Rotator Cuff Tear

MaC122

RRP said:

MaC122 said:

so I just got out of surgery today. Nerve block didn't work so I was in pain as soon as they woke me up. They gave me 2 rounds of fentanyl, 2 rounds of dilauid, and 2 percocets and I still have pain. They had to put in 6 anchors into my bone and I doubt ill get any sleep tonight. Thanks for all the advice, you guys are great. Who knew that the BGE forum is a catch all for life events, too!

 I'm impressed! The day and that night that I had surgery I was kept in the hospital heavily sedated! Here you are knowing what all meds you had and able to type all this as well! You da man!!! Good luck from here!

Here is that cooler system that I was given that you were talking about earlier.

Ladeback69

smasch said:

I have been battling a knee replacement since October. After several surgeries and not driving for 4 months and 20 days I'm on the mend. I have been in therapy for ever. It has sucked. BUT the shoulder folks in PT look more miserable than me. Good luck!

Man I thought my hip placement scars were big.  Good to hear you are on the mend.   I had 2 hip replacement 4 months apart and the second one was almost 3 months ago.  I feel great, but now I am worried about my shoulder.   The injection I got is helping and I hope it continues to get better.  This thead has been grown a lot since I started it.

DaveRichardson

@ladeback69 I've been in and part of hundreds and hundreds of RTC repairs, you've got my email if you have any questions.  As far as shoulder replacement goes, if that is the ultimate recommendation of your primary ortho, you need to know how many they have performed.  Total Shoulders are NOT as common as hips and knees.  You need someone who does them regularly.  We maybe had 10 a year and were were considered high volume for our part of Atlanta.

Dude, @smasch, That's more than a normal looking TKA to me.  Did you have to have a realignment procedure as well?  Osteotomy of the bone to straighten it out?  That's a rough one there, buddy!

The Cryocuff from Aircast was invented by a friend of mine who helped get me into egging.  I've got the ankle, knee, and shoulder attachments.  Yes, I am accident prone.  My dad had the Breg unit that was mentioned earlier with his total knees.  Seemed simpler to operate.

 

RRP

smasch said:

I have been battling a knee replacement since October. After several surgeries and not driving for 4 months and 20 days I'm on the mend. I have been in therapy for ever. It has sucked. BUT the shoulder folks in PT look more miserable than me. Good luck!

is that "7S" written on your leg or "5L" upside down?   Thanks - I thank you for your post, but I'm just glad I already ate tonight!

DaveRichardson

I always insisted on taking out the staples that I put in people....  You have no idea how much those things can bite unless you've had them yourself.....  4 back surgeries in high school from football.  I had some evil nurses in those offices!  Empathy goes a long way!

smasch

That is SL. My dr's PA initials. The leg had a TKA then a partial revision due to scar tissue rapidly forming. I heal quick. 43y/o

DaveRichardson

Ouch!  That number is eerily familiar to me; its coming very soon!  I know that TKA's are in my future thanks to high school and college football.

Ladeback69

DaveRichardson said:

Ouch!  That number is eerily familiar to me; its coming very soon!  I know that TKA's are in my future thanks to high school and college football.

Dave, That's where my shoulder problems started over 30 years ago.  They are catching up with me now  I don't know if I want my son to play, the only good thing he shouldn't inherit the arthritis. 

Don_Piero

DaveRichardson said:

Could easily be a cuff tear. The overhead pain is also indicative of impingement of the cuff muscles. Typically it's a bone spur on the end of the clavicle at the top of the shoulder that hangs like a stalactite over the cuff. Every time you move, it rubs and pinches one muscles causing micro trauma. Overtime, the spur and micro trauma get worse. 

Painful activities often include: 
overhead activities
reacing into back pocket
pitting stuff in overhead cabinets
reaching back to grab seatbelt
fastening seatbelt

get it looked at. They will want the X-rays that were done, or they will do their own. Then more than likely, they will do an MRI to evaluate the status of the cuff. 

Then, if the cuff is torn, and arthritis is bad, there will be some decisions to make. 

Can an you get pictures of the shoulder X-rays?  I'll send my email in a PM later on. 

This is what I have on both shoulders. I had shoulder decompression surgery on my right shoulder in October 2013.  They also discovered a slight tear but decided not to repair - the tear was a result of the spur buildup. 

Just waiting for the cortisone to wear off on the left, and will get that done in a year or two.  Can't lift anything to heavy over my head now, but still able to play hockey and golf.

thetrim

smasch said:

I have been battling a knee replacement since October. After several surgeries and not driving for 4 months and 20 days I'm on the mend. I have been in therapy for ever. It has sucked. BUT the shoulder folks in PT look more miserable than me. Good luck!

That looks like a leg replacement scar.  Ouch!

MaC122

post op day 3 update. Pain sucks but its only if I try and move the shoulder. I went to my first physical therapy today and it sucked but it was not that bad. The best part is that I have been sleeping great. I bought some bed wedges from amazon and I prop them up on my couch. I popped some pain pills and Benadryl the first 2 nights and got 8 hours of sleep. They give you a nerve block before surgery that makes your arm useless but this did not take for me. I was shaking hands before the operation and I consider this a blessing. I was hurting bad in the post op room so I knew what to expect when I got home. Everyday seems to get better but the mornings are the worst because your arm is stiff. The sling is the absolute worst and I only wear it to go out or sleep. Ill update later

Ladeback69

MaC122 said:

post op day 3 update. Pain sucks but its only if I try and move the shoulder. I went to my first physical therapy today and it sucked but it was not that bad. The best part is that I have been sleeping great. I bought some bed wedges from amazon and I prop them up on my couch. I popped some pain pills and Benadryl the first 2 nights and got 8 hours of sleep. They give you a nerve block before surgery that makes your arm useless but this did not take for me. I was shaking hands before the operation and I consider this a blessing. I was hurting bad in the post op room so I knew what to expect when I got home. Everyday seems to get better but the mornings are the worst because your arm is stiff. The sling is the absolute worst and I only wear it to go out or sleep. Ill update later

I know what you mean about pain in the morning.   I get about 5 hours of sleep then my right shoulder starts to hurt And wakes me up.  I have to sit up and wait for it to stop, then go back to sleep.   I am doing PT and it helps, but it hurts afterwards.   I keep an eye on your progress,  because I may be there soon and I have been it will be a lot worse then my hip surgeries. 

MaC122

week 2 update. Pain is gone. I cant move my arm worth a **** but therapy is helping. I have been sleeping all night without the sling but I still wake up sore in the morning. cant wait to touch my head

RRP

MaC122 said:

week 2 update. Pain is gone. I cant move my arm worth a **** but therapy is helping. I have been sleeping all night without the sling but I still wake up sore in the morning. cant wait to touch my head

Patience grasshopper...

Glad the pain is gone!

Accept the fact you will never regain the strength you once had in that arm/shoulder! In spite of my daily use of a 5# bar doing 45 lifts in 3 ways I still can not lift a gallon jug of milk out of the refrigerator with THAT one arm. 

DaveRichardson

Yep, cuffs are a PITA!!!  If you can get by with just the decompression (think removing the upside down speed bump that dings the cuff every time you lift the arm) and give the cuff more room, you should be ok. If it's completely torn (arm kinda raised....) then repair is best. Yes, the nerve block is awesome; you don't think so when they are doing it, but that night, it truly is a great thing (and if keeps patients from calling me at 2am!).

All I'll suggest on the blocks is to start taking the pain meds when you get home. Yes, it doesn't hurt now, but it'll hurt like a sum-a-beach the next day when it wears off!!  When the hand starts waking up, TAKE A PILL!!!!

MaC122

RRP said:

MaC122 said:

week 2 update. Pain is gone. I cant move my arm worth a **** but therapy is helping. I have been sleeping all night without the sling but I still wake up sore in the morning. cant wait to touch my head

Patience grasshopper...

Glad the pain is gone!

Accept the fact you will never regain the strength you once had in that arm/shoulder! In spite of my daily use of a 5# bar doing 45 lifts in 3 ways I still can not lift a gallon jug of milk out of the refrigerator with THAT one arm. 

I cant accept that RRP. I will be back 100%. I will push myself

Ladeback69

The pain in my right shoulder is basically good for now.  The cortisone injection and PT is helping a lot.  Most of the time there is no pain, but I had a little this morning after doing mowing the yard with a riding lawn mower and fixing a sump pump, but nothing compared to what it was.  I can almost give a full Touchdown sign now and hope I will not need surgery for a while.  I believe I will at some time though, because there is not a lot of cartilage left in that shoulder.  @MaC122, keep up the progress, but listen to @DaveRichardson, about taking the pain meds.  I took mine for the first 2 weeks after my hip replacement surgery's to sleep and get through PT.  At some point you will need them and don't be tough and not take them.  I now just use Advil.

Jeepster47

@smasch ... with a surgical scar like that, you've just got to go get a tattoo.  Just a small one ... of a zipper pull at the end of the scar.  It would be worth it just to see nurses and docs see it, pause, and try to comprehend. 

DaveRichardson

Jeepster47 said:

@smasch ... with a surgical scar like that, you've just got to go get a tattoo.  Just a small one ... of a zipper pull at the end of the scar.  It would be worth it just to see nurses and docs see it, pause, and try to comprehend. 

I've had patients do that!  It is awesome!

Jeepster47

DaveRichardson said:

Jeepster47 said:

@smasch ... with a surgical scar like that, you've just got to go get a tattoo.  Just a small one ... of a zipper pull at the end of the scar.  It would be worth it just to see nurses and docs see it, pause, and try to comprehend. 

I've had patients do that!  It is awesome!

@DaveRichardson ... Thanks ... you just made my day ... now I know there are other folks out there with a weird sense of humor.

DaveRichardson

From grannies with piercings and inappropriate tattoos....  I have seen it all!

Its a sick world, I'm a happy guy!

Ladeback69

DaveRichardson said:

Jeepster47 said:

@smasch ... with a surgical scar like that, you've just got to go get a tattoo.  Just a small one ... of a zipper pull at the end of the scar.  It would be worth it just to see nurses and docs see it, pause, and try to comprehend. 

I've had patients do that!  It is awesome!

I guess I ought to do that on both sides of my cheeks with my scar or train near them, but not on it, that may hurt to much.

DaveRichardson

Had to call some old patients and asked them to send their scar tattoos....

MaC122

I was getting too used to the Percocet. The doc told me to take 2 every 4 hours...basically 12 a day. Man it sucked coming off them. My stomach hurt and I had the poops...haha...narcs suck!! I am pain free now and I am not using any drugs.

DaveRichardson

At least you could poop.  At that amount of oxycodone, I'm surprised you weren't clogged up tighter than some on those guys in the BGE Facebook groups!

MaC122

almost a 1 month update. I can touch my head! Its amazing how muscle you lose if you don't use it. The good thing is there is no pain and there has not been any pain for 2 weeks. No pain pills at all