No pain. No trouble.
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No pain. No trouble.
I had a successful open labrum repair in sept 2006 - no imobilization, same day rehab and pendulums, sling for 2 days. it worked, so far...Quote:
Originally Posted by imaguest
Previously scope in 1995- immobilization for 2 months...obviously i had number 2 above...my personal opinion is the open surgery is the only way to do this effectively.
I happen to be a psych major and a bit of a wimp at the same time so here are my comments on having the feeling of instability. Virtually every day post op i would worry my shoulder had slipped, i don't know why but it was a little trick my mind played on me, so your mind definitely has a little mechanism. Basically it has been "axed" and it associates shoulder pain with sublux/dislocation.
You need to see your doctor and establish what is a real problem and not. It is possible you do have an issue.
Dr. Mark happened to do my acl in Feb. I have to say he was the only doctor i know that addressed the mental aspect of surgery and well. i have had three. He gave me a clear list on paper of what to expect. How simply obvious is this, lay out a clear detailed expectation? He calls it the 10 commandments of surgery. Genius. Dr. Mark no need to thank me, straight out compliment.
One of them is that you have had surgery, it will hurt, and stuff happens, we will deal with it. It did and we dealt.
FredsTrees- Everyday post op you felt like it slipped...was that after both surgeries? And 1995 surgery...did you know it failed early on? What triggered your 2nd?
Doctors SHOULD give you a list of what to expect. Not many do though. Glad Dr. Mark does. Doctors should give you post op instructions before surgery, when you are coherent enough to read and understand them, not just after.
I read his website link. Very clear.
Continuing PT and today I started the 'outward' movement. Just swinging the bent arm in and out. It felt like it ripped inside when I did the second set of the day. A stinging feeling. Two hours later it is still stinging. I wonder if that is normal. I'm not panicking over it though. Yet. I am wondering if I swung it outward too hard.
My doctor and PT have said the only way to know is to rehab and see what happens.
The issue is that most doctors give u expectations, but they need to be a specific as possible. In this case it was.Quote:
Originally Posted by imaguest
MY 95 scope surgery my shoulder was literally strapped to my stomach for 6 weeks. After that it was rehab and it went pretty well, but the strength thing was an issue and i have to admit i never felt completely stable. i do not recall the instability fear being a huge issue until i got in to overhead moments.
I am very active person. Skiing, sailing golf, mountain biking, body surfing etc....i went back to my old lifestyle, and perhaps i didnt keep the rehab exercises going long enough, but sailing a LASER competitively causes a huge amount of stress on the shoulder joint, often i am pulling a line at awkward moments under huge loads. After subluxing, a few times, i crammed the thing so far out the front i couldn't get the thing back in unless i went to the ER and had it reduced....
My synoposis is scoping doesnt get the problem solved.
I think u should expect a reasonable amount of wierdness dude, you just got cut. Secondly, rehab hurts. Suck it up. Then suck it up more. Quit bitching. Ice alot, get off the painkillers asap. Get CLEAR BOUNDARIES on your movements and work your ass off within them. After rehab, my shoulder would be on fire for hours.
I would guess you will be fine. Be positive and be willing to take on the S*&^%. For me i needed some DR. input every 2-3 weeks, juts a few minutes to reassure. I did it over email.
Cheers.
FredsTrees- Thank you. That is just what I needed. Your input has helped a lot. I was hoping for some pain "adjectives" here just to compare what was happening. "Clear boundaries" is wise advice. (I'm off the lortab painkillers.)
It's good to hear from someone who has been on both sides. I was only 'strapped' for 2 weeks. Too short.
And very glad to hear that you can still do all that.
I agree with FredsTrees. BE POSITIVE! It def. feels really friggin weird! Just because you feel strange slipping sensations doesn't mean it didn't work. What you think is slipping, may just be the muscles twitching(which i had happen) and pulling your humerous a tiny little bit, with all that swelling and scare tissue in there, of course it'll feel bad! Not to mention the fact that to do the surgery they probably put you in traction, pulling the shoulder out and stretching everything a little. That's why you are immobilized, the joint IS unstable at first.
I had a Bankart/SLAP repair about 8 1/2 weeks ago and felt pretty much the same way you do for the first 5 weeks. I thought i almost dislocated it again sneezing! It's just the nature of the surgery, painful and strange. It's not like a knee surgery since there isn't much bone holding things together, it relies on the muscles/tendons, which are weak at first.
Be prepared for the following rehab to be just as weird, but it WILL GET BETTER! After you get clearance from your doc to lose the sling, LOSE IT and it gets better faster than you think it will. Don't let up on any PT they give you, no PT is a "waste of time", it'll be worse if you don't!
And yes, small unpainful noise is normal. mine pops all the time like a knuckle cracking but it feels great! My knee still pops and snaps 4 years after ACL re-con, but feels almost better than the other knee!
You have to use the painkillers for acute pain only. Acute pain occurs after surgery, an injury; otherwise you are using it for other reasons. That stuff is pure evil as far as i am concerned. It is a powerful narcotic.Quote:
Originally Posted by imaguest
I have had (and taken) suggestions to take 1/4 lortab during the arduous task of getting the ROM numbers you set as milestones, say 165 at 8 weeks or whatever, cant remember exactly so dont bother comparing. I did this on a few occasions when my pt went to town on my supine, overhead extension. if you can manage w/o good on ya, but if you are in 100% pure agony give it a go, it will help and it is acute pain, not stone-er indiscretion.
Another useful tid bit came from my PT. His explanation went like this. He asked me to remember the 2nd day post op when he manipulated me. It was 100% hell, not the casual hell but the devils own fire ridden alcohol pouring in to paper cut death trap from which you wont escape, ever, of pain cave, hell. If you do not get there every time you pt you have not worked hard enough. It is way down in there inside of you some where. (this is some self cathartic dark stuff i am writing) I have used this to frame my efforts in all kinds of endeavors since.
good Things.
snoweater-
I've been out of the sling completely since 3.5 weeks. Lots of progress. I'm finally feeling better emotionally because I can do the simple things again, like dress, wash, drive and feed myself all with mostly minimal discomfort. ALL just regained at the end of week six. All those who said they went back to work within a week or two deserve a medal.
I appreciate all input about how it feels and what to expect. It all helps, not just me, but others facing this.
And I hear you on the sneezing. I caught the family's cold/cough and that has made this even more fun. Try to cough without shaking your shoulders...
Still feeling slipping sometimes when reaching. The only really unstable feeling during PT is when the arm is held up in the air passively, it feels wobbly, and up "washing" the wall. I am telling myself it's my mind. That's when it was unstable before surgery though, reaching out and up, so that is the hardest.
FredsTrees-
I've been off the painkillers since a few days after and usually do rehab with nothing. I can't do narcotic types and the other stuff does nothing for me. My PT says I need to make more progress so maybe the 1/4 tab would help.
I had the sling on for the entire first 2 weeks, even to shower (covered with a trash bag). I didn't have any PT the day after surgery like you did. Not for over 2 wks.
That REALLY sounds brutal. I keep the 'your mind plays tricks' in my mind and now have your visual of 'pain cave hell' to go to when my PT pushes so hard my shoulder feels like it's going to break. Thanks for the adjectives!
Its really important that you dont compare me to your surgery or procedure exactly, its likely we didnt have the same thing. Keep in mind the pain cave advice was for my acl stretching, but it was the same as getting ROm back in the shoulder. It hurts and it sucks but it has to be done.
the 1/4 lortab I did use for the Rom on my shoulder and it did help. Although i find fault in my advice, here i am saying to get off the painkillers but to try to use them to get you over the cliff in your ROM. Whatever, do what you gotta do, a 1/4 lortab pre ROM is what it is, nothing more if it gets you over a hump you cant break in your numbers.
FredsTrees-
All advice is welcome and appreciated.
Thanks for ALL your explanations.
I tried the lortab today. I'm not sure it gets to my shoulder or anywhere else except the colon. Ugh. (Read "The Fine Art..." thread) No worries, I'm not the pill popping type. I made 20 degree progress from 2 days ago in flexion/forward (125 to 145). Seems like a muscle relaxer would be better. PT sub. today says my progress is about normal.
I've gone back and re-read all the shoulder threads and feel I'm pretty much right there with everyone else's progress.
My real main issue isn't the pain, although thats a part, it's the slipping feeling and anxiety that comes with it. When I read the posters saying they just pop it back in and keep going, I'm impressed. I could not do that. I never thought anyone could until I started reading these threads. I always had to eat left handed for 2 days after it popped. Not able to use it at all. No control. I had a lot of close calls, like almost drowing when a small wave dumped me face down. My PT is working on my "anxiety issues" as well as my shoulder. Trying to look at this in a whole new way. Beyond the recovery of the surgery. Plus knowing that IF it doesn't hold, there is hope for a second chance to fix it. And to still thrive. I'm trying to absorb this whole new outlook from everyone here. It will take a while (and it would help if that slipping feeling would stop).
I'm feeling much more positive this week. And fully expect to feel better and better. It's a control thing.
Glad to hear you're doin better!
I had trouble with the passive flexion as well and i really think the trouble was mostly mental. I had become so accustomed to worrying about slipping when i was extended up, that it comes naturally to think it's going to slip after surgery still. The lying on my back and extending up with support felt REAL unstable at first. My PT said that is normal since it is "passive" motion, your muscles aren't helping much, which naturally makes it feel loose. Combine that with the conditioned mental "guarding" you learned from years of instability, and it's pretty hard to get past at first. Once you start ARom and muscle strenthgening it gets way easier.
That's great you were out of the sling at 3.5 weeks! I was bound for 6. That's when it really starts to feel like progress!!! Just wait until the first time you reach up for something and don't even realize it's the bad arm until afterward! It's a great feeling to not think about it for once, kinda small and pathetic as far as accomplishments go, but after "fearing" a sneezing fit for a month, I'll take it!
Has anyone ever had one of these? How do you find lying down and then sitting up to get out of bed in the first week or 2 after the surgery? Is a biceps tenodesis a fairly secure surgical procedure, compared to a reconstruction?
What would it take to damage all the new work that was done on it? I find it very difficult to get comfortable lying down. I do place a pillow under the bad arm when lying down, but I occasionally feel a sharp pulling sensation, which can be quite painful and intense. I'm extremely worried about this because I don't want to have to go through the whole process again. Hope someone can help. Thanks.
Wow amazing post thanks very much I've been on the fence about getting surgery of my right shoulder as well and its made me think that i should check out who I go see and how past patients have done with him or her thank you very much!!