only use my can in the house.  But that is a good, and I should explore how I am using them.  I had my tumor surgically removed, ten years ago from today.  How did you have yours removed>