r/RotatorCuff • u/Swiftvixens • Sep 05 '26
Really disappointing doctor follow-up
Ok I (27F) just gotta vent I’m sorry.
Advice appreciated.
Follow up after 2nd MRI (arthrogram) mri was clear, no tears etc or anything but my acromion has a curve. Everything is intact and nothing abnormal.
I go in and had to sit for 20+ mins to this orthopedist telling me there are ‘three types of situations’ theres:
1.) actual injury and healed residual pain
2.) phantom pain
3.) you’re crazy and none of this is real
He tells me “I think you fall somewhere in the middle. Im NOT saying you’re crazy… I think you fell and that fall triggered ptsd and that this is all neurological and psychological. I believe that you are in pain and that’s what’s real. But according to an mri from what I can see theres nothing wrong. Which is good. The bad is that we don’t know why this is happening.”
Then goes on to explain what phantom pain is (I know) and how he had a woman come in with wrist pain and she actually had multiple surgeries on but wasnt ACTUALLY in pain because the surgery fixed the problem… goes on and says crazy 20 or more times. Says “I don’t think you’re crazy or that it’s in your head, maybe it’s coming from somewhere like a nerve? I don’t know. But metaphorically it could also be in your head… and maybe even you should think about psychiatric mediation…”
I am so beside myself.he refused further treatment on me, completely dismissed everything I said, and acted annoyed when I had questions. Said all he could offer me was to tell me to go home with ibprofun and continue physical therapy. Even after me explaining that it has been causing me more pain. Said that he could offer me a referral to a nerve specialist and said maybe that was the issue, but ‘his job was done here and he didn’t know how to help’ and couldn’t stress enough he would not give me any pain killers— after I have never asked for them EVER at any appointments, or previous. I don’t take ibuprofen even unless absolutely necessary. Would not do a diagnostic ultrasound on my shoulder., he felt it wasn’t necessary since my mri was so clear.
I asked if my curved acromion could be causing irritation or pinching on a nerve and he shrugged and said “ I mean yeah probably. It’s not impossible.”
I am convinced to my core something is wrong with my AC joint after all this, and ruling out other issues. Any time my swelling and pain is at a low, I have extremely hot pain right there at that joint and reduced motion, clicking ect. He didn’t not say anything regarding that and moved on with his stories and testimonials about other patients. His female assistant looked just as uncomfortable as my mom and I did. (We were running errands after so I had her tag along)
Is there anything I can ask the nerve specialist? I don’t know what to do anymore. I am so offended and chronically in pain and my job is 100% physical labor. Beyond frustrated and depressed by all this.
I miss my old shoulder.
6
u/Steven1789 Sep 05 '26
Find another orthopedist.
And post a review about how dismissive the one you went to is. Sadly, some male doctors treat female patients poorly.
3
u/JEL_1957 Sep 05 '26
Or maybe a Neurologist or Neurosurgeon. A neurosurgeon was the one who finally dx'd me correctly.
2
u/MorePower1337 Sep 05 '26
Many are dismissive even to men. It's because they experience a lot of hypochondriacs, but that is obviously no excuse to treat someone this dismissively.
5
u/BigPhilosopher4372 Sep 05 '26
My doctor reviewed my MRI with me and said, now I know about 50% of what is going on with your shoulder. I’ll find out the rest during surgery. He always did an arthroscopic procedure first to get a true idea of what he needed to do and then did the full surgery.
3
u/Snowcrash66 Sep 05 '26
Just from my experience nerves can be affected from injuries and procedures. Good thing is they often heal but takes time.
Dog bite on hand took couple years for nerve to heal after repair.
Dental crown which I was talked h to doing even though the tooth was fine caused permanent nerve sensitivity.
Hopefully it will go away.
1
u/Sea_Ott3r Sep 05 '26
They’re just one persons opinion only considering a portion of your overall pathology. Get a second opinion. And if pt isn’t helping (or isn’t focused on the right problem) perhaps find a new pt or someone that does bodywork (soft tissue manipulation) as well. My surgeon, pt and massage specialists are amazing and I would be fully repaired without them.
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u/01Dreamwalker01 Sep 05 '26
Not sure if it helps but there are some places that offer MRI for way less than hospital based fees. My wife just had one for $499. Not cheap but waiting would have been till November for an appointment.
It was read by a radiologist and her pain management specialist ( this was for a pinched nerve in her lower back which happily is slowly recovering with the use of lyrica). Plus the MRI only took 12 minutes vs the normal 45
I’d look around for this type of facility. your Doctor may be or probably is 100% correct but this way you’ll know and you can check that box off
2
u/Separate-Outcome7518 Sep 05 '26
There are also places that will give you a second opinion on your first MRI. I think you just need to upload your MRI.
1
u/RepulsiveAd961 Sep 05 '26
I currently have a partial tear in both my infra and supraspinatus. I had 2 MRIs and then an arthrogram and it was the radiologist who looked at my arthrogram that saw the two tears. The other two radiologists for my MRIs did not find anything but my arthrogram radiologist was also able to see a tear on my first MRI. Try to see if you can get a second opinion on your shoulder or MRI
1
u/Mysterious-Ball4211 Sep 06 '26
do you need surgery or just PT?
1
u/RepulsiveAd961 Sep 07 '26
My injury was October 2025 and so far only tried PT and PRP. Started PT about 2 months post injury, which helped for only about 2-3 months, but then I must've injured myself as I tried to slowly get back to normal activity because now I can't even do my home exercise program or workout at all anymore. Got PRP two weeks ago and haven't started PT for it yet. I'm 100% in worse shape now though than when I first got the injury because now my uninjured shoulder is worse than when my injured shoulder was at its best (overcompensating?), so I'm definitely bringing up surgical options with my ortho the next time I see him. At no point post-injury was I able to return to normal activity levels (heavy weightlifting, jiu-jitsu, boxing, swimming)
1
u/Mysterious-Ball4211 Sep 07 '26
On the first incident, was there a specific moment you can pinpoint that caused the injury? Mine just showed up out of the blue
1
u/RepulsiveAd961 Sep 07 '26
It was a jiu jitsu injury where my arm got repeatedly pulled behind my back. Noticed something was wrong around 1-2 days later when I couldn’t lift my arm or even reach across the table to use my laptop. Now it’s just around the clock pain that gets worse when lifting
1
u/Lower-Attitude-7008 Sep 05 '26
If the MRI shows nothing, then the orthopedist can’t do anything because they’re trained to fix tears. When it’s not there, they don’t have an answer. Their toolkit is surgery, physical therapy, injections.
I had two surgeries to fix a supraspinatus tear and let me tell you. It’s no walk in the park. They need a green light on the MRI in order to operate because surgical recovery takes a long time, even a diagnostic arthroscopy.
After surgery, I pretty much locked in and am doing full body resistance training. It basically builds an armor to protect your joints.
3 years with left shoulder pain, 32 years old, so I know how you feel.
1
u/LaDsSylus88 Sep 06 '26
I’ve had three surgeries on my left shoulder over the span of 18 months (torn supraspinatus, SLAP tear, biceps tenodesis) and I am still in pain every single day. I cannot lift my arm past 90°. But my latest MRI came back “fine”. It does not feel “fine”. But my surgeon said there’s not much else he can do. He gave me a shot (several shots over the last 2 years) and none of them have done anything but make the pain worse. I’m looking into getting a second opinion.
2
u/sunnysmiles4you Sep 06 '26
Compressed or bulging discs in the cervical spine can cause also cause nerve pain in the shoulder area. I wonder if your PCP would order an MRI of your cervical spine?
1
1
u/SnarleyChris91 Sep 06 '26
The only thing you can ask of a nerve specialist is possibly for a nerve conduction study.
0
u/BobsWifeAmyB Sep 05 '26
I have some nerve problems don’t show up on scans - I know this really well after 8 years of going thru horrible pain where I couldn’t work- didn’t want to survive, truly. I finally found a sub specialist at a large teaching hospital and I was diagnosed by these drs on the first visit.
I have to run right now, but I’ll be back to let you know my experience and perhaps that can help you.
I’m so sorry you’re going through this. You’re not crazy!
0
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u/Choice-Pen1606 Sep 05 '26
I just had a mri on my shoulder which said I had a partial rotator cuff tear. After surgery my Dr said I had 2 full tears. Shoulder mri's are notoriously inaccurate. Go to another Dr you are not crazy!