Why doesn't my doctor take my tendinitis seriously?

Question

I have gone to two different doctors, orthopedic sugeons, and they shoot my elbow up with cortizone and give me pain meds and tell me to stop the activity that is causing it. I can't its my job. I had carpel tunel sugury in one hand, the other isn't that bad because thats the hand i write with. But i had tendonitis in that elbow. They pretend its not painful but it HURTS! It feels like a lump in there and i cannot flex or extend my arm, i take 2 darvoset and 1 800 ib. every 4 hours. I am a little worried about what is that doing to me. Should i find another othorpedic surgeon or keep messing with this one? the last one said there is nothing more i can do for you, good luck. What the hell! Is this one going to do the same? it seems the same path as the last one took. Any advice would be helpful.

that's not the point i want to get OFF the pain meds! my doctor knows this, i have been on them now for 2 f-ing years.

yea i have a brace, i was buying those icey hot sleeves, but i'm spending 40 to 60 a week on them. i am a receptionist, they downsized our phone operator about 4 years ago and now i do it, answer about 250 or more calls in a 8 hour period.

Answer 1

Tendinitis will not heal as long as you continue to do the same repetative movements.
It is painful ( I know I had it) but it can be treated.

Dont worry about the meds--they are a very low dose but I do understand you wanting to get off them.
Low impact PT will help but what really helped me the most was the Brace--not one from a store but one given by the doc.

It sits right under the elbow with a small air filled "pillow" that places just the right amount of pressure to relieve the pain. They work and work well--I wore mine for a yr as like you I had to work.

Get a brace from the Doctor--ones that you do not need to replace every month.
Good luck!

Answer 2

you may need another doctor, but unfortunately, tendonitis comes from overuse--- and if you keep using it (from you job or whatever) it will continue to bother you & it wont get better-- cortisone may or may not help it, darvocet is pain medication, but won't help the inflammation (the "itis" in the tendon).
You should ask if there is a brace or support you can wear, like a tennis elbow support that may take some irritation off the elbow.
You should rest it as much as possible when not working & use ICE at home when you are not using it.
There is not much other treatment for tendonitis other than rest & ice.
that's the truth. sorry if they didn't explain it well, or if you don't like what they had to say.

Answer 3

Stay with this doctor unless you hear of a better one. I think that they are working to do the best they can but you need to work with them too. As you have not mentioned how long ago the surgery was all I can say is it can take months and months to heal correctly. Could be you need therapy which is something you can ask your doctor. As far as the medication goes, try not to overuse that either or the natural endorphins that prevent pain will not work right either. Sometimes too much medication defeats the purpose.Try to find things to do as focusing on pain tends to make it worse. And yes, I speak from experience.

Answer 4

Some times doctors do not seem to take your pain seriously because they are not the ones experiencing the pain! Perhaps finding a less stressful job would be helpful to you! Check into any natural medications that may be helpful to you! GOOD LUCK to you -I know how you feel having experienced some of the same situations-SOME not all but some doctors need a swift kick in the groin if they are male-or female a kick in the rump! then they could comprehend what pain is!!!!

Answer 5

Give up on your doctor as well as the pills!
Waste of money! Other alternatives are accupuncture
or a viable massage therapist. If you must lift something,
never lift with a straight arm, bend your elbow than lift.
i.e. coffee cup, books etc...
You can ice it and see if that will reduce swelling in the problem area.Also get a stress ball that you squeeze,
and try moving your hand around while squeezing to
help clear the carpal tunnel area so that everything can flow freely! Good Luck!

Answer 6

I am a Neuromuscular Therapist.

There are some good doctors out there but, unfortunately, most either do not have more than 5 or 10 min. to spend with a patient or they don't really know where to look for what's causing your pain. That's why they usually give you only two options for treatment: pain killers or surgery. Neither of these options corrects anything, they merely "fix" the symptoms temporarily.

Tendonitis is caused by overly tight muscles. A tendon is the working end of a muscle that attaches to bone. If the muscle is overly tight it will pull the tendon excessively and rake and gind it over the surrounding bones or bursa. Tendonitis simply means "inflammation of a tendon". In my experience, tendonitis always goes away after the muscle is relaxed using deep massage and stretching. Once the tension is gone in the muscle the tendon no longer rubs against surrounding structures and the irritation subsides.

Elbow problems and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome RARELY have anything to do with the pain you're experiencing, they are symptoms of shoulder misalignment. If I had to guess, I'd say your job involves working at a computer, on phones, at a desk or long hours of sitting with your shoulders forward (slouching) to one degree or another. A forward shoulder position does many things: it impinges on the nerves and blood vessels that supply your arm; causes your chest muscles to become overly tight; weakens your upper back muscles; forces the elbow out of normal alignment and strains the joint. All of this results in back and neck pain, headaches, elbow pain, symptoms that mimic carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis and numbness/tingling in the arm and hand. Your surgery didn't help because their was never a problem with your carpal tunnel in the first place, the pain merely showed up there because of the position of your chest and shoulders. Ditto for the other elbow. Pain meds are not helping because the source of the pain is not being corrected. Doctors have no answers because they don't look for muscular and skeletal misalignments as the source of pain.

Your symptoms are almost always caused by overly tight muscles which result in both skeletal misalignments and patterns of strain and pain. Any method that does not correct the source of the problem, which is overly tight muscles, will not and cannot work.

A Neuromuscular Therapist or similarly trained deep tissue therapist can help you. They'll be able to release the tight muscles causing your pain with corrective massage and mild stretches. They can also give you some suggestions to help you counteract the muscular compensations your muscles are subjected to with your job.

I highly recommend the book, "Pain Free, A Revolutionary Method For Stopping Chronic Pain" by Pete Egoscue. Pete gives simple explanations describing how poor posture or sustained postures lead to the most common pain syndromes and how very simple, but specific, stretches and exercises will counteract those strain patterns. After my clients receive Neuromuscular Therapy from me I have them do Pete's exercises at home and they really do work.

Remember, meds and surgery will not help you because both are ignoring the cause of your pain and focusing only on alleviating the symptoms. The site of the pain is rarely the source of the pain.

Answer 7

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Why doesn't my doctor take my tendinitis seriously?
I have gone to two different doctors, orthopedic sugeons, and they shoot my elbow up with cortizone and give me pain meds and tell me to stop the activity that is causing it. I can't its my job. I had carpel tunel sugury in one hand, the other isn't that bad because thats the hand i write...

Answer 8

Tendonitis Specialist

Answer 9

They don't take it seriously because doctors aren't the one in charge of rehab-ing you. You need to see a physical therapist.

Answer 10

1