I feel for you. People who do not have pain do not understand. It may make you feel better to punch out the next person who says anything to the affect of, "suck it up and just deal with it".

Pain WILL take over your life. I don't now what you have tried but if I were you I would get a referral to a good pain management clinic. A good one will give you injections under a flouroscope so they can see exactly where the medicine is going. They also can do a "radio frequency treatment" on the nerves affected. It burns them away and can give complete reief for a while, possibly for good. IF it is muscle pain, spasms.. you need muscle relaxers. They will knock you out for the first few days but then you get used to them.
Narcotic pain relievers are very effective if you actually have pain and you will not get addicted unless you abuse them. You may develope a physical dependence but that is totally different from addiction where one wants more and more in order to feel "high". Vicoprofen is very effective, better than vicoprofen and less bothersome that percocet.
Cephadyn is a good pain killer but can make you irritable because is has a barb in it. Klonopin can help, it has a muscle relaxer effect. Xanax may help too, it is really good for stress headaches because it helps to relax your neck and shoulders, yu have to taper off it slowly though.. but it may help you a lot.

You know Randy... if you are not getting results, you need to find another doctor. It is YOUR body and YOUR health... and YOUR pain and NO ONE will care for it like YOU do. Most of the time the quality of care you get is up to you.

BTW, the worst shot I EVER got was a pennicillin shot in a butt cheek. It was a thick liquid and there was a LOT of it. It felt like some one inserted a golf ball in my arse cheek (n0, not my arse proper).

I think you need a referral to a pain management center. We have a great one here called Pain Solutions. Look on the internet for chronic pain forums, you may find some good info and possibly a line on a good clinic in your area.

Feel better soon Randy.

Julien

Julien, thanks for your thoughts. I inflicted this injury on myself last spring. While practicing for a golf tournament, I hit a "fat" shot, and felt a twinge and a little stinger in my shoulder. I stopped hitting balls for a few minutes and went right back to hitting balls for another couple of hours. There was a little soreness the next morning, but after my usual stretching routine it felt fine, and I played 36 holes of competitive golf that weekend. 

In the weeks that followed, I kept playing golf, put roughly 300 feet of stockade fence, built a huge deck on the back of the house, all the usual yard work, etc. The only time it bothered me was as I was stretching out before activity, then I would be fine. As the summer wound down, it started bothering me a little more. I thought once golf season ended, and I rested my shoulder, it would be fine. Nope! It got progressively worse, to the point I finally went to see my Dr in October.

I'm pretty comfortable with the Orthopedist I'm seeing now. I see him again in a few weeks, and we'll start strengthening Physical Therapy. He said his goal is to have me pain free and playing golf by spring. 

Thanks again.

Randy

Sorry to here Randy. Pain like that sucks big time. I've been there (shoulder pain). 
Fortunately cortisone worked for me. This was like 10-15 years ago I think. 
So, there is hope. 

hey Randy
,i put up with spurs and bursitis (used to have my left hand crash too high i reckon or whatever) with painkillers and cortisone and saved up and had my shoulder rebuilt-looks an old chainsaw injury but have full movement and NO pain so surgery is not out of the question. My criteria was that when it interfered with my sleep and the painkillers started to sneak up on me i shelled out the price of a new small car and am back drumming.
just another point of view.
cheers