Need Rotator Cuff Surgery Advice. Who Has Had The Therapy?

[Ornery]

I was warned that it would hurt, and it does, but I was hoping to enjoy surfing etc. during convalescence.

Now typing with left hand, hunt & peck and it's the pits. Shoulder's throbbing, so it ain't much fun either. I had some replies ready for a couple topics, but just not in the mood at this point...

I told the Doctors that codeine makes me nauseous, so they gave me a Rx for Propoxy-N/APAP generic for Darvocet-N. Sure not buzzed and I can't taste food much.

Dr. said tear wasn't too bad. Operation was only about 50 minutes. It wasn't orthoscopic either, I was completely out! Escaped from the hospital 4 hours after operation. Not supposed to drive for a week! I doubt I'll comply with that.

I'm figuring on being off work for 3-4 weeks. Should be able to get my head together in the mean time. Given enough rest, I may even become less "ornery".

Any suggestions for a better Rx? Damn, I'd love some medical marijuana right about now!

Later,
Ornery

 

[SirFshAlot]

I'm sure there are dealers in your area.

What happened to cause the tear?
Were you suffering before the op?

Best of luck in your recovery.

Gix

 

[ToBeMe]

Hey....good luck bud! I'm here with ya' only mine is a second Back Fusion Surgery! As for the pain Meds......Darvocett is OK......I am suppose to take 6 - 8 a day unless the pain is really bad......then I have Narco..........that stuff cuts it....but puts you in la-la land! Also have valium in case I can't sleep and Vioxx as an anti-inflamitory.........thing is......don't take any more than you need! It can really mess you up! Good Luck!

 

[Athanasius]

Hi Ornery!

I've been wondering how you came through that ever since you started the thread here about your dilemma in deciding whether or not to have the surgery.

Try physical therapy from a therapist you trust and follow the therapy religiously.

From my brother-in-law's experience, you have a fairly tough road ahead of you. But he did get better, and he is far better now then before the surgery was done. However, I think he has given up on rugby.

 

[Ornery]

Tore it in April when a ladder slid out from under me. I grabbed a "shelf" as it went down and yanked it hard. Tried therapy with nil improvement. MRI later showed tear.

I had full range of motion and no pain unless I reinjured it, which was VERY easy to do. I agonized over whether it would be worth having surgery done. Finally decided that it wasn't going to just "fix" itself.

Doctor/Surgeon estimated 6 months to get back to 90%. Oh well, I'll follow up with therapy to the hilt. Doctor sounded very promising as far as prognosis. But it HURTS at the moment. I'm off to find a joint or something. I wonder how much that will cost...

Edit: As you can see, my typing is really slowed!

Good luck ToBeMe. I'm counting my blessings that I didn't have that type of surgery!

Couldn't pull up that topic from the archive Athanasius. It was posted at end of October...

Thanks for all the input then. Helped a lot in making the decision and I went in with eyes open.

 

[kranky]

I also was wondering if you were going ahead with it. Well, now that you've done it, here's hoping for a fast and total recovery!

Don't push it, you could end up right back where you were if you're too aggressive.

 

[ArkAoss]

YEAH recove might be long and hard. my pops recently shattered that ball on the top of the shoulder bone, and they had to screw it all back together, and now its been, WOW, i think 3 months, and he can just barely salute with that arm, or touch his head, they keep tellin him he's gotta work it, and its one of the worst joints to damage, and stuff. but you're probly alot younger, keep working it, he broke his left though, and i think he might never get it all back, the movement if it was his right cause of right handedness, he'd probly work it better and stuff, cause if it isn't the dominant hand, you don't work it as much..

 

[Azraele]

get well soon!

 

[Ornery]

Visited Doc/Surgeon yesterday. Cleaned up the cut and removed staples. All looked good. He said the tear wasn't bad and the damage looked like degenerative fraying of the tendon. He had cleaned that up and said he expects an excellent recovery of the shoulder. But, he said not to use it for four weeks, and that's when therapy would start. In the mean time I'm able to let it hang to the side and typing is allowed. Wow.

I contacted the shop I work at and offered to work on database entry type chores till I can work on a machine again. Still waiting for a reply to that. Not sure how well I'd even do with the typing because I'm getting cramps in my forearm just typing this little bit. I've learned the keyboard shortcuts for browsing, but that's getting old. At least I know I can drive, since I drove to the Doc's office yesterday... no problem.

I put a PC together for my 9 year old son during the weekend. Made it from spare parts we had laying around. It took a while using only my left hand, but I enjoyed doing it. A small challenge I guess. Gotta find something similar to do now. Uh, hard to believe, but boredom is setting in. Never thought I see the day that I'd have too much time on my hand(s)!

Should I try selling Hot Deals items on Flea Bay or something like that? I've got the time to surf and shop for deals. No experience selling, though. Something else to learn I guess. Any other ways I could make myself useful?

 

[SirFshAlot]

Any other ways I could make myself useful?

go to Amazonia and save the rain forest

I think you only need one good arm for that

 

[PG]

Any other ways I could make myself useful?

If you can build a computer with one arm in your spare time I bet you could really help some of the people in the Tech Support forum.

Of course spending more time with your family should be #1 and probably is already.

 

[duragezic]

Ugh, I hope I don't need surgery for my tear in rotator cuff. It's been about a year and it still isn't perfectbut I haven't hurt it yet snowboarding this year . I think it would be REALLY good if the doctor would have had me do some physical therapy stuff after it healed. Because when I first went in he made it sound like it wasn't much. I hurt it on a Thursday and there was a snowboarding trip the next Tuesday so I asked him that I should probably not go right?. He was like "Yeah I would just to be sure. But a week or so after that you could go just take it easy." So I was like cool it may be a month and it will be healed. Ugh well I went snowboarding the rest of the year except took it easy and stuff. But it still hurts now, a year later, if I was to do a "snow angel". Whatever...

 

[SpongeBob]

That sucks that codeine makes you nauseous, no vicodin for you. You might try percocet, i'm not sure if that has codeine in it but it works really well. I've found darvocet/propoxyn to be ineffective really for pain.

 

[Ornery]

Yikes, follow the path of Chico Mendez? He had two good arms and look what happened to him! You won't get rid of me that easy

Good idea PG. I could snag the easy questions and free up the big guys for the tuffies. For sure I'm not getting anything done hanging around OT all day!

Sorry eagle__2, but I don't see any way of getting out of it if there's a tear. The dang MRI is $1,200-$1,500 alone. No idea how much the operation is. Your insurance probably has a per year cap, so maybe now would be a good time to start racking up the bill. Try to get as much done in the one year as possible to keep the cost down on your end.

I'm about done taking any medication if I can help it. I did finally get used to the generic darvocet. Never got a single buzz off of it. When used for pain, it actually does what it's supposed to and no more. My appetite was nil too. That's good when you're just vegging. Now that I've cut down the pill intake, my appetite is back full on. Oh, I'm going to gain some pounds if I don't watch it...

 

[duragezic]

Well I'm 15 so if the insurance doesn't pay it all (think they do though) then parents do.

I had the MRI and there was a small tear. They say they wouldn't do anything unless it didn't get quite a bit better in 6 months. Well after 6 months it was better just still it's WAY better but not perfect. Swimming it's noticeably since your arm makes a wide range of movements but other than that it's okay.

 

[Tiger]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news here Ornery but,

You haven't had pain yet, wait till the rehab starts.
I had shoulder lock up on me from adhesions a few years ago, no surgical fix. The doc told me there were two ways to fix it. He could knock me out and "break it loose" or rehab. I chose rehab.

My God almighty!! Those people love inflicting pain. They were cranking my right arm/shoulder into positions I've never seen before. Think "Deliverance stretch" X 2. The only consolation, other than full range of motion restored, was the fine looking female individual who was doing the cranking.

Good luck!

 

[dawks]

I have a shoulder injury.. Just from bad posture and too much weight lifting.. Lucky me.. Its not too serious yet.. Just need some re-hab to get it back in shape.. No more slouching for me.. And no surgery!

Next the knee.. Ouch.. :|

 

[denali]

<< But, he said not to use it for four weeks >>

that does not sound right to me but I'm no Dr. I had the ball of the shoulder push down onto the humorus, a compression fracture. I started PT within a week and was told the sooner the better to start PT.

 

[Ornery]

Tra-la-la-la-la...

Visited the doc February 27th. It's time for therapy to start, but I have to wait for approval from the BWC. Just biding my time now, but I get cramps easily if I use my hand for anything meticulous, like typing etc. I bet if I could do some stretching exercise, it would relieve it. I called the gals that helped me with therapy before, but they aren't allowed to suggest anything without the Rx.

Anybody know of any quick stretching exercise or have a link to such a thing? I'm trying not to take any drugs. I do have Darvocet if it gets bad, and that does work. I also use an ice pack before bed. If I'd quit aggravating it I'd be all set, but I can't sit still. I'd just like some kind of quick way to relieve it without the drugs or ice. Just something to hold me till therapy starts. Got any tricks?

 

[Soccer55]

I had my rotator cuff operated on and aside from the pain meds and ice, Ibuprofen (Advil) or Naproxen Sodium (Nuprin) are the only things that helped because they are anti-inflammatory medicines. The therapy I went through wasn't too bad, the worst part of it is getting your range of motion back. After that, the therapy isn't too bad. Good luck with your therapy.

-Tom