The Diabetes Card

If you have read my first post you would know that I am currently dealing with a bilateral shoulder injury from a car accident last summer.  I have been slowly regressing and losing mobility in both shoulders with referring pain into elbow and wrist.  It has been a complete race at trying to get imaging, see specialists etc as I am struggling to function with day to day tasks such a getting dressed, washing my hair etc, sorry for TMI (too much info :o).

After having an MRI at our local hospital, usual wait time is 13-16months but due to the severity of my injury and my age etc I was but on an "urgent list", the results came back with "both shoulders appear normal".  WHAT??? I received this news on Christmas Eve.  I started to doubt my self and my own mind of Was this really happening?  Do I really have an injury or is my mind playing tricks on me?  After chatting with my Physio, I was assured that this was common as unless the radiologist is looking for the specific area of injury, and my suspected injury is a tear in an A-typical (there were go again with being A-typical!) area, they will only note the typical areas of interest in that joint. The thing that has kept me going and strong in this process is that all Health Professionals treating me have the same opinions about the injury.

 The entire time I have been treated I have continuously heard "keep the shoulders moving, do not let them stiffen as the capsule can freeze and then you'll be dealing with Frozen Shoulder too."  I did as instructed and diligently performed my physio exercises 2-3 times daily.  From Over the door pulley's to cat stretches in Yoga...I worked hard at keeping the joints fluid and in motion.  As of October though, I was unable to run, and hadn't been running my usual 5-6 times a week nor the distance I was capable of, due to pain in the shoulder during. This has been tough as running is my sanity keeper.  It frees my mind of all stress and challenges I may be facing in my life.  I always come home from a run with an "I can save the World" attitude.  So be it I may not have saved the World, but I feel like I have a "Clear/clean" mind that can face tough decisions ahead.

Jump forward a few months to February.  I received 2 Orthopaedic Surgeon appointments, 2 days apart.  This is what our province calls "Urgent Referral.  My referral went in, September 2012 and I am scheduled in February.  Riiiight. After I saw the first Surgeon, which was a quick 15 minute appointment, the diagnosis was "You have bilateral Frozen Shoulder.  I can see there is an underlying injury in your right shoulder but we won't know what that is until the Frozen Shoulder Thaws."  What was this?  Was I a piece of Chicken that had been in the freezer and needed for dinner?  I had been advised prior to this appointment that my capsules (both arms) had already "froze", so this was nothing new.  What came out of his mouth next is what blew me away...."You fit all criteria for surgical options to clear the scar tissue (adhesion's), however being a Type 1 Diabetic (here is comes...) there is added surgical risk. So please keep doing your exercise, get back to running to break up the scar tissue and see me in 4 months,  If you are still stiff and have not gained range of motion by then, I will present you with surgical options.  Oh and start taking an over the counter NSAID to reduce the inflammation."  I had no idea that Frozen Shoulder was so common in Diabetics and the worst part is that I don't fit the typical (there I go again! being a-typical) profile for a Frozen Shoulder candidate.  Usually it is older women 45+ with Type 1.  But because of the car accident and the injury(s) to both shoulders, it created a platform for my immune system to respond with freezing the capsule muscles as a protective measure. 

WHAT?????? I am aware of the added surgical risks, however, I do not fit the profile of a Typical (there we go again being a-typical) Type 1 Diabetic.  I have well controlled blood sugars, I am in good physical shape and have had no prior history of healing from other major surgeries! Both the second Surgeon and my GP agreed that they did not agree with this wait time or reasoning.  And both pointed out that Diabetes are prone to GI bleeds so DO NOT TAKE NSAIDS, as he recommended, as that will do nothing but encourage a bleed.  So I was prescribed an anti0inflammatory with a stomach protectant.  Maybe the first surgeon should have finished the rest of the chapter, in med school, on Diabetes patients.

 So the Diabetes Card was played.  Well the funny thing is that in 4 months, I will still be Type 1 Diabetic and the surgical risks will still be there.  That is not going to change.  I never play the Diabetes card in my life, okay well maybe a few times, "Sorry I was late, my blood sugar was low and I had to treat before I could leave" or "I know you don't take reservations over the phone, however we have a Diabetic in our party who needs to eat at a certain time." You know you've all done it at some point or another.  But when will modern Doctor's, btw this surgeon was about my age so kind of "fresh outta med school", change their views on Diabetes.  We are not what the textbooks claim us to be and I believe we have enough of us that prove those theories wrong every day!

There you have it.  In the card game of life, the Diabetes card doesn't always make you a winner, but it does when it's in your hand!  Keep playing hard, fight the odds and prove those Type 1 Diabetic theories WRONG!!!

Cheers
Kel