I'm having surgery.Wish me luck

[JTR357]

Hey,I just got some stitches out & was a little surprised to see the size of the incision.He told me there would be three small incisions before he operated.Well,once he got in there,there was a lot more stuff going on inside there than the MRI showed,so he had to make a couple more LARGE incisions.There was quite a bit of arthritis(I'm frikkin' 44!WTH?!I thought only old people got arthritis?!) built up that he had to clean out & the tear was larger than he originally thought.There were huge holes in the tendons.It was a mess.He said it's probably from years & years of doing labor/construction work/boxing/etc.Turns out that's bad for your body.
It was pretty cool,he showed me actual pics from the surgery.It wasn't as gory as I thought it would be.I'm just going to baby my shoulders from here on out,because my right shoulder will be the next to go.No more maxing out my bench presses & hitting the heavy bag for 30-45 min at a time.It's going to be awhile before I'm doing anything with my left arm.I should be starting PT next week after I get the staples out.I did a couple of light movement excersises he showed me.It hurt like hell but it was doable.I'll be doing a little more everday all the time "listening" to my body & pains.

I figured I'd give ya'll an update.I really appreciate all the support from you guys.:thumbup:

Take care now & enjoy your Summer(Wish I could go swimming:grumpy: )


OH yeah CJ,I'm not sure if it was this thread or another when you told me to watch out with those pain meds.I've since cut he dosage in half.It was scary there for awhile,because I was drifting off & just stopped breathing.The weirdest thing.Like I forgot to breath.That slapped some sense into me.I'd rather deal with the pain than forget to breath !

 

[JTR357]

Here's some mandatory gore shots,nice & blurry too.

These staples are coming out next week.Then it physical therapy 3x a week for however long it takes I guess.It's improving everyday.I don't have full range of motion yet,but I can lift my arm forward & backwards,just not sideways yet.I keep it out of the sling most of the day.I just put it in there when it gets sore.


Thanks for listening.Take care guys.

 

[JTR357]

I got my staples out on the 3rd.It's healing well he said.
I'll be starting PT next week.Only 2x a week instead of 3 like I'm supposed to,but they're all booked up in the mornings which happens to be the only time I can go because of work.There's no way I can take a day off of work every week.I'm already hurting from taking two weeks off(well not necessarily "hurting",but more like "uncomfortable financially".I have a family relying on me).Hopefully I can get the most out of those two days a week for the three or four weeks prescribed.I wanted to start today but they said they were understaffed do to the holiday.

There is still a huge limited range of movement & pain.Yeah still LOTS of pain.I guess that's to be expected.

I'm not sure if anyone's still following this either.I'm just writing about it for the heck of it,but if you are again thanks for the support & if you have any advice for me it's always welcome.

Thanks

 

[tempey]

I just checked back in on this thread, glad to hear you are doing OK. Arthritis can happen at any age, I don't have any cartilage in my shoulder anymore because they took it all out due to arthritis and I had the surgery when I was 18. Did they not do the surgery arthroscopically?

P.S. if you want to swim go to Walgreens or something and get a cheap sling and wear that in the pool. You can't really do anything more than sit there and you have to be careful but you can get in the water.

 

[JTR357]

I just checked back in on this thread, glad to hear you are doing OK. Arthritis can happen at any age, I don't have any cartilage in my shoulder anymore because they took it all out due to arthritis and I had the surgery when I was 18. Did they not do the surgery arthroscopically? ^see post #42

P.S. if you want to swim go to Walgreens or something and get a cheap sling and wear that in the pool. You can't really do anything more than sit there and you have to be careful but you can get in the water.

He started out arthroscopically,but said there was too much damage.He had to go in the old fashioned way to clean it all up(Personally & in hindsight I think he may have been a little too rambunctious,but what do I know about rotator cuff surgery?)
It's been healing slowly but surely,still not sure if I'll ever be 100%.It's going on eight weeks since the surgery.Also,I worked it out so I got the standard three day a week PT.It's been going good.

 

[JTR357]

Hey guys,I figured I'd give a long overdue update.It was a long recovery but I'm feeling almost 100% at close to six months later.My physical therapist was exceptional.:thumbup:


After the 'okay' from my surgeon,I started weight lifting again two weeks ago.I'm just doing very basic exercises.Barbell dead lift,bench press,bent over rows,curls,etc.I'm using about half of what I was before the injury.I'm in no rush to increase weight.I just feel good being able to do anything after such a long period of inactivity.

Thanks for listening

 

[JustinWatts]

Everyone's first surgery is rough; hopefully you'll get through it alright. Just take it easy during your recovery and listen to the doctor's recommendations, this is your chance to sit back and let go of all the stress that's built up. My prayers are with you, have a speedy recovery John. :thumbup:

Whoops, haha. Your last post bumped it to the top, and I didn't bother to look at the post date. Glad to hear you made it out alright!

Just from curiosity, did you receive your injury from weightlifting? How so?

 

[JTR357]

Everyone's first surgery is rough; hopefully you'll get through it alright. Just take it easy during your recovery and listen to the doctor's recommendations, this is your chance to sit back and let go of all the stress that's built up. My prayers are with you, have a speedy recovery John. :thumbup:

Whoops, haha. Your last post bumped it to the top, and I didn't bother to look at the post date. Glad to hear you made it out alright!

Just from curiosity, did you receive your injury from weightlifting? How so?

Incline dumbell bench presses.Too much weight+bad form.It probably wouldn't have happened if I had a spotter.Needless to say,I won't be doing those anymore.

 

[OHALLUM]

Just ran across this thread John. I had a truck rollover several years ago and tore my left rotator cuff completely in half. The MRI showed it looking like a torn piece of paper and down about 1 inch from the top piece. The doctor went in with a scope and re attached the muscle by drilling holes in the bone and using "screw anchors" to attach the muscle back to the shoulder. All in an incision about 1/2 in long, and two minute incisions where the scope was inserted. I went home the next day in a sling that I had to wear for about 4 weeks. Did the usual PT, and today have about 90% use out of that shoulder/arm. Don't remember much pain post surgery, but pre surgery was painful. Had some pain pills, that made me nauseous, so I opted for the pain.

Two years later, I tore the other shoulder and had it repaired. Second one was a lot easier. Not much pain, and I removed the stitches myself as I was out of town at a funeral for a family member when it was time for them to come out. Not a big deal actually.

Glad yours was successful.

Blessings,

Omar