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Rotator Cuff surgery...anyone here gone through it?

That Guy

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This is week # 4 from having rotator cuff and torn bicen tendon surgery. All was fine until the PT crew over-pushed it, and now I think my rotator cuff got another tear in it. Teach me for going to Pomona Valley Hospital, then their own physical therapy department. Next time I will be going back to Kerlan Jobe.

I sleep great in a recliner. I go into a flat bed, and I'm up all night moaning and groaning. I've tried Lydocaine patches, 5% Lydocaine cream, every pill known to man, nothing helps. This doc doesn't waste their time on ice machines or TINES units. My recovery is hindered as a result of not wanting to spend a bit more money for patient care.
I knew both Bob Kerlan and Frank Jobe from back when I worked at Centinela Hospital in the 90's. That group is still as good as you can get for Ortho stuff....good luck with your situation.
 

Tamalewagon

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Rotator cuff and subacromion decompression surgery on my left shoulder is scheduled for June 6. I've been putting up with the pain for eighteen months, and in the last 60 days it's gone out of control.

Indications from the MRI suggest major damage and 4-6 months in a sling. The good news is even though I'm left handed, I wipe my ass with my right hand.

:rolleyes:

Yup...I've been putting this off for far too long and the daily pain-o-meter is a standard 7-8. I can't imagine the recovery pain being worse but then I have the fear that the post op pain may have a mind of its own saying "hold my beer bitch...try level 12!" I'm right handed so it'll be interesting doing the day to day essentials that you never think about until you can't do them. My wife suggest a bidet...I would rather walk backwards naked through a car wash than subject myself to the ridicule of using a bidet.
 

Sigus

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Day 8 on right cuff repair. Take the pain killers! I anticipate 9 to 12 months recovery. Just met my PT team and am great full for the owners hireing practices… hope they are as good as they look. And a good recliner is key to survival. Also get the nerv block it will help first night and into the next day. If you go with the block start pain meds about 11 pm and stay after for about four days. I now live on Tylenol and ibuprofen. Get an ice machine with good fitting shoulder cuff. This is helping with pain and scaring.
 

Tamalewagon

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Day 8 on right cuff repair. Take the pain killers! I anticipate 9 to 12 months recovery. Just met my PT team and am great full for the owners hireing practices… hope they are as good as they look. And a good recliner is key to survival. Also get the nerv block it will help first night and into the next day. If you go with the block start pain meds about 11 pm and stay after for about four days. I now live on Tylenol and ibuprofen. Get an ice machine with good fitting shoulder cuff. This is helping with pain and scaring.
Got the recliner lined up and the nerve block/pain meds are all prescribed and ready to roll. The doctor did say to stay away from ibuprofen. (?)
 

brgrcru

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I would try to build up all the muscles around your shoulders . First
Takes time

Do what you can not do get surgery .

This is what I was told by Kerlan Jobe
For my age
Thats what I did
I still feel it
But I ride mtb water ski wake board
can do it all with out pain

Beats being down for a year or longer
My .02
 

Tamalewagon

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I would try to build up all the muscles around your shoulders . First
Takes time

Do what you can not do get surgery .

This is what I was told by Kerlan Jobe
For my age
Thats what I did
I still feel it
But I ride mtb water ski wake board
can do it all with out pain

Beats being down for a year or longer
My .

Already down the road. I'm past the trying to avoid surgery route unfortunately. I'm at the point where I can't lift anything with my right arm. I would rather get it done now and heal so I can get on with life.
 

brgrcru

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Already down the road. I'm past the trying to avoid surgery route unfortunately. I'm at the point where I can't lift anything with my right arm. I would rather get it done now and heal so I can get on with life.
Good luck
Wishing you all the best
 

rrrr

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Ya know what I'm noticing about RDP lately?

When the website was started in 2007, there were tons of posts with stories about activities like OP6C and boating adventures featuring trips through the reeds.

And photos? Pictures of wives and girlfriends showing off pasties and nice butts in thongs. Tables full of good food and iced concoctions, and friends gathered around and having fun.

Now we have threads like this one, with stories of broken down old men, pain meds, and rehab after surgeries. Next thing you know there will be discussions about erectile dysfunction, with inmates debating the efficacy of Cialis versus Viagra.

It's coming.

🤪
 

rrrr

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The doctor did say to stay away from ibuprofen. (?)
Ibuprofen and Naproxen act as blood thinners. Whenever you're undergoing surgery, your doctor will instruct you to stop taking these NSAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs) a week before the event.
 

Tamalewagon

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Ya know what I'm noticing about RDP lately?

When the website was started in 2007, there were tons of posts with stories about activities like OP6C and boating adventures featuring trips through the reeds.

And photos? Pictures of wives and girlfriends showing off pasties and nice butts in thongs. Tables full of good food and iced concoctions, and friends gathered around and having fun.

Now we have threads like this one, with stories of broken down old men, pain meds, and rehab after surgeries. Next thing you know there will be discussions about erectile dysfunction, with inmates debating the efficacy of Cialis versus Viagra.

It's coming.

🤪
Better? My arm still hurts though. :D

rd.jpg
bm.jpg
keys with the boys.jpg
 
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HBCraig

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I have a toen labrum since 2007. I still pitch BP to both kids. I refuse to do it. I have several friends and ballplayers that have done it and sleeping in a recliner for 2 weeks is a no go for me. I'm good
 

Ziggy

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Yup...I've been putting this off for far too long and the daily pain-o-meter is a standard 7-8. I can't imagine the recovery pain being worse but then I have the fear that the post op pain may have a mind of its own saying "hold my beer bitch...try level 12!" I'm right handed so it'll be interesting doing the day to day essentials that you never think about until you can't do them. My wife suggest a bidet...I would rather walk backwards naked through a car wash than subject myself to the ridicule of using a bidet.
A Bidet can be compared to Sliced Bread.
You don’t know what you are missing. 😁
 

ChumpChange

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I have a toen labrum since 2007. I still pitch BP to both kids. I refuse to do it. I have several friends and ballplayers that have done it and sleeping in a recliner for 2 weeks is a no go for me. I'm good
For your age they won’t do surgery for just a torn labrum. No real benefit.
 

endobear

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Tore both shoulders in 92. Bad high speed crash snow boarding. Cartwheeld about 6 or 8 times in powder.
Worked out a bunch after that for a few years and they got a little better. At least my shoulders quit popping in and out of socket when I would be asleep and try to roll over.
About 07 my left side got real bad. Finally got it fixed in 09. Plus a severed biceps tendon.

The block is a must. I was hanging out drinking beer the night of the surgery with my buddy that picked me up. Was feeling zero pain.
Wife was not impressed when she got home.

Doc who did the surgery was the Broncos, Rockies and Avalanche shoulder doc.
Never got completely better. Maybe 80%.
I still go to PT a few months a year when it gets resl tight.
Now he wants to go back in and clean up all the scar tissue, bone spurs and add a plastic cap to my socket.
Someday I'll get it done.
 

endobear

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I do go get cortisone injected about every 6 months. Both shoulders and my ankle. Helps for a couple months. They use an ultrasound to make sure they get it into the right spot. I'm told that it is the new way of doing it. Before the ultrasound guided injection it only worked half the time.
 

Tamalewagon

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had the surgery yesterday. felt fine up until a few hours ago. nerve blocker wore off...ho lee fuk! pain levels are 9-10 with meds. need knock out drops stat!
 

rrrr

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had the surgery yesterday. felt fine up until a few hours ago. nerve blocker wore off...ho lee fuk! pain levels are 9-10 with meds. need knock out drops stat!
That's because the doctor drilled a hole through your humeral head and passed some bioabsorbable twine through it to anchor it in place against the labrum. He probably reworked your AC joint, which means sawing off a half inch of the clavicle, and also did a subacromion decompression, which is more grinding on bone. He might have moved.your bicep tendon to a new location and strapped it down with more twine.

When those reworked bone surfaces are exposed, your body reacts as if the bones were broken. That's why it hurts like a motherfucker. I know this because both of my shoulders have had the same thing done to them.

Now my left side is dicked up again, and I get to experience this thrill all over again. My surgery is three weeks away. I can hardly wait.

:rolleyes:
 

endobear

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had every intension of doing that. nerve blocker lasted a long time but wore off fast.
So laying/resting I had to stay upright. Pillows and blankets stacked just right while I sat on the couch.
If you are feeling OK, try to pass out and get some rest before you get uncomfortable again.
Good luck. It only feels better from tomorrow or the next day..

Pain is just hurting leaving your body...
 

RichL

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FWIW I stayed with the ice machine for close to a week. Truly believe it helped significantly. Good luck.
 

HNL2LHC

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Hope today is a better day for you Scott. 👍
 

That Guy

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I know you've been told multiple times but......ICE. It is crazy how well that ice machine helps to control the pain. I've tried it both ways for Ortho stuff (with it and without it) and it is ridiculous how much better I felt regularly using the ice. Glad you are on the road to recovery!
 

Tamalewagon

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I know you've been told multiple times but......ICE. It is crazy how well that ice machine helps to control the pain. I've tried it both ways for Ortho stuff (with it and without it) and it is ridiculous how much better I felt regularly using the ice. Glad you are on the road to recovery!

my wife has been awesome and Johnny on the spot with the ice and meds 👍
 

Tamalewagon

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any of you guys that have had this surgery experience anxiety after you stopped the meds? pretty crazy sensation
 

RichL

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thank you. recovery is going well with the exception of the post op anxiety. i stopped taking the pain meds sat and the anxiety hit me like a brick
I guess I was lucky and didn't experience that effect. Don't know if it makes a difference but knowing myself I made it a point to avoid any "narcotic" version of pain relief. Good luck.
 

Desert Whaler

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. . . . I'll refrain from my frustrations . . when my Dad had his knees replaced & refused pain-meds . . . one physical therapist explained it well . . . words to the effect of, 'We're not trying to relieve the pain so you can feel good, we're doing it so your body can relax and put it's energy into healing and not in to fighting off the pain'

After that he took the pain meds and recovery went like clockwork . . . and he was 85 at the time.

Read that again. :cool:
 

HBCraig

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Day 8 on right cuff repair. Take the pain killers! I anticipate 9 to 12 months recovery. Just met my PT team and am great full for the owners hireing practices… hope they are as good as they look. And a good recliner is key to survival. Also get the nerv block it will help first night and into the next day. If you go with the block start pain meds about 11 pm and stay after for about four days. I now live on Tylenol and ibuprofen. Get an ice machine with good fitting shoulder cuff. This is helping with pain and scaring.
Just rotator cuff or labrum too?
 

Tamalewagon

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. . . . I'll refrain from my frustrations . . when my Dad had his knees replaced & refused pain-meds . . . one physical therapist explained it well . . . words to the effect of, 'We're not trying to relieve the pain so you can feel good, we're doing it so your body can relax and put it's energy into healing and not in to fighting off the pain'

After that he took the pain meds and recovery went like clockwork . . . and he was 85 at the time.

Read that again. :cool:
i'm past the pain thankfully...just hoping someone else has had this experience for some guidance. I spoke to the dr.'s office and their words of wisdom were to "hang tough".
 

havasujeeper

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I'm still going to PT, but after 2 months, I'm really burnt out on it. I told the therapist he has 2 more weeks to fix me, cuz I'm done. 20 minute drive, 15 minutes hot pack, 30 minutes of stretching and rowing, light weights, followed by 20 minutes ice, then a 20 minute ride home.
I think cleaning the pool or painting the house would work better than PT.
 

Tamalewagon

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I'm still going to PT, but after 2 months, I'm really burnt out on it. I told the therapist he has 2 more weeks to fix me, cuz I'm done. 20 minute drive, 15 minutes hot pack, 30 minutes of stretching and rowing, light weights, followed by 20 minutes ice, then a 20 minute ride home.
I think cleaning the pool or painting the house would work better than PT.
how long until you were out of the sling?
 

endobear

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I had some serious anxiety coming off surgeries. Plus before. Worried about being able to take care of my family, my guys (at the time) and my business. I've used my body to make money my entire life. Not in the fun way. It wears on you when you see it changing.... at least it did for me...
 

endobear

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20 years ago I fell from 2 sections of scaffolding on to concrete. Landed on my feet but shattered my heal. Docs said I wouldn't work, snow board or dirt bike again. Id be on pain meds, disability and a handicap placard for the rest of my life. 3 surgeries in 1.5 years and I can still do it all. Not like I used to. But I can still do it.
Got to go back In for a fusion soon but I'm In no hurry .
Between my broke ass foot. Wrecked shoulders and wicked arthritis in my hands im still cruiseing along. For now...
 

Tamalewagon

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20 years ago I fell from 2 sections of scaffolding on to concrete. Landed on my feet but shattered my heal. Docs said I wouldn't work, snow board or dirt bike again. Id be on pain meds, disability and a handicap placard for the rest of my life. 3 surgeries in 1.5 years and I can still do it all. Not like I used to. But I can still do it.
Got to go back In for a fusion soon but I'm In no hurry .
Between my broke ass foot. Wrecked shoulders and wicked arthritis in my hands im still cruiseing along. For now...
i will be ecstatic once i get past the anxiety and insomnia. the fluid in my lungs isn't helping matters much
 

endobear

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My biggest problem recovering was trying to act normalish when I felt decent. You have to give it some time.
Rest when you feel good. try to sleep then.
Walk and move around when you're already hurting...
 

kurtis500

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What they are telling you is spot on usually. The time frames are fairly accurate. I had an ice machine and it felt better than any pain meds. I was addicted to sitting in the recliner and letting it cool the shoulder.
Will you get used to using the other arm while the other shoulder slowly heals. It gets better faster coming up.
Sleeping sucks but you’ll get so tired that your body will sleep anyways. You’re probably already there.
 

Ziggy

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Now your shitslingin' on ol' Lue makes more sense Scotty.😊
Get better soon my friend.😎
 

troostr

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Holy shit, this is all of what I've been told about shoulder surgery. I went 2 weeks ago for an MRI on my right one. Full bursa tear, multiple tears in 3 tendons. I guess that's why I've been waking up from it. Dr here is doing PRP and StemCell injections once a month for 6 months. I got the first one last week. 5cc of shit going into that area wasn't comfortable by any means. She said it wasn't going to be an overnight fix but in 4-5 I should have 80% less pain and 95+ at 7/8 months. I figure I'll give this a go to get me through to fall when that farm slows down. Then if I still need surgery, I'll have the winter to lay low. She said if I'm very careful with it the next few months that the tendons will very likely repair to near 100%, the bursa is a crap shoot. So, we'll see.
 

Tamalewagon

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Ya know what I'm noticing about RDP lately?

When the website was started in 2007, there were tons of posts with stories about activities like OP6C and boating adventures featuring trips through the reeds.

And photos? Pictures of wives and girlfriends showing off pasties and nice butts in thongs. Tables full of good food and iced concoctions, and friends gathered around and having fun.

Now we have threads like this one, with stories of broken down old men, pain meds, and rehab after surgeries. Next thing you know there will be discussions about erectile dysfunction, with inmates debating the efficacy of Cialis versus Viagra.

It's coming.

🤪

I thought about this response a great deal over the past few days (not in a call out way). For the most part, you are correct about the previous posts being all about the boats, babes and booze. Still love to read and look at them. I'd be lying if i didn't say the "good morning" thread wasn't one of my first daily stops. It is. ;) However, this forum is more than that. We all jump to the rescue when one of our own needs the help. This past week has been extremely difficult for me dealing with the withdrawal symptoms of the oxycontin even though I was only on it for 4 days and I found myself in need of your help (RDP community). I have never experienced anxiety attacks (or surgery for that matter) and thanks to several posts of encouragement from a lot of you guys, I'm dealing with it a lot better. For that I thank you.
 

rrrr

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I bitched out on my surgery scheduled for Monday. We are selling our house, and I can't get things in order while wearing a sling and unable to move my arm for months.
 

havasujeeper

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I got some good news finally, after my shoulder surgery on 2/25/22. Went to see the surgeon yesterday and he released me from any further physical therapy and no more doctor's visits. Im about 80% better, but finally released. Good riddance to that PT twice a week.
 

Tamalewagon

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I got some good news finally, after my shoulder surgery on 2/25/22. Went to see the surgeon yesterday and he released me from any further physical therapy and no more doctor's visits. Im about 80% better, but finally released. Good riddance to that PT twice a week.

Congratulations! I start my PT next week. :rolleyes:
 

havasujeeper

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Good luck. Remember, no pain, no gain. My therapist (or maybe I did) pushed hard, maybe too hard in the first few weeks. Especially using the hand pedal bike. It was fine going forward, but when I went backwards, something happened and it caused a 4 week setback.
 

Spudsbud

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Just repeating whats been said.
Do Not miss PT.
Also book your PT appointments early.
Good PTs book up months in advance.
Dont wait till surgery. As soon as date is set, book PT. Ask the Doc or nurses for referrals. Even in the same Clinic, theres always 1 guy to avoid......
I higjly recommend a pain pill 1 hour before PT. Tylenol wont cut it. Trust me.. I know.
 

Tamalewagon

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Just repeating whats been said.
Do Not miss PT.
Also book your PT appointments early.
Good PTs book up months in advance.
Dont wait till surgery. As soon as date is set, book PT. Ask the Doc or nurses for referrals. Even in the same Clinic, theres always 1 guy to avoid......
I higjly recommend a pain pill 1 hour before PT. Tylenol wont cut it. Trust me.. I know.

Thanks for the insight. I have Advil and Tylenol at this point. Not, repeat NOT going back on narcotics again. I'll take the pain.
 
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