A Litany of Shoulder Pain Pump Agony

Merrimack, NHColin had rotator cuff surgery and received a shoulder pain pump post-surgery to manage the pain. But that was two years ago, and Colin is still in constant pain. And he's not alone: many others have reported "clicking and popping" sounds in their shoulders and stabbing pain—long after their arthroscopic surgery.

"I was at work and slipped on some oil," says Colin (not his real name). "To catch my balance I raised my right arm so fast that it tore—I didn't even fall. I grew up in the country so I'm used to pain, but this hurt like a mother…I had an MRI and the doctors said it was a wicked tear—they put five pins in my shoulder because the muscle was completely torn away from my bone. They also told me it was going to heal, so why do I still have chronic pain?

"Even if I reach for a soda on the table, it's like someone is sticking a knife in my shoulder. In my opinion it shouldn't hurt this much. Although arthritis tends to go to joints that have had surgery, this sharp stabbing isn't that kind of arthritic pain. And to make matters worse, I overuse my left shoulder so that hurts, too.

"I'm not one of those guys looking for a free hand-out, but if someone has used the wrong meds or a defective medical device, then I believe I should be compensated."

Jordan is also looking into the possibility of filing a lawsuit against I-Flow Corp., one of several shoulder pain pump manufacturers. He too had arthroscopic surgery more than a year ago, but says he has never been free of pain. "This past spring I started to feel and hear a popping in my shoulder during certain ranges of movement that the surgery was supposedly going to stop," he says. "I told my primary physician that my shoulder was not pain free and he just prescribed some pain-management drugs. I just assumed that the chronic pain I had was standard to anyone after surgery, until I saw the news about shoulder pain pump lawsuits.

"Then I did some research online and found out that this pain pump delivers pain medication directly into the shoulder joint, which can destroy shoulder cartilage. Now I'm afraid this has happened to me because the symptoms of shoulder chondrolysis are exactly what I am experiencing: a decreased range of motion, pain, and popping and grinding of the joint, which tend to develop several months after surgery. As if that's not bad enough, I also found out that this is a regenerative disease, meaning that it's not going to get better.

"At this point I have lost all faith in surgery and the medical profession and I'm afraid to ever go under the knife again."

And there are more complaints:
"I have had some increase of pain in the shoulder since the surgery, and I have noticed a 'clicking and popping' sound in my shoulder. I just moved my arm a certain way and heard it again to verify it." —Joan, San Diego.

"I have constant pain and weakness in my shoulder," says Alan in Seattle, "and I can't sleep laying on my side. There's a clicking sound when I move a certain way."

Last but not least, Sue from Portland, Oregon: "I had surgery for my left shoulder more than two years ago, but I'm still suffering a severe pain in the joint. I saw another doctor because I don't trust my surgeon any longer and he ordered an MRI. I couldn't believe the results—it revealed that I have no cartilage in the joint. The first thing he asked me was whether I had received a shoulder pain pump after surgery. That's an affirmative. 'That is likely your problem,' he said, and told me that the only way to fix my shoulder would be to replace it.

"You bet I want to join a lawsuit against these shoulder pain pump manufacturers.…"