College Green Collage

Another trip to the hospital today.  We had planned to change buses at The Mall, and were duly waiting for the bus which that drove past in the opposite direction (on the way home we found out that the old stop is no longer used despite the fact it still shows the timetable)!  We only had to wait 8 minutes as we now have an extra bus to Bristol, and so went straight to College Green where we could also change buses.  It was a sunny but chilly starts but very hot this afternoon.  Anyway the unplanned detour provided a good Blip opportunity for today!  We had a drink and snack in Costa and then got the bus up to the hospital.

I was pleased it was a different radiologist consultant today and not the same one who did the MRI arthrogram injection in April.  He started by checking my shoulder with the ultrasound and showed me the biceps tendon and muscle and also the area of fluid, and he was very thorough in his checks and found more fluid around my supraspinatus tendon that is causing some shoulder impingement.  He said I could just have the one injection that the consultant had sent me for, or it was OK for him to do two.  So I opted for both.  It was quite interesting to watch and he did the biceps first, told me not to move a muscle, and then asked me to hold the ultrasound thing.  I didn't grip it as I wasn't supposed to move but I was told not to drop it as it costs £10,000!  The second  injection really showed up as it went into the affected area.  It didn't hurt at all as the nurse squirted an aerosol freeze spray just before the needle went in.  I have two large dressings on my shoulder though!

I have to keep a pain log for the next month, as apparently even if the injection only provides relief for an hour it is still a valid diagnostic tool.  I have to avoid strenuous activities for the next few days, and I asked him how long was best to not swim in order to maximise the chance of success.  He said over the weekend I can return to normal activities but early next week I can do some sculling, and use my fins which helps strengthen my legs.  I see the physio on 14th June so I will speak to here before I start doing front crawl again.  I will happily sacrifice the next 2-3 weeks if it saves me surgery and 12-20 weeks of not swimming.

Then back to The Mall for a late lunch and a couple of things and then finally the bus home.

It is a bit sore this evening but thankfully my left shoulder is much better today.