Injured shoulder question

[Jacket]

So, let me try to put this in a time line, cause I got an issue with my shoulder and am not sure what to think of it.

I have no idea what kick started it, I really don't remember any specific injury or anything like that involving my shoulder. What I do know is that near the end of high school I would occasionally get very sore in my shoulder. A few years later, I would on occasion have my left arm in a makeshift sling (or the actual medical sling I happened to own for unrelated reasons).

Then out of the blue I wake up and my entire left arm, from about the joint down is completely in pain. I can not move it. Well, it's not that it's dead, it's just really, really, really stiff and swollen. I figured it was a cramp or weird charlie horse, whathaveyou. Eventually I see a doctor (and I'm not going to go into the visit, but let's say the doc isn't the most helpful, albeit it isn't his fault. He also has a giganticly thick Indian accent I have trouble following.) In the end the pinched nerve thing was proven not to be (my neck is fine, so it's not c6 or c7). Additionally there's no pins and needles. The arm did loosen up in a few days however, with lots of icing (and I never put ice on injuries, to show how much this hurt.) It was thought also at this time that it was a condition called frozen shoulder, but it doesn't match up at all.

Generally the symptoms are the following:
At the shoulder joint itself there is a constant soreness. Movements cause sporadic sharp pains. There's no specific movement that does it, it's not like I can't lift my arm up without the pain. Just sometimes moving it up does it, sometimes it doesn't, etc.

Various spots through out my arm get sore, particularly at the back and underside of the elbow. This only acts up when my shoulder is acting up. When my shoulder is acting up, the arm muscles tighten ever so slightly, although they aren't really causing me any actual discomfort (unless the elbow pain counts, they don't bother me at all.)

The tip of my clavicle, the part that goes into the shoulder, it goes "cold." I don't know how else to describe it. It's not directly painful, nor is it numb (in the pins and needles sense.) It just, if I had to put a word to it, gets cold. The muscles around it feel fine, however. So I'm guessing I'm referring to the ligament?

Occasionally my arm just goes limp. It's dead. It's like, Iunno what it's like really. I imagine if I had to describe it, it would be like if I gave it a massive dose of local anesthetics or something, only again no pins and needles. It just is weak and unresponsive.

The doc tried to tell me what he thinks it could be, of numerous things, many might require surgery. Which I can't afford. And the guy I gotta see, the "specialist" he sort of doesn't accept my insurance, and I can't find someone within traveling distance that isn't five to six hours away who both takes my insurance, and has an opening in the schedule this year (seriously, one guy's office said he could see me March... IN MARCH!!!). So I'm trying to see if anyone has had similar things, or knows of something that could be similar, and that maybe I could sort of 9ball the whole thing, and cheapline my way into knowing what it is, and hopefully then narrowing my search for a "specialist" (I always hated that word, hence the constant quotations) or some other such. Anything. Start from there and move out.

If it helps, of the things the doc was saying (he had to dumb down a lot, as I said he isn't the best English speaker, and it was a very short and timed visit), the one he thought most likely he described as a "grinding" of the joint (figuratively, not literally- at least I hope not literally, it sounded like he meant it figuratively) and it wearing down. That it would "slip out of position" (while not becoming dislocated or something like that). Iunno, it makes no sense to me.

Additionally, I may or may not have carpal tunnel, but it isn't considered to be the cause, on the account that if I do have it it's very minor, as I rarely ever have problems or pain with the radial part of my ring finger, thumb or pointer or pinky or for that matter any finger. Although the thumb and wrist of my left arm (same arm of course) is acting up lately. However, it may be early signs of arthritis.

So... anyone have a thought or further questionings or anything?

[MetalRenard]

Do you sleep on that arm? Just because that can cause alarming consequences. lol

[Jacket]

I don't sleep on or in any particular position. I'm constantly tossing and turning, though since it has been acting up I have found myself lying on my left side, with the arm at an angle under the pillow. It seems to act up less that way, but I always wake up in a different position (or not even on the bed.)