SIGforum
Shoulder injury redux

This topic can be found at:
https://sigforum.com/eve/forums/a/tpc/f/230601935/m/4640069494

September 21, 2022, 10:49 AM
Sig2340
Shoulder injury redux
Some of you may remember I posted a rant in June 2018.<BR><BR><BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Sig2340 posted June 5, 2018 13:37<BR>Four weeks ago I lost my balance when installing a ground-spiked solar light to mark the edge of the driveway.<BR><BR>A small thing, one might think. Fall, get up, dust yourself off, and motor on.<BR><BR>Nope. Not moi.<BR><BR>I lost my balance on the edge of the drainage ditch that runs across the front of my property. <BR><BR>It's not much of a ditch, perhaps 18" deep, with the place were I was standing another 12-16" above the top of the ditch.<BR><BR>So out I go, with a push trying to clear the 24" wide ditch.<BR><BR>Lacking sufficient velocity I crash into the far edge, about which I pivoted, slamming my left shoulder into the pavement, full force. It hurt. A lot. As in my first thought was I'd broken the head of my humerus.<BR><BR>Turns out I have a double, full thickness tear of the rotator cuff, with a torn biceps tendon to boot.<BR><BR>I have surgery in two weeks to repair the lot.<BR><BR>But the injury and surgery isn't why I post this lament, it's what I'm missing as a result.<BR><BR>I am going to miss seeing The Glitch Mob at Red Rocks Ampitheater in Colorado. I am also not going to get to drive up to Wyoming the next day to shoot my 6.5 Creedmore AR-10 while spending my limited vacation time under the starry skies because I'm not to fly until mid-July, and not to shoot pistols, rifles, or shotguns left handed (which I am) until the end of September at the earliest.<BR><BR>All from putting a solar light in.<BR><BR>FUCK! </div></BLOCKQUOTE> <BR><BR>But there was more. In the surgery, the doc found a ton of old damage from two motorcycle accidents in the early 1980s. As a result, I had 12 weeks recuperation, post-surgery. I had two PT sessions before nearly dying of <I>Clostridioides difficile</I> and spending months in hospital and rehab. The shoulder never got properly rehab'd.<BR><BR>This year I've had a lot of pain from that shoulder, and over the weekend, it went from a pain score of 2 to a pain score of 8 (9 and 10 are reserved for cluster headaches).<BR><BR>I go see the orthopedic group that did the surgery, where I was assured it was arthritic changes. Still, he shot it full of cortisone and lidocaine. I got good relief yesterday, and expected the same today, but... I was treated to a shoulder that hurts about as bad as it did Sunday.<BR><BR>And I am going to see The Glitch Mob tomorrow night. FML, this is deja vous of a kind I don't like.<BR><BR>So the question I put before the hive is this:Do I:Seek another doctor; orGo back to the same practice and tell them to try again; or.Toughen up and live with the pain.





Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
September 21, 2022, 11:19 AM
Perception
I'd tell them to try again, and if they balk I would look somewhere else. I certainly wouldn't try to live with the pain unless you keep trying and it turns out there really isn't a remedy.




"The people hate the lizards and the lizards rule the people."
"Odd," said Arthur, "I thought you said it was a democracy."
"I did," said Ford, "it is."
"So," said Arthur, hoping he wasn't sounding ridiculously obtuse, "why don't the people get rid of the lizards?"
"It honestly doesn't occur to them. They've all got the vote, so they all pretty much assume that the government they've voted in more or less approximates the government they want."
"You mean they actually vote for the lizards."
"Oh yes," said Ford with a shrug, "of course."
"But," said Arthur, going for the big one again, "why?"
"Because if they didn't vote for a lizard, then the wrong lizard might get in."
September 21, 2022, 11:26 AM
229DAK
Even if you go back to the original MD, it might be prudent to get a second, fresh look at your shoulder.


_________________________________________________________________________
“A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test. None but the humane treat a cat well.”
-- Mark Twain, 1902
September 21, 2022, 12:54 PM
RogB
David, if you decide to see a different doctor this guy is local and highly recommended

https://www.orthovirginia.com/...e-aguiar/#tabsection


_______________________________________

NRA Life Member
Member Isaac Walton League

I wouldn't let anyone do to me what I've done to myself
September 23, 2022, 09:26 AM
LoboGunLeather
I feel for you, literally.

Shoulder surgery in 2018 for arthritic growth impinging the bursa, torn rotator, detached bicep tendon. About 6 weeks immobilized, 6 months physical therapy.

June 2020, stumbled and fell on concrete impacting on that shoulder and my head. This was the early stage of the Covid Stupidity, took about a month to get into the doc. X-rays and MRI ordered, then rescheduled 3 times over several months (Covid nonsense, staffing issues, etc). Gave up and waited until mid-2021, finally got in for MRI. Rotator is completely torn, bicep tendon completely gone.

By that time I had recovered much of the range of motion and was able to maintain limited function and sleep without pain meds. Being over 70, retired, no great need to regain full function, and being generally unwilling to undergo months of immobilization and surgery again, I decided to live with it.

Still general discomfort constantly with several daily incidents of sharp pains, pain wakes me up a couple of times every night requiring that I change positions and wait for the ache to subside so I can get back to sleep.

If I were younger and still working, playing hard, pursuing strenuous activities, I might make a different choice. This is just a comment on what is working for me.

Best wishes.


Retired holster maker.
Retired police chief.
Formerly Sergeant, US Army Airborne Infantry, Pathfinders
September 23, 2022, 09:51 AM
SpinZone
A second opinion is alwaya a good idea.



“We truly live in a wondrous age of stupid.” - 83v45magna

"I think it's important that people understand free speech doesn't mean free from consequences societally or politically or culturally."
-Pranjit Kalita, founder and CIO of Birkoa Capital Management

September 23, 2022, 09:55 AM
tigereye313
If you haven't had any imaging done recently, I would ask the doc you're seeing for a fresh set of images to see what's actually happening in there. That way if it isn't in fact arthritic changes there would be motivation to go in and fix it again. Then if they are unwilling, you already have the imaging done for another doc to have a look at.




September 24, 2022, 11:52 AM
41
I would eat bananas, mangos and avocados for enzymes and get some from the Vitamin Shoppe as well.

Dr Axe's collagen should also help:

https://ancientnutrition.com/c...13f54f84893660c460b6

I also agree with a second opinion.


41
September 29, 2022, 12:06 PM
Sig2340
Yesterday I saw a new orthopedic surgeon who performed a careful physical exam, took an x-ray, and after looking at the image asked "Did they mention you have a huge bone spur?"

I replied "Nope."

He then showed me a bone spur the size of a BIC pen and about an inch long, and continuing the narration casually observed "You've basically torn what was fixed in 2018 to bits. When the pain reaches the point you can't take it, see either of these guys about shoulder replacement surgery"

I haven't looked it up yet, but that sounds like fun. Eek

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sig2340,





Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
November 04, 2022, 01:23 PM
Sig2340
It’s official, I need a reverse shoulder replacement.

The MRI from last week shows I tore everything apart. You can actually see the broken tendons.

Next week I talk with the PA and scheduler.

Arthritis, eh? Yes, but it is accompanied by the utter destruction of the rotator cuff.





Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
November 06, 2022, 06:22 PM
Sig2340
I spent time today reading about the procedure and recovery time.

For the third time plans to go west are shut down. It may also be my last time firing bigger bore (e.g., .35 Whelen) guns.

From here out, no planning, just toss kit, cats, and kitkats into the car and GO! Maybe that way I can escape this karmic hamster wheel.





Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
November 06, 2022, 07:40 PM
jimb888
Me too! Let us know how it goes. I'm putting it off.
November 11, 2022, 10:03 AM
Sig2340
Another smack today.

My insurance is refusing to cover the procedure unless I lose about 60 pounds.

The whole reason I discovered my shoulder is FUBAR was trying to get off my weight loss plateau (I've already lost quite a bit of weight) via exercise.

If I am optimistic, I will be getting done with the rehab in 2024.

I think I will get this tattoo'd inside my eyelids:

Work as hard as you possibly can on at least one thing and see what happens.





Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
November 11, 2022, 01:55 PM
ZSMICHAEL
quote:
My insurance is refusing to cover the procedure unless I lose about 60 pounds.

^^^^^^^^^^^^
Crazy. Sometimes surgeons do not want to do hips because of weight, but I have never heard of insurance denials for shoulder procedures. Like anything else it can be appealed.
June 06, 2023, 07:27 PM
Sig2340
I feel as if someone is trying to amputate my as-yet unreplaced shoulder using a ball peen hammer.

Just needed to vent.





Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018
June 07, 2023, 01:04 AM
Nuclear
Appeal it. The current health insurance business model is to outsource ALL approvals to a company that does nothing but say “No” the first time (or two).

I feel for you, I’ve been dealing with a much less damaged (but still very painful) shoulder issue for two years now. I went through four doctors and three different treatments before I found a doctor and treatment that worked.
June 07, 2023, 02:18 PM
vulrath
I can relate on the pain. The past few months I've been dealing with radial tunnel syndrome. It's been a hella "fun" experience. Physical therapist did a wonderful job getting mr to a pretty decent place (for the second time now; I dealt with the same thing 2 years ago with similar results - it lessened but never fully went away), but I'm still having pain in my hands when I hold my cell phone.

I'm supposed to see the hand surgeon (not the same one id been seeing for my other issues over the years, because he retired, but a friend of a friend, who happened to have trained under my original doctor) again Friday.


"In order to understand recursion, you must first learn the principle of recursion."
June 11, 2023, 09:58 AM
Hunthelp
I’m following this. I’m slated for an August 7 total reverse replacement of my right shoulder.
It will be the fourth surgery on that shoulder. The first was what the doctor called a “clean out” to remove bicep tendon parts that were causing irritation.
The second was to fix the tendon back into the bone groove that I happened to pop out while using a pair of lopping shears.
The third surgery was to put it back into the groove again. It popped out during the last PT session while doing the itsy bitsey spider climb up the wall. this time the doctor used a screw to hold the tendon in place. The doctor noted the guy who did the second surgery pulled ligaments over the tendon …something that was taught in med school 30 years earlier but no longer done.
The left shoulder has had one surgery—removing the tendon from the shoulder as I had torn it from the muscle while moving a sofa.




"I don't shoot well, but I shoot often." - Pres. T. Roosevelt
June 13, 2023, 11:33 PM
jimb888
quote:
reverse shoulder replacement.



Best of luck with it. I was advised to have this surgery and have staved it off due to working PT hard. However, as one of my tendons snapped on two, clean break, the pain is manageable. Partial tears just keep hurting bad as you use it, and I'm happy that all I have is a lump where the rolled up disconnected tendon sits.

Earlier I had 5 tendons repaired in my left shoulder, and 4 in the right back in 2014 or so (hard livin' I guess). Because of three things they won't repair anything new. (1st- I'm oldish, next, bad arthritis, 3rd, had seen previous repair. )

Anyway, been trucking along just fine so far but I work out every morning on weekdays and do all of the Physical therapist prescribed exercises. Now my shoulders are looking real cut, strong and ripply with the shirt off in the sunshine and the wife is loving the extra muscle I'm clearly carrying in my shoulders.

That was my outcome so far, I expect that over the years and continued hard livin', I'll have severe pain return. Not looking forward to it. Hope this resolves for you all.
June 18, 2023, 09:00 PM
Sig2340
I was lifting this morning and realized I was doing full up lat pulldowns using both shoulders.

So PT, even if you are just working out, pays dividends.





Nice is overrated

"It's every freedom-loving individual's duty to lie to the government."
Airsoftguy, June 29, 2018