tossthepickle
12-31-2008, 12:51 AM
I had rotator cuff surgery a little over 5 years ago and I am now in the seat to have it done again. I have a consultation on the 7th to possibly set a date after I ask the doctor a few questions.
Here is my question to you guys:
This will be my second surgery on the same shoulder. Has anyone had this done before and if so, what are the chances the problems I have re ocurring?
Currently I have a partially torn rotator cuff, fluid in my shoulder, tendonitis and arthritis. I have pretty decent range of motion in it but I am tired of the constant pain. It wakes me up in the middle of the night and I get dull to severe aches in it through out the day. If I move my arm in certain ways I get a sharp shooting pain and poping in my shoulder. Sometimes the pain shoots down the top of my forearm into my wrist..... UGH
I prefer to take ibuprofren as it is not habit forming but they just aren't cutting it for me. I have gotten prescriptions for pain medicine in the past but am afraid (nor can I afford to keep going to the doctor) to keep asking for them w/o asking for a permanant cure.
So, if anyone has had multiple surgeries on the same shoulder or had the same symptons please give me some advise!
Thank you
Here is my question to you guys:
This will be my second surgery on the same shoulder. Has anyone had this done before and if so, what are the chances the problems I have re ocurring?
Currently I have a partially torn rotator cuff, fluid in my shoulder, tendonitis and arthritis. I have pretty decent range of motion in it but I am tired of the constant pain. It wakes me up in the middle of the night and I get dull to severe aches in it through out the day. If I move my arm in certain ways I get a sharp shooting pain and poping in my shoulder. Sometimes the pain shoots down the top of my forearm into my wrist..... UGH
I prefer to take ibuprofren as it is not habit forming but they just aren't cutting it for me. I have gotten prescriptions for pain medicine in the past but am afraid (nor can I afford to keep going to the doctor) to keep asking for them w/o asking for a permanant cure.
So, if anyone has had multiple surgeries on the same shoulder or had the same symptons please give me some advise!
Thank you
Sponsor
feelbad
12-31-2008, 11:23 AM
just what exactly was fixed the last time you had the rotator repair done,the very same area or something else? its just kind of odd to have that very same area tear twice after repair,thats all. unless you were doing the very same things that tore that tendon to begin with,i really have never heard of anyone having to go thru that repair hell twice. i went thru this last feb myself(it was by far one of the most extremely painful surgeries/post op i have ever had,and that is six surgeries). i needed about five different things fixed or cleared out. i tore my supraspinatus completley and partially tore that tendon that runs under it?
so i am assuming you already had the MRI if you actually know about the tears then? did you go thru the very comprehensive hands on part of your PT the last time? this was REALLY needed in order for me to just get back all my ROMS. without it,i know i would not be doing as well as i am now with good ROM back again. just knowing whether or not this is the very same tendon you tore last time would help. what does your ortho have to say about this current situation? FB
so i am assuming you already had the MRI if you actually know about the tears then? did you go thru the very comprehensive hands on part of your PT the last time? this was REALLY needed in order for me to just get back all my ROMS. without it,i know i would not be doing as well as i am now with good ROM back again. just knowing whether or not this is the very same tendon you tore last time would help. what does your ortho have to say about this current situation? FB
monkey5
01-02-2009, 12:22 AM
tossthepickle, i can sorta relate. I feel for you. I had shoulder surgery about seven years ago for bursitis and bone spurs and i was great until March of 08 when i fell on my left side and i could not move my arm out to the side and went to the ER and had exrays only for them to say nothing severe. I happened to get into a Rheumatologist shortly before who gave me steriod injections to get rid of pain for a long time. Well about a months ago or so i lifted what o thought was not a very heavy box and ever since it has gone down hill to the point of not being able to lift my arm at all and getting the shooting pains to my elbow. I got into my dr. just this week and she said i don't know what you did but it seems to be your cuff and it;s freezing up so i'm scheduled for a shoulder MRI on the 6th ugh. I have already been warned before replying that it hurts like he^^ to have the surgery if needed. Do they neccessarily do surgery or only if they find a tear? I am struggling with the fact thinking they should have done the MRI that day and if it would have changes anything now! Talk soon
Monkey
Monkey
tossthepickle
01-02-2009, 01:27 AM
Feelbad:
The first time I tore my rotator cuff it was only a partial tear. It was located along the front portion. My dr. says alot of my symptoms as a result of the first surgery ie. the fluid in my shoulder, tendonitis and arthritis. Currently the back half of my rotator cuff is torn. Yes I have had both MRI and x ray's. Before my dr. showed me the pictures he asked where it hurt. Ironically at the time I was getting sharp pains in the front of my shoulder again. Where I pointed was where my dr. seen what he called an "abnormality". This was a dark spot he couldn't tell what it was but was guessing it was from my first surgey.
All this leads me to Monkey5:
Yes the surgery is painfull and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Every time you breath that shoulder moves and hurts. However, I was talking w/ a friend of mines husband who recently had rotator cuff surgery and was told about what he called a "C Block". This basically was a nerve blocker that numbed his whole arm and almost all the pain and made it alot easier on him so it is reassuring to know that strides are being made.
A joint response for both of you would be NO, I did not complete my PT. I am a very upset w/ my self about this as most of my problems now could have been avoided more than likely. I can promise you this.... No matter how strong I feel I WILL complete PT this time.
The first time I tore my rotator cuff it was only a partial tear. It was located along the front portion. My dr. says alot of my symptoms as a result of the first surgery ie. the fluid in my shoulder, tendonitis and arthritis. Currently the back half of my rotator cuff is torn. Yes I have had both MRI and x ray's. Before my dr. showed me the pictures he asked where it hurt. Ironically at the time I was getting sharp pains in the front of my shoulder again. Where I pointed was where my dr. seen what he called an "abnormality". This was a dark spot he couldn't tell what it was but was guessing it was from my first surgey.
All this leads me to Monkey5:
Yes the surgery is painfull and I wouldn't wish it on anyone. Every time you breath that shoulder moves and hurts. However, I was talking w/ a friend of mines husband who recently had rotator cuff surgery and was told about what he called a "C Block". This basically was a nerve blocker that numbed his whole arm and almost all the pain and made it alot easier on him so it is reassuring to know that strides are being made.
A joint response for both of you would be NO, I did not complete my PT. I am a very upset w/ my self about this as most of my problems now could have been avoided more than likely. I can promise you this.... No matter how strong I feel I WILL complete PT this time.
feelbad
01-02-2009, 11:26 AM
god i soo feel for both of you. that PT REALLY was the most crucial part for me or i KNOW i would not be able to have gotten ROMS back like i have right now. it has been many many months actally just becasue i have some other pretty severe medical issues going on too. my PT does myofascial release and another therpy called craniosacral therepy too. these two therepies really were key for me and still are just to maintain mobility. its kind of a long road back with this particular surgery since the rotator cuff area/joint is the biggest most mobile and pretty complex joint we have in our bodies. soo many tendons and other stuff in there that can become worn out or injured and boy do you feel it then. i still have some residual bone pain from mine kind of in that bicep area that is just kind of there? luckily mytherepist is really amazing and has helped mein ALOT of ways with the alot of my crap.
ya know,my rotator surgery was actually done 'awake"?since i had some spontaneously firing jaw pain going on from the nerve damage i have from spinalcord injury,the anesthesiologist did not want to even try and intubate me as he said he could casue things to become much worse if he accidently hit something in my mouth. so they did that full scalene block(it goes right from the side of the neck on that surgical side and down from there,dead wieght is what you feel once it kicks in) instead and loaded me up with fent and versed and it went great for me actually. that full scalene bock just is very solid blocking that you feel absolutely nothing when its done(i just dozed off and slept thru my surgery). you also feel sooo much better post op and not groggy or with that sore throat from that tube you normally have? i didn't have to spend any time in the post op recovery area either,just took me right up to my room. i had to stay in hosp for pain control just becasue i AM a mess.
the anesthesiologist can be your very best friend in the surgical post op dept too. like you mentioned THP,you can have continuous anesthesia directed right into that area with a little bit of tubing they would place in there while they do the surgery. it just keeps everything numb for a much longer period of time. one huge thing that really helped me tons and another woman here who just happened to be going thru this at the very same time is that continuous passive motion(CPM) chair? this is where you just strap your arm onto the handle thingy in front while you sit in this chair(they do deliver this thing to your home to use daily)and it moves your joint for you without using ANY tendon or muscle at all(you also do those wonderful pendulem excercises too). it helps tons in geting that joint moving as soon as possible,but very very slowly. you just spend a few half hour sessions per day in it during the like,first fifteen days or something? i cannot remeber for certain,you just have to meet a certain degree level,then you can call them to pick up that chair. that is right around when you would start the hands on PT with a good therepist from there. it helps alot tho and i would highly recommend this to anyone who is going to be having any level of rotator repair done. it just helps that much in getting things going again in that very important joint. just some helpful suggestions for you.
monkey, you may not actually have a frozen area per se inthe real sense of what an actual "frozen' joint actually is. you probably have a full tear in that supraspinatus tendon and that alone would keep you from just being able to lift up anything past a certain point. that is exactly where i was at before my surgery too. i didn't realize just how bad the wear and tear damage actually was in my rotator and that joint area til my MRI was done. an x ray by the way will not actually show anything BUT bone and not the tendon or muscle where the damage actually is located. you NEED that MRI done to see that. glad they have that ordered for you. that will give you solid info. what actually casued that last of my tendon to tear was very simple actually. i just went to lift up my purse from the top of my fridge one morning and in mid 'pull' it just stopped and i felt this horrid pain in my arm and along the clavicle area? really ugly there for a while. i went to my primary and could not run thru the ROMS like i should have so he sent me for that MRI. i had no clue it was that bad til that film showed it. so that "freezing up" thing could just possibly be the level of tendon damage alone too. when the tendons are torn,they don't adduct or abduct correctly anymore since there is not connection anymore,ya know what i mean? you will just have to wait and see what shows up inthat MRI. hopefully its notthat bad and be repaired without being too overly invasive. in some cases,they can do it all with just a totally arthoscopic approach and not a bigger incision like i have. but despite the post op crap,i am really really glad i did it. its just one thing you have to simply deal with and get thru to just have that shoulder feel better and become more useful again,ya know? my pain levels pre op were really bad some days compared to what i have now.
i wish you both luck and please keep me posted as to how things are going. and DO ask your surgeons about using that CPM chair,it REALLY makes a huge difference in alot of ways,even the pain. FB
ya know,my rotator surgery was actually done 'awake"?since i had some spontaneously firing jaw pain going on from the nerve damage i have from spinalcord injury,the anesthesiologist did not want to even try and intubate me as he said he could casue things to become much worse if he accidently hit something in my mouth. so they did that full scalene block(it goes right from the side of the neck on that surgical side and down from there,dead wieght is what you feel once it kicks in) instead and loaded me up with fent and versed and it went great for me actually. that full scalene bock just is very solid blocking that you feel absolutely nothing when its done(i just dozed off and slept thru my surgery). you also feel sooo much better post op and not groggy or with that sore throat from that tube you normally have? i didn't have to spend any time in the post op recovery area either,just took me right up to my room. i had to stay in hosp for pain control just becasue i AM a mess.
the anesthesiologist can be your very best friend in the surgical post op dept too. like you mentioned THP,you can have continuous anesthesia directed right into that area with a little bit of tubing they would place in there while they do the surgery. it just keeps everything numb for a much longer period of time. one huge thing that really helped me tons and another woman here who just happened to be going thru this at the very same time is that continuous passive motion(CPM) chair? this is where you just strap your arm onto the handle thingy in front while you sit in this chair(they do deliver this thing to your home to use daily)and it moves your joint for you without using ANY tendon or muscle at all(you also do those wonderful pendulem excercises too). it helps tons in geting that joint moving as soon as possible,but very very slowly. you just spend a few half hour sessions per day in it during the like,first fifteen days or something? i cannot remeber for certain,you just have to meet a certain degree level,then you can call them to pick up that chair. that is right around when you would start the hands on PT with a good therepist from there. it helps alot tho and i would highly recommend this to anyone who is going to be having any level of rotator repair done. it just helps that much in getting things going again in that very important joint. just some helpful suggestions for you.
monkey, you may not actually have a frozen area per se inthe real sense of what an actual "frozen' joint actually is. you probably have a full tear in that supraspinatus tendon and that alone would keep you from just being able to lift up anything past a certain point. that is exactly where i was at before my surgery too. i didn't realize just how bad the wear and tear damage actually was in my rotator and that joint area til my MRI was done. an x ray by the way will not actually show anything BUT bone and not the tendon or muscle where the damage actually is located. you NEED that MRI done to see that. glad they have that ordered for you. that will give you solid info. what actually casued that last of my tendon to tear was very simple actually. i just went to lift up my purse from the top of my fridge one morning and in mid 'pull' it just stopped and i felt this horrid pain in my arm and along the clavicle area? really ugly there for a while. i went to my primary and could not run thru the ROMS like i should have so he sent me for that MRI. i had no clue it was that bad til that film showed it. so that "freezing up" thing could just possibly be the level of tendon damage alone too. when the tendons are torn,they don't adduct or abduct correctly anymore since there is not connection anymore,ya know what i mean? you will just have to wait and see what shows up inthat MRI. hopefully its notthat bad and be repaired without being too overly invasive. in some cases,they can do it all with just a totally arthoscopic approach and not a bigger incision like i have. but despite the post op crap,i am really really glad i did it. its just one thing you have to simply deal with and get thru to just have that shoulder feel better and become more useful again,ya know? my pain levels pre op were really bad some days compared to what i have now.
i wish you both luck and please keep me posted as to how things are going. and DO ask your surgeons about using that CPM chair,it REALLY makes a huge difference in alot of ways,even the pain. FB
monkey5
01-02-2009, 07:36 PM
FB, thaks for the info. I really think yes that the initial issue started when i fell and it just topped things off when i lifted that box and then i was supposed to try pt and was warned it will get worse if i didn't, can't remember if this was before or after lifting the box but then i moved at a bad time and i have five boys and thier alot of work in itself so i planned on going back but needed another referral and all this got worse fast so kinda my fault but not. So if there is a full tear will the surgery be the option in normal protocals? Or will they try injectios maybe? I would rather start with the injections although not pretty they never helped the first time but that was only done by regular md not ortho and when they didn't help once they poroceded with the surgery. What stinks about the whole thing is it being my left shoulder and i am a lefty. Today it even hurt to take a shower, first for this but just the water coming down brought agony ugh.
Talk soon, take care, monkey
Talk soon, take care, monkey
feelbad
01-03-2009, 11:46 AM
if you actually have a complete tear,surgery would be pretty much your only option since that tendon simply would not be working for you at all til it gets reattached to itself again. once it gets reattached,then you slowly start to work it back into shape after a certain period of time has passed. but every,even seemingly small type of excercise they have you do post op is very crucial and needed just to try and fully rehab that shoulder and get it back to the normal ROMS. i have had to have four surgeries,on my c spine and my knee, and that shoulder but nothing compared to the PT that was simply NEEDED with this particular surgery. it just has to be done and followed up on with shoulder surgery or you risk that freeze up. my spinal cord surgery was a whole different world with that rehab so i am not even including that one with the others.
i only had two boys to deal with years ago,i can only imagine how it is with yours,wow. my right arm was the one that i needed the repairs on,which was my dominant arm. it just takes some getting used to but you can get thru it okay. you just learn very quickly how to do with the opposite arm for awhile,and mine had spinal cord damage done to my left hand so the fine motor functions are lost(hence this great typing i do here?)believe me,if i can do this,you can do this too. hopefully you haven't completely tore that tendon. you will just have to wait and see what your MRI comes out to be. getting any type of injections with a complete tear,unfortuently wont "do' anything for you at that point. please keep me posted as to what you find out monkey,and good luck, FB
i only had two boys to deal with years ago,i can only imagine how it is with yours,wow. my right arm was the one that i needed the repairs on,which was my dominant arm. it just takes some getting used to but you can get thru it okay. you just learn very quickly how to do with the opposite arm for awhile,and mine had spinal cord damage done to my left hand so the fine motor functions are lost(hence this great typing i do here?)believe me,if i can do this,you can do this too. hopefully you haven't completely tore that tendon. you will just have to wait and see what your MRI comes out to be. getting any type of injections with a complete tear,unfortuently wont "do' anything for you at that point. please keep me posted as to what you find out monkey,and good luck, FB
monkey5
01-04-2009, 02:30 PM
fb, thanks for the reply! Everyone has been stressing how crucial the pt is if i have surgery. The only thing i don't understand is that when i had shoulder surgery years ago for bursitis and bone spurs the dr. said for that i did not need any pt folowing with the procedure i had but have been considered mild. The owrst past of all this is the kids and everyone acting like i'm a big baby and i take myself to be tuff cookie but this sh^^ hurts and to add to it i am compensating for this one making the opposite side sore. It seems when i get over one hurdle theres another, and it seems as though i don't need to tell you that! Take care and thanks a bunch for the support!
monkey
monkey
feelbad
01-05-2009, 11:47 AM
believe me,i KNOW how you are feeling. i also had some over compensation issues with using my left arm in place of my right like over and over again. it really got bad there for awhile. i do think just about everyone who has a shoulder injury,also deals with a bit more over exertion and pain from overuse of the so called 'good" arm? my biggest problem other than dealing with a hand that didn't want to work right,was i also have definite damage to the left rotator in some shape or form,just from the jobs i did. i know its there but right now,could not handle having to deal with yet one more surgery.
if anyone around you thinks this type of injury and any surgery for it is a nothing,have them read up on the pain levels of shoulder surgery/injuries. mine and another poster named sammy both had our shoulder surgeries done right at the same time and we did chat back and forth about everything,including the pain. it was back in march of last year? you could look those posts up i believe they got on the general health boards? if you just put in CPM chair into the serach area for THAT particular board itself,you would more than likely hit on them much quicker that way. we both used that chair post op and it did help tons. believe me,you are not a wimp,this crap does hurt like a witch.
the thing about PT is years ago,they wanted for some crazy reason,for people to NOT use the operated on body part,like knees or shoulders. don't know why but this was how it was back then. my sister had a knee surgery like fifteen years ago and they kept telling her to stay off of it for quite a few weeks. by the time they got her to any PT,it was froze up horribly bad. now,these days,that same surgery they have you up and on it in the very same day. quite a big difference there. getting things fully in to use when its okay to do so as soon as possible really helps stop that freeze up and also retains ROMS much better and brings back others much more quickly(they learned alot over the years about how crucial PT is). both my and sammy orthos had us doing things like the excercises from the very next day on,along with that chair that i started on two days post op. not getting PT was your docs fault if he told you not to so don;t blame yourself for that one. you just need to make sure to do everything that your ortho tells you to this time around,now they know.
i do hope things are not too bad once they get that MRI done. please keep me posted monkey. FB
if anyone around you thinks this type of injury and any surgery for it is a nothing,have them read up on the pain levels of shoulder surgery/injuries. mine and another poster named sammy both had our shoulder surgeries done right at the same time and we did chat back and forth about everything,including the pain. it was back in march of last year? you could look those posts up i believe they got on the general health boards? if you just put in CPM chair into the serach area for THAT particular board itself,you would more than likely hit on them much quicker that way. we both used that chair post op and it did help tons. believe me,you are not a wimp,this crap does hurt like a witch.
the thing about PT is years ago,they wanted for some crazy reason,for people to NOT use the operated on body part,like knees or shoulders. don't know why but this was how it was back then. my sister had a knee surgery like fifteen years ago and they kept telling her to stay off of it for quite a few weeks. by the time they got her to any PT,it was froze up horribly bad. now,these days,that same surgery they have you up and on it in the very same day. quite a big difference there. getting things fully in to use when its okay to do so as soon as possible really helps stop that freeze up and also retains ROMS much better and brings back others much more quickly(they learned alot over the years about how crucial PT is). both my and sammy orthos had us doing things like the excercises from the very next day on,along with that chair that i started on two days post op. not getting PT was your docs fault if he told you not to so don;t blame yourself for that one. you just need to make sure to do everything that your ortho tells you to this time around,now they know.
i do hope things are not too bad once they get that MRI done. please keep me posted monkey. FB
Marko1
01-14-2009, 03:58 AM
I had what your talking about on my first shoulder surgery(massive tear in rotator cuff & disconected teondon) They called it ab Blocker ball,a wire was stuck in my neck in the front and went to this ball little bigger than a softball numb my arm and shoulder,bad news was it only lasted 40hrs then was hell on wheels after that. going back for the second surgery 1/16/09 benn a year since the first one(and am not looking forward to it)have very little pain now but MRI showed the dreaded anomilty was off 7and1/2 months the first time they also removed 1/8 inch off the bone that runs across the shoulder and removed the buris. will be able to tell you about the second go around soon good luck!!! Marko1
tossthepickle
01-14-2009, 04:02 AM
Marko1, good luck my friend! I feel for you and please let me know how it goes. I was supposed to go last Wed. to see my dr. and schedule my second but he had an emergency surgery come up and rescheduled me for tomorrow. Hopefully I will be able to set a date for mine and know when I can have this done with!
Like I said, keep me up to date and good luck!
Like I said, keep me up to date and good luck!
Marko1
01-14-2009, 04:08 AM
sure will I go in fri 7:00am after that don't know but will reply asap
Marko1
01-15-2009, 01:18 AM
I had a massive tear rotar cuff and a disconnected tendon.that was 10 mnths ago. I go on 1/16/09 for the second surgery. they told me there was a 25% chance that the ends of the muscle did not heal and I have a lot of scare tissue was off from work 7 1/2 months on the first one,expect the same on the second.
jenj770
01-15-2009, 08:37 AM
Would cortisone injections help now? I have spurs on my shoulders, not tears ... yet! I had 2 cortisone shots in one shoulder and it improved my pain and range of motion by 80%. I was supposed to have surgery but am now going to wait to see if I can live with this level of wellness.
Marko1
01-15-2009, 03:37 PM
the bone spur was what tore my rotar cuff, If you have bone spurs removed before it tears a muscle. tore mine and disconnected a tendon( Belive when I say you don't want that.it's been 10 months since I did that and I go back in the morning for the second surgery
monkey5
01-15-2009, 08:43 PM
Udate. I when in today to find out results and no tear yeah! But i do have bursitis again and freezing up shoulder. I have to see my pain Dr. and see if he will give me injection and start pt again, i hate that part ugh. If that doesn't work then i have to talk to the surgeon. Take care and good luck on the surgery tommorrow mark.
Monkey
Monkey
tossthepickle
01-16-2009, 01:22 AM
Well, it is after midnight so I would like to wish you well today Marko1!
Monkey, congrats on the outcome and no tear! It is however, unfortunate about the frozen shoulder and bursitis.... Good luck and I hope the PT works for you this time! Keep us updated!
I had my appointment yesterday afternoon. I scheduled my surgery for 6 am on the 2nd of Feb. More importantly I would like to share the results of my MRI and xray results. Now, these are not the layman terms but the actual results in doctor terms. If you don't understand, I apologize and will do my best to translate....
X-RAY:
Two radiodensities as described which may represent enostoses/bone islands vs. intra-articular loose bodies.
The way my doctor described this was calcium deposits and or possibly bone chips.
MRI:
The tendons of the rotator cuff are intact, but there is some diffuse increased signal noted with in the distal supraspinatus tendon. This is felt to be most consistent with either an incomplete undersurface tear and/or tendonitis.
There is some irregulerity noted involving the superior margin of the anterior glanoid labrum. Possibilities include prominent middle glenohumeral ligament in an otherwise normal situation, or the possibility of a recent or remote tearinvolving the anterosuperiorglenoid labrum.
MRI Conclusion:
1. There are findings consistent with either an incomplete inferior surface tear versus tendonitis of the supraspinatus tendon.
2. Small shoulder joint effusion.
3. There is an abnormal appearance involving the anterior glenoid labrum superiorly.
I don't know what all the mumbo jumbo means.... It translates into pain for me but the way he described it I had a tear in my rotator cuff but wasn't sure if it had gone all the way through or if it was just a tear in the rotator cuff tendon.
Either way, this post was origionally to get some opinions on wether or not I should have a second surgery on the same shoulder and the responses I had gotten were very vague due to not knowing what the specifics were. I hope what I have posted above helps! I do have the surgery scheduled and at this point it would take an act of congress to get me to not have the surgery but I would still appreciate the feed back.
Thank you
Monkey, congrats on the outcome and no tear! It is however, unfortunate about the frozen shoulder and bursitis.... Good luck and I hope the PT works for you this time! Keep us updated!
I had my appointment yesterday afternoon. I scheduled my surgery for 6 am on the 2nd of Feb. More importantly I would like to share the results of my MRI and xray results. Now, these are not the layman terms but the actual results in doctor terms. If you don't understand, I apologize and will do my best to translate....
X-RAY:
Two radiodensities as described which may represent enostoses/bone islands vs. intra-articular loose bodies.
The way my doctor described this was calcium deposits and or possibly bone chips.
MRI:
The tendons of the rotator cuff are intact, but there is some diffuse increased signal noted with in the distal supraspinatus tendon. This is felt to be most consistent with either an incomplete undersurface tear and/or tendonitis.
There is some irregulerity noted involving the superior margin of the anterior glanoid labrum. Possibilities include prominent middle glenohumeral ligament in an otherwise normal situation, or the possibility of a recent or remote tearinvolving the anterosuperiorglenoid labrum.
MRI Conclusion:
1. There are findings consistent with either an incomplete inferior surface tear versus tendonitis of the supraspinatus tendon.
2. Small shoulder joint effusion.
3. There is an abnormal appearance involving the anterior glenoid labrum superiorly.
I don't know what all the mumbo jumbo means.... It translates into pain for me but the way he described it I had a tear in my rotator cuff but wasn't sure if it had gone all the way through or if it was just a tear in the rotator cuff tendon.
Either way, this post was origionally to get some opinions on wether or not I should have a second surgery on the same shoulder and the responses I had gotten were very vague due to not knowing what the specifics were. I hope what I have posted above helps! I do have the surgery scheduled and at this point it would take an act of congress to get me to not have the surgery but I would still appreciate the feed back.
Thank you
feelbad
01-16-2009, 12:31 PM
so,are they planning an arthoscpic then? this would probably be the best way to really know for certain what IS actually going on in there,and then fix it. even with the MRI,the findings themselves really seem rather vaugue too,you know what i mean? alot of "possibles" in there. just having the arthro is not as bad as having a deep incision with more truama to the shoulder and alot more post op pain(i had both deep incision and artho too). mine did suck doing it that way,but i had a complete tear of one tendon(supraspinatus) and a partial of the one directly beneath it too. he also had to do alot of "clean up' crap too. just what did your ortho say about the findings and what HE feels he needs to do with this? FB
tossthepickle
01-16-2009, 11:00 PM
Yes, they are going in ortho and exploring. If it is torn completely through he will then make a full incisioin but if it isn't then he will correct everything through the scope.
All the uncertanties is what is scraing me. I just hope it all goes smoothly. It's so scary because this is the second surgery on the same shoulder.
All the uncertanties is what is scraing me. I just hope it all goes smoothly. It's so scary because this is the second surgery on the same shoulder.
Marko1
01-18-2009, 04:24 PM
hey Im back 2 days out of surgery felt like crap first 2 days lots of pain and fever and a headachefor 2 days but getting better by the hour got 12 staples in my shoulder they put a patch on the work they did in the first surgery and had a tear in another muscle they said this would be the last surgery(and i agreed 100%) now just set back and let her heal be good to go in about 6 months
monkey5
01-18-2009, 06:10 PM
Glad you made it through this, i know it is hard, take care and be careful and rest.
monkey
monkey
tossthepickle
01-20-2009, 03:06 PM
I have already posted a blog about having surgery on my left shoulder for the 2nd time. Here is my delima....
My company is in the process of being purchased by another. Due to this they will not allow me to use my vacation days as I have not "earned" them. Supposedly the poilcy states that We earn 1.5 vaction days per month. Prior to this we were allowed to take our vaction days when we pleased earned or not. So........ Can anyone give me an apporximate recovery time for rotator cuff surgery. I remember for the first one I was out for a week at least b/c I was layed up on my couch with a dilaudid drip however I can't remember how much longer I was out.
Although I can't take most of my vacation days I do have quite a few sick days I can take. I just want to make sure I can get by without getting doced my pay.
As for my employment, I am an assistant manager for a wireless company and my job could be preformed using only 1 hand. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
My company is in the process of being purchased by another. Due to this they will not allow me to use my vacation days as I have not "earned" them. Supposedly the poilcy states that We earn 1.5 vaction days per month. Prior to this we were allowed to take our vaction days when we pleased earned or not. So........ Can anyone give me an apporximate recovery time for rotator cuff surgery. I remember for the first one I was out for a week at least b/c I was layed up on my couch with a dilaudid drip however I can't remember how much longer I was out.
Although I can't take most of my vacation days I do have quite a few sick days I can take. I just want to make sure I can get by without getting doced my pay.
As for my employment, I am an assistant manager for a wireless company and my job could be preformed using only 1 hand. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
tossthepickle
01-20-2009, 10:22 PM
Great to hear it went well...... Good luck Marko
Marko1
01-20-2009, 11:45 PM
Great to hear it went well...... Good luck Marko
went well might be pushing it some lets just say it went and is over
on the other hand I have a suggestion for you,DON'T RUSH THIS if you need 2 months take 2months. My first was 7 1/2 months and I didn't do right ,I got to feeling better and was off work and went fishing. Also finish the p/t that will give back ROM back plus strength. good luck TTP Marko1
1 of the reasons I was off for so long I drive doubles and had to have alot of strenght back took hookem up, if I had done it right might not have needed the second surgery
went well might be pushing it some lets just say it went and is over
on the other hand I have a suggestion for you,DON'T RUSH THIS if you need 2 months take 2months. My first was 7 1/2 months and I didn't do right ,I got to feeling better and was off work and went fishing. Also finish the p/t that will give back ROM back plus strength. good luck TTP Marko1
1 of the reasons I was off for so long I drive doubles and had to have alot of strenght back took hookem up, if I had done it right might not have needed the second surgery
tossthepickle
01-22-2009, 01:23 AM
Yea, I have already discussed this in detail with my doctor and PT is going to be my main focus. I am going to complete it this time and place 100% in PT.....
Today I hit a snag though and may not be able to go through with my surgery after all. I am an assistant manager for a wireless company so physically my job is not that stressful. I had planned on taking vacation days and stratigeclly using my days off to maximize the amount of paid time off I could get. Well, our company is in the process of being purchased. In its self this is not a bad thing s it will open up more opportunity BUT because of this they are now going to enforce the vacation poilcy which states that I only get one sick day per month worked with the exception of November and December. That being as it is, by the time I have my surgery I will have only accumulated 1 vaacation day! Bummer......
Fortunately my Area Director is working to make an exception to the rules for me.
Hope the healing goes well. Please keep me up to date as to your recovery. I would like to know the little details like, how long you were bed ridden and how long before you were able to get up and move about w/o excurtiating pain!
Today I hit a snag though and may not be able to go through with my surgery after all. I am an assistant manager for a wireless company so physically my job is not that stressful. I had planned on taking vacation days and stratigeclly using my days off to maximize the amount of paid time off I could get. Well, our company is in the process of being purchased. In its self this is not a bad thing s it will open up more opportunity BUT because of this they are now going to enforce the vacation poilcy which states that I only get one sick day per month worked with the exception of November and December. That being as it is, by the time I have my surgery I will have only accumulated 1 vaacation day! Bummer......
Fortunately my Area Director is working to make an exception to the rules for me.
Hope the healing goes well. Please keep me up to date as to your recovery. I would like to know the little details like, how long you were bed ridden and how long before you were able to get up and move about w/o excurtiating pain!
Marko1
01-22-2009, 02:58 AM
5 Days out of surgery
I go back 1/28 to get staples removed. not much pain today was bad yesterday. still sleeping in recliner. about 2hrs at a time, give or take
you will need a comfortable chair, first few days you won't want to move
after 48 hrs you can shower(yea).get your favorite soup, i moved chair in computer room where i have 2 computers and a tv and vcr/dvd got my cellphone plugged in. my wife has probaly a 1000 movies on DVD.The more planning you do now helps out the person you have helping you for the first few days. you have never said if you are married or not hope you are, my wife helps out in the shower washing right side ,back ,and hair you said you worked for a wireless comp. my wife works for verizion. she puts up with that all day then comes home and puts up with me and belive after this you can be a handful. if there's no hurry and you can deal with the pain wait untill you can put in the time for a full recovery(that was my mistake and had to do it again, dumb) keep me posted and question's will try to help.........
Marko1
I go back 1/28 to get staples removed. not much pain today was bad yesterday. still sleeping in recliner. about 2hrs at a time, give or take
you will need a comfortable chair, first few days you won't want to move
after 48 hrs you can shower(yea).get your favorite soup, i moved chair in computer room where i have 2 computers and a tv and vcr/dvd got my cellphone plugged in. my wife has probaly a 1000 movies on DVD.The more planning you do now helps out the person you have helping you for the first few days. you have never said if you are married or not hope you are, my wife helps out in the shower washing right side ,back ,and hair you said you worked for a wireless comp. my wife works for verizion. she puts up with that all day then comes home and puts up with me and belive after this you can be a handful. if there's no hurry and you can deal with the pain wait untill you can put in the time for a full recovery(that was my mistake and had to do it again, dumb) keep me posted and question's will try to help.........
Marko1
Marko1
01-30-2009, 01:29 AM
about 12 days out of surgery ,staples are gone ,talked dr. bad news is recovery time will probaly be 9 months this time, retore a couple muscles, one of them was the muscle that was disconected from the bone that was fixed during first surgery, pain is pretty good today real bad stiffness. keep you posted Marko1
Marko1
01-30-2009, 01:30 AM
What happened to tossthepickle
tossthepickle
01-30-2009, 10:25 PM
Still here Marko...... Like you I have been extremely busy planning for mine. I actually have to be at the Hospital at 5:30 am on Monday with surgery at 7 am. My wife is going to pick up plenty of snack foods and foods I can access w/ one hand. Also, getting alot of DVD's and planning on reading alot of books!
Great to hear your doing well, sux about the recovery time and the issues you have ran into. So you are at day 12? I have a question for you...... If you could, would you go back to work? I have my surgery on Monday the 2nd and plan on returning to work on Wed. the 11th. Now mind you, I am in wireless sales whre a majority of my day is spent sitting down talking to people. I could easily get by working with one arm....... The reason for my question is simple. I have been planning on taking vacation time and leave myself my 6 sick days for the really bad days where I couldn't make it in but my company is in the process being aqquired by another. Because of this they are being strict with the "policies". Fortunately, everyone has been great and done wonders for me. I shouldn't be out any money but I would like to return to work ASAP!
So, what has been the worst part of your surgery so far?
Great to hear your doing well, sux about the recovery time and the issues you have ran into. So you are at day 12? I have a question for you...... If you could, would you go back to work? I have my surgery on Monday the 2nd and plan on returning to work on Wed. the 11th. Now mind you, I am in wireless sales whre a majority of my day is spent sitting down talking to people. I could easily get by working with one arm....... The reason for my question is simple. I have been planning on taking vacation time and leave myself my 6 sick days for the really bad days where I couldn't make it in but my company is in the process being aqquired by another. Because of this they are being strict with the "policies". Fortunately, everyone has been great and done wonders for me. I shouldn't be out any money but I would like to return to work ASAP!
So, what has been the worst part of your surgery so far?
Marko1
01-31-2009, 02:57 AM
12 days out i can't move my arm away from my side without terrible pain about 9 on pain scale. your problem about going back early is the unexpected. go thru a door and the person in front of you lets it slam in your arm while your looking the other way. spill something and try to catch with your bad arm, reflex .are you gettin scoped or full blown surgery.with surgery they told me that recovery time has to do with how much damage there is and what they have to do to fix it. i still can't eat with my right arm,mine once you get the pain rolling it's hard to get it to stop, will keep you up all night. ithink the first time i gave it about 5 months to heal and then went fishing bad idea set the hook on 1 fish and went home to get more pain pills. think about the first 4 days after surgery, before you decide to go back early. Iwon't do it again maybe disabilty
will be thinkin about ya , post asap afterwards GL Marko1
will be thinkin about ya , post asap afterwards GL Marko1
Marko1
01-31-2009, 03:14 AM
also dressing is a pain, putting on socks is bad for a couple days, getting a shirt on, pulling up your pants and your belt is a lot of fun too. got pets i have 385 lbs of labs all think they are tiny. if you want to try sleeping in the bed put a pillow under your shoulder that seems to help till you stiffin up. just get ready if this is full blown surgery with a lot of damage it can be a real handful
monkey5
01-31-2009, 09:06 PM
Monkey still her;) hanging in! I hope you are doing better with pain these days? I am patiently waiting to see the pain specialist this week coming up. This has been very hard. Everyday my shoulder gets worse to wear it's immobile and dr. clearly stated it's freezing. The bad thing is for at least two weeks i've had to cancel my physical therapy due to kids issues and they come first. My got it is even hard to write ugh:dizzy: I will probably have a shot this week, i can only hope as i am in so muc pain, running out of pain pills ect. I hat them anyway they screw up my stomache bad. My son has been having alot of back pain at 15 and he kept saying no for me to mention it to dr. and we found out he has spina bifida and some other long word ugh so alot to deal with here! It's like theres no escape, i am drained. Take care all!
Monkey
Monkey
Marko1
01-31-2009, 11:50 PM
monk have you had surgery ,if so how much damage, you can do some of the pt at home after first surgery i had my wife do some of the execises with and helped a lot with the pain i had a lot of damage. try eating be fore you start pain med in the morning helped me. hope you find something that helps with the pain GL
Marko1
02-01-2009, 12:03 AM
tossthepickle in answer to your question. no i don't think i could return to work. all it takes is to move that arm the wrong way and it's game over pretty much for the day. something i thought about yesterday was when you go and have your surgery, you will be under a dr 's care will he release you to go back to work. after surgery he's reponsible for what happens to you. my dr wouldn't let me drive 4 three weeks after surgery, hope you ask before he cuts. tried to fix dinner today got half wat thru it and wife had to take over to much pain. 15 days post op
tossthepickle
02-02-2009, 01:59 AM
Well well well..... Sry to hear it's still that painfull. Funny you mention the fishing incident. I was just talking to a friend of mine about fishing the other day. He got himself a new boat so he says I HAVE to go... Not so much!
As for the work thing.... Fortunately for me the RVP and AD of my company have been great! I actually spoke to the RVP the other day who told me to only worry about getting better and he would worry about getting me paid. I am hoping to work from home a little. Just seems like if he will work that hard for me I need to work that much harder for him!
I have to be at the ER at 5:30 and it is 1 am now.... No sleep till Brooklyn! hahahaha..... We have a 30 minute drive to the ER so we are going to get ready about 4.
We too have dogs, 1 lab mix and a Pomeraininan. Lab is a bigger lap dog than my wifes lil ankle bandit. Lab is only 40 pounds!
Thanks to alot of your input as well as some of the other forums I have read, my wife and I have gotten prepared. We pulled a matress into the living room from the spare room. I rented 12 movies and set my laptop next to the matress. So I have my big screen and laptop along w/ books all right here. In addition, my wife went and got me all kinds of snack food that I can eat w/ 1 hand!
Like I said, everything starts at 4 this morning so t -3 hours. I will update when I can!
As for the work thing.... Fortunately for me the RVP and AD of my company have been great! I actually spoke to the RVP the other day who told me to only worry about getting better and he would worry about getting me paid. I am hoping to work from home a little. Just seems like if he will work that hard for me I need to work that much harder for him!
I have to be at the ER at 5:30 and it is 1 am now.... No sleep till Brooklyn! hahahaha..... We have a 30 minute drive to the ER so we are going to get ready about 4.
We too have dogs, 1 lab mix and a Pomeraininan. Lab is a bigger lap dog than my wifes lil ankle bandit. Lab is only 40 pounds!
Thanks to alot of your input as well as some of the other forums I have read, my wife and I have gotten prepared. We pulled a matress into the living room from the spare room. I rented 12 movies and set my laptop next to the matress. So I have my big screen and laptop along w/ books all right here. In addition, my wife went and got me all kinds of snack food that I can eat w/ 1 hand!
Like I said, everything starts at 4 this morning so t -3 hours. I will update when I can!
monkey5
02-02-2009, 02:23 PM
Thanks for the kind words. This hurts worse than i can remember before my one surgery ugh. Tommorrow is the day! Morning i can't wait actually to maybe get an injection to get some relief argh. I as far as i know didn't have any damage with the one surgery i had seven years ago, but alot has changed as i have ended up with Osteoporosis at an early age. Back then i had bone spurs and bursitis and now they say i only have the bursitis, feels alot worse though. I may have did some damge when i fell more than they know last march when i fell right smack on my shoulder, possibly they didn't catch it on the test? It hurts most of the time all the way down to my elbow. Anyway enough about me. I hope your feeling better today and more days to come with the healing.
Tossthepickle, i hope everything goes well, i'm praying for you!
Monkey
Tossthepickle, i hope everything goes well, i'm praying for you!
Monkey
tossthepickle
02-02-2009, 03:38 PM
Surgery is over and i am awake. first lemme apologize for improper grammer. typing 1 handed an in severe pain.....
Monkey, you may have done what i did which wasn't caught by the Mri or xray. I had two complete tears in my cartalidge.
I now have 3 screws in my left shoulder, arthritis, bursitis and tendonitis.
Good news, doc says I may catch the end of the golf season......YAY!
ok..... more medicine and back to sleep
good luck to both of you
Monkey, you may have done what i did which wasn't caught by the Mri or xray. I had two complete tears in my cartalidge.
I now have 3 screws in my left shoulder, arthritis, bursitis and tendonitis.
Good news, doc says I may catch the end of the golf season......YAY!
ok..... more medicine and back to sleep
good luck to both of you
Marko1
02-02-2009, 04:46 PM
chin up pickle it doesn't do anything but get better from here, may seem a long way away but keep the pain pills coming ,sleep when ya can .first day of PT for me went pretty well. wife and i was wondering if they gave you a blocker ball for pain. if we don't here from ya for awhile i understand take it easy.
tossthepickle
02-04-2009, 01:09 PM
Blocker ball? That's a negative.... I am trying to take as little pain medicine as I can but i'm tellin ya, sleepin is the worst!
How often do you have rehab and what type of things do they have you doin? My follow up is on the 12th. I am going to focus on rehab this time!
how is your range of motion an all thar good junk? Are you or have you considered taking anything to speed up the recovery? I ask because I heard of a supplement called MSM that is supposed to to be a "super supplement" geared toward joint repair...
How often do you have rehab and what type of things do they have you doin? My follow up is on the 12th. I am going to focus on rehab this time!
how is your range of motion an all thar good junk? Are you or have you considered taking anything to speed up the recovery? I ask because I heard of a supplement called MSM that is supposed to to be a "super supplement" geared toward joint repair...
Marko1
02-04-2009, 02:18 PM
take the pain med, the pain med keeps you comfortable, no reason 2 hurt when you don't have too. PT is bad first couple times after that i thought it felt pretty good.I always take a couple of hydrcodones before i go to PT, in mine they move my arm up down and around to keep it from freezing up and to get blood moving. when you lay down put a pillow under your shoulder, seems to help. my problem is that i stiffin up and hurts like hell when i first wake up. if you sleep more than 2 hrs your doing good. thats where the chair comes in it keeps pressure off your shoulder.are you taking oxycodone or hydrocodone. they gave oxyc after surgery and then after a couple weeks switched me to hydrocodone. hope this helps Marco1
tossthepickle
02-04-2009, 06:04 PM
they gave me 60 hydrocodone 10/500 w/ 1 refill...... ugh......
the bottle says to take 1 every 4 hours which i'm taking 4 to 5 a day. by my math i dont have enough to get me through the month. i'm trying to stretch them out as far as i can so i am putting up with alot of pain jus to make sure i have them when i need them.....
as far as sleep goes, i am getting 3 to 4 hours. like i said though, 4am w/o fail i am waking up in severe pain. what i've been doing is taking one around 9:30 an another about 2 huors later. i am going to start setting my alarm for 4 am so i can wake up an take another before the pain gets me!
i havent had the freezing yet as i cant take it out of my sling but my fingers are going numb from lack of movement! i actually called my dr. office about it today an they have yet to call me back
the bottle says to take 1 every 4 hours which i'm taking 4 to 5 a day. by my math i dont have enough to get me through the month. i'm trying to stretch them out as far as i can so i am putting up with alot of pain jus to make sure i have them when i need them.....
as far as sleep goes, i am getting 3 to 4 hours. like i said though, 4am w/o fail i am waking up in severe pain. what i've been doing is taking one around 9:30 an another about 2 huors later. i am going to start setting my alarm for 4 am so i can wake up an take another before the pain gets me!
i havent had the freezing yet as i cant take it out of my sling but my fingers are going numb from lack of movement! i actually called my dr. office about it today an they have yet to call me back
Marko1
02-04-2009, 09:39 PM
they give me unlimited pain med. but no refills when i get close i call dr. and they call me in more, it's because of federal regs. talk to dr about this because they don't want you in any pain. first couple weeks i take them every 4 hrs, if you don't do that it's like trying to stop a run away train. even the physical therapist got on me for not taking the pain med. if you get itchy take a couple benadryl with them. i take the pain med 2 at a time.even if you take the pain med like you should your still gonna have enough pain to go around. don't know about you but after2 days i got rid of the sling,that thing was killin my elbow. make sure you talk to dr about fingers going numb thats also a sign of nerve damage.surprized you didn't get a pain blocker ball that keeps your arm numb for the first 40 hrs it helps alot, till it runs out then it's oh momma, that gives you 40 hrs to get the pain med started.i also wake up at 4;00am. right be fore bed take a couple pain pills that will last you about 5/6 hrs.wife wants to know if your ready to go back to work
tossthepickle
02-05-2009, 12:45 AM
thanx for the advice, actually called my doctor today. they called back after hours and i missed the call. i will call them again tomorrow!
work?
double edge sword there..... i wanna go back just to get out of the house but don't think i could handle it physically. granted i sit at a desk all day but dealing w/ the public will flat drive your stress through the roof an i dont think i would handle it all to well.....
my wife and i actually got into an argument over my medicine today..... she said i was taking ti many b/c i have taken 20 in 3 days time. oh well.....
yea, this sling is driving me crazy. i take it off long enough to straighten my arm out but thats it. scared ti death if re injuring myself. i tell ya whats bithering me even worse is all this padding sitting on my shoulder. i wanna rip this crap off asap!
work?
double edge sword there..... i wanna go back just to get out of the house but don't think i could handle it physically. granted i sit at a desk all day but dealing w/ the public will flat drive your stress through the roof an i dont think i would handle it all to well.....
my wife and i actually got into an argument over my medicine today..... she said i was taking ti many b/c i have taken 20 in 3 days time. oh well.....
yea, this sling is driving me crazy. i take it off long enough to straighten my arm out but thats it. scared ti death if re injuring myself. i tell ya whats bithering me even worse is all this padding sitting on my shoulder. i wanna rip this crap off asap!
Marko1
02-05-2009, 02:31 AM
i went and took off all dressing 2nd day,used peroxide and cotton balls to keep it clean,cleaned it once a day,your doing ok on the med just need to stay ahead of the pain,it's hard to knock it back down once it gets ahead of you. ice is another good way to knock down the pain. use ice right now, then you can use heat once the swelling goes down, plus a hot shower is good too. if you can't get staples wet yet ,use a plastic garbage bag and some tape. that first shower is great. just need time from here on out. GL Marco1
tossthepickle
02-05-2009, 04:21 PM
Gause an sling came off today...... holes look sic! I don't think I have staples, just stitches.....
Spoke w/ the nurse today... She is going to see about getting me something a lil longer lasting to get me through the night.....
So you guys are from Lexington? One of my really good friends is from Lexington..... Maybe it is Louisville? Which is closer to Cincinatti Oh.? Which ever it is, we are only like 3 hours away.... Thought that was kinda coincidental!
Spoke w/ the nurse today... She is going to see about getting me something a lil longer lasting to get me through the night.....
So you guys are from Lexington? One of my really good friends is from Lexington..... Maybe it is Louisville? Which is closer to Cincinatti Oh.? Which ever it is, we are only like 3 hours away.... Thought that was kinda coincidental!
Marko1
02-05-2009, 06:54 PM
you didn't have full blown surgery,you were scoped,i have a scare about 5 inches long and had 12 staples, were on the same page now. your healing should go quicker than mine, my dr didn't want to scope me for some reason.were 71 miles cincy, i think it's 91 miles from louisville. my wife was wondering who bought you ,her being in the wireless business too,she works for verizion.
tossthepickle
02-05-2009, 08:49 PM
Nice..... We were just purchased by AT&T. It hasn't taken place yet, supposed to some time in the next few months. Last I heard they were waiting on FCC approvals. I see both pros and cons with it..... I just hope I can make the same kinda money as I do now ya know. I've heard I could expect my pay to drop!
I am a little scared that as a manager I won't retain my poition thus losing alot of income. If they let me go I get a fairly nice severance but only if they don't offer me a job.... UGH
Yea, I was scoped. I was told had he got in there and he seen a complete tear in the tendon its self he would have had to cut me open. He said the incision is required b/c of the stitching required to reattatch it. Fortunately mine required no stitching and only screws!
Yea, it is Lexington he is from then. Absolutely gorgeous city! I would love to kive there but ya know.....
I am a little scared that as a manager I won't retain my poition thus losing alot of income. If they let me go I get a fairly nice severance but only if they don't offer me a job.... UGH
Yea, I was scoped. I was told had he got in there and he seen a complete tear in the tendon its self he would have had to cut me open. He said the incision is required b/c of the stitching required to reattatch it. Fortunately mine required no stitching and only screws!
Yea, it is Lexington he is from then. Absolutely gorgeous city! I would love to kive there but ya know.....
monkey5
02-06-2009, 01:18 AM
Update, had first visit with pt today, was very painful. They started me on a different pain med for this and my back not too much luck with that, back on tuesday and know more. He seems to think i have a bone spurs in a certain area ugh. I hope everyone is doing okay?
monkey
monkey
tossthepickle
02-06-2009, 01:22 AM
So more PT monk? Fortunately I have not started my PT but according to Marko, it gets better! Keep ya head up!
Brian, you wouldn't happen to be talking about MSM would you? If not, please lemme know what you have. I plan on talking to my doctor on the 12th about possibly using MSM. Seems awful expensive. Always looking for something to help me recover and gain some strength. I am wanting to get back in the gym as soon as I am 100%. Wanting to get that body back I had when I first got out of the military..... So please, let us know what supplement you are talking about!
Brian, you wouldn't happen to be talking about MSM would you? If not, please lemme know what you have. I plan on talking to my doctor on the 12th about possibly using MSM. Seems awful expensive. Always looking for something to help me recover and gain some strength. I am wanting to get back in the gym as soon as I am 100%. Wanting to get that body back I had when I first got out of the military..... So please, let us know what supplement you are talking about!
Marko1
02-11-2009, 07:46 PM
Well it's been a week of PT and it ain't peaches and cream yet but.... it's getting easier as we go. Found out from the PT why it's going to take 9+ months, seems he had a couple tears to repair and he cut off some more off the bone on top of my shoulder. She also gave me a warning to do recovery right because there won't be enough tissue left to sow them agian. all that was a bummer but did, say that I give it enough time to heal and not go fishing it will probaly heal good.doing real good on my range of motion. guess will have to wait and see.So hang in there Monk it will get easier.Wonder how tossthepickle is doing .has he started PT yet. GL all MARCO1
monkey5
02-11-2009, 10:12 PM
hey there, the shoulder i can say is not nowhere near the pain in my back argh. I hate pt but i know it is the first line of treatmnent and they have to torment us right! With all these medication in the world it seems like they could give us one to not ever feel pain but i guess that could be a bad thing also! Oh well, busy week here and i'm exhausted! And to do it all over again tommorrow!
Have a good night!
Monkey
Have a good night!
Monkey
tossthepickle
02-12-2009, 11:15 AM
No PT yet. Have my first follow up appointment today. I am supposed to have PT 3 to 4 days a week.
Yeam that sux Marko. It's nice to know that if you mess it up again there is nothing that can be done! Yay for you :)
What kind of exercises are they having you guys do in PT? Is it painful? I was hoping to get off my meds but if PT is bad I don't think I would be able to get off them :(
By the way, can anyone tell me what bursitis is? I guess I could look it up but that's to much like work!
I will update this afternoon when I finish my dr. appointment!
Yeam that sux Marko. It's nice to know that if you mess it up again there is nothing that can be done! Yay for you :)
What kind of exercises are they having you guys do in PT? Is it painful? I was hoping to get off my meds but if PT is bad I don't think I would be able to get off them :(
By the way, can anyone tell me what bursitis is? I guess I could look it up but that's to much like work!
I will update this afternoon when I finish my dr. appointment!
Marko1
02-14-2009, 05:16 PM
Tossthepickle how did PT go,on mine they put some electrodes on me and give me little shocks to get the blood flowing and put some heat pads on my shoulder to soften up muscles, after 15min of that they lay you down and stretch your arm to start to get the range of motion back,is there pain , yes at first, I always take a couple hydryo's about an hour before I go,it will get the pain started but thats just the first week or so,they only stretch me for about 30 min. did they give you a pain pump when they did surgery on you. I have been reading up on all the lawsuits where the pain pumps are eating up the cartilage and causing a whole lot more problems,don't know if its the same thing I had or not, they called mine a blocker ball.
tossthepickle
02-14-2009, 08:17 PM
No PT yet.... Just had my first follow up appointment. I had what they call a slap lesion. The cartalige had been torn from my bone and I had 2 plastic pins put in to hold it to the bone. I also had part of my shoulder blade shaved down due to the bursitis!
No, didn't get a pain pump this time but the first time I did.... Maybe I shold look into these law suits. I had a pain pump when I had rotator cuff problems and now I have cartilidge problems!
Can you fill me in a lil more about those and where I might find some info on them?
No, didn't get a pain pump this time but the first time I did.... Maybe I shold look into these law suits. I had a pain pump when I had rotator cuff problems and now I have cartilidge problems!
Can you fill me in a lil more about those and where I might find some info on them?
Marko1
02-14-2009, 11:30 PM
What did it look like ,mine was a black ball about the size of a softball with a wire or small tube going in the front of my neck below my adams apple. put pain pump in the search engine and it will come up. they called it a blocker ball or nerve block. keep me up to date on what you find out, cause I had this thing both times.
Marco1
Marco1
tossthepickle
02-16-2009, 07:42 PM
Mine was nothing like that.....Mine was an IV type deal. I had an IV bag that I layed on top of the couch. It then had a tube that ran to a machine and another tube ran from the machine into my arm. I would hit a button and it was night night time for me...... Now , mind you, my first surgery was in 2002 and I was one of the first people in Richmond to have rotator cuff surgery orthoscopically.
Now, a girl I work with, her husband had something identical to what you described.
I will deff. research this and let you know!
Now, a girl I work with, her husband had something identical to what you described.
I will deff. research this and let you know!
Marko1
02-16-2009, 08:13 PM
Yea I talked to PT today and she said I had a nerve Block, this thing made my arm numb was pretty good as far as knocking down the pain. Had a bad weekend ran out of pain med. made for a real interesting weekend, got them filled today about 4:00 pm OUCH
Marko1
02-25-2009, 06:28 PM
Well toss how's P/T treating you, are you back to work yet
Marko1
03-15-2009, 04:32 PM
I guess P/T killed tossthepickle have not heard from him
tossthepickle
03-16-2009, 07:48 PM
Sorry for the Hiatus guys..... A LOT has happened in the past month!
I went back to work after week 2...... Probablly not the smartest move from a pain perspective but it was something I had to do.... PT is getting better with each visit. I am progressing rather quick considering. It has been about a month and a half and I can pretty much use my arm like normal with out severe pain. Still quite sore and painful but I am extremely satisfied that I did it! I have so much more stability it isn't funny! However, as I type this I am getting a pretty severe ache in it! Seems to "catch" alot.
I haven't gone back through my previous post but here is the break down:
I had what they call a slap leision (sp?). I had 2 plastic nails put in to reattatch the cartalidge to the bone. I had to have my shoulder blade shaved and suffer from bursitis and tendonitis. According to the doc it was a rather intense surgery and he is extremely pleased with my recovery!
PT was rough at first but I have stuck with it and continue to do so. I have been a fanatic about following all the rules. No more surgeries for me!
The best part of this whole experience (aside from you guys ;)) has been both my employer and insurance company! Surgery cost a little over $22k of which I am only responsible for a lil over $1k. in addition, I didn't miss any pay checks! Everyone was great. I had the opportunity to personally thank my RVP for his assistance!
Hope all is well with you guys and if you are up to it, please fill me in!
I went back to work after week 2...... Probablly not the smartest move from a pain perspective but it was something I had to do.... PT is getting better with each visit. I am progressing rather quick considering. It has been about a month and a half and I can pretty much use my arm like normal with out severe pain. Still quite sore and painful but I am extremely satisfied that I did it! I have so much more stability it isn't funny! However, as I type this I am getting a pretty severe ache in it! Seems to "catch" alot.
I haven't gone back through my previous post but here is the break down:
I had what they call a slap leision (sp?). I had 2 plastic nails put in to reattatch the cartalidge to the bone. I had to have my shoulder blade shaved and suffer from bursitis and tendonitis. According to the doc it was a rather intense surgery and he is extremely pleased with my recovery!
PT was rough at first but I have stuck with it and continue to do so. I have been a fanatic about following all the rules. No more surgeries for me!
The best part of this whole experience (aside from you guys ;)) has been both my employer and insurance company! Surgery cost a little over $22k of which I am only responsible for a lil over $1k. in addition, I didn't miss any pay checks! Everyone was great. I had the opportunity to personally thank my RVP for his assistance!
Hope all is well with you guys and if you are up to it, please fill me in!
Marko1
03-17-2009, 05:02 PM
8 weeks out of surgery 4th week of PT arm still sore not bad at night like it was. still won't let me rasie it up, dr appointment on the 26th hope to go to the next step.PT told me we turned the corner and made some real progress but still have a bad feeling in the back of my mind that this is not going to be the end of this, time will tell I guess, glad to here it's going good for you toss.
Marko1
Marko1
tossthepickle
03-18-2009, 07:58 PM
I feel ya on that lingering idea of not being close to being over it.... The night time is the worst for me. I always fall asleep on my right side with my arm above my head but inevitablly I end up on my left side (surgery side) with my arm above my head. I usually wake up 3 or 4 times a night aching like no other. I often times wake up the wife to massage it for me..... In addition, the first few hours after I wake up are horrible as well. Through out the day it isn't to bad and my meds keep the pain covered for the most part!
So what are you doing in PT? I am not quite to the weights yet but deff showing progress! How is your range of motion and how many times a week do you go to PT?
So what are you doing in PT? I am not quite to the weights yet but deff showing progress! How is your range of motion and how many times a week do you go to PT?
Marko1
03-19-2009, 10:39 AM
P/T is 3 times a week (about 45 min each day) , rom is pretty good, doing everything to the outside and nothing towards the body, mostly streching, no weights , can just barely lift arm off side, bad pain after about half way up, reaching like to tune radio can't get very far at all. change in weather is also pretty bad right now.other than that just plain BORED....