I had been having some increase in pain in my shoulder, so I went and saw an ortho doctor in town. A few x-rays and an MRI later, and come to find out I have a torn labrum and rotator cuff.

Anybody else have repair surgery?

Doc said I could be in a sling for 3 days or four months.

Six months to feel close to normal, one year to be normal (or as close as you're going to get).

Shoulders suck...and they are painful.

My daughter had that in her hip same 6 months of annoying pains and 1 year for full healing...

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Six months to feel close to normal, one year to be normal (or as close as you're going to get).

Shoulders suck...and they are painful.

This. Get a nice recliner for the first few weeks post surgery. Be diligent on your PT and you might be able to knock a few months off full recovery

Father had it. Two things in his recovery: doc prescribed one of those motorized recliners that help you stand up; and doing his PT. Would have sucked without both.

What has sucked is rolling out of bed. I haven't had the surgery yet, but doc told me to stop using my right are for everything. I recognized I had a problem when I reached for my coffee cup with my right are perfectly horizontal, and did not have the strength to hold up less than 14 oz.

It's tough, surgery is easy the rehab is tough.

Post surgery ice is your friend there are many ways to ice the shoulder. The pain will be bad for the first three days then it will fall off a cliff. Do not fall behind on the pain meds, take them as prescribed even if it seems like a lot of meds. I skipped some meds and fell behind the pain curve and it took 36 rough hours to get caught up.

I got off pain meds within 4-5 days but I didn't sleep more than 4-5 hours a night and my doctor prescribed me 800 mg ibuprofen I took them as prescribed every 8 hours. Because of the lack of sleep I was taking 2400 mg per day. That fucked me up, I was afraid of taking to many opioids.

Rehab is tough but do it longer than you think you need it. I went to therapy till I got my range of motion back I should have gone till I gained more strength.

I had a torn rotar cuff and other damage and having the surgery was the best decision I made.

I am not familiar with your shoulder problem, but I had surgery for impingement syndrome, and it hurt. (Surgeon saws off the tip of your collarbone.)

I can advise you to make sure the surgeon will provide you with adequate pain medication. Shoulder surgeon gave me more oxycodone and hydrocodone than I needed or wanted (*). Back butcher only prescribed me Norco 10/325 4x daily. Relative just had a knee replacement, and that surgeon was just giving her tramadol until demands were met for hydrocodone (just 7.5/325).

* - Oxycodone certainly works for relief of severe pain, but I couldn't stand the side effects. I discontinued it after 4 days when I learned that it also causes constipation.

quote:

Originally posted by Gustofer:
Six months to feel close to normal, one year to be normal (or as close as you're going to get).

Shoulders suck...and they are painful.

Exactly this for me. Took one year to be completely back to normal. The recovery sucked, but overall it was worth it. I suffered for years with pain as doctors kept telling me it would heal on its own until I saw a very good shoulder doctor and he did the surgery. He said I should of had surgery from day one as several tendons were almost completely torn.

Had it twice in the same shoulder, as been said 6 months till you feel semi normal, 1 year to normal. Most painful surgeries I have ever had for recovery. Do the Physical therapy no matter how much it hurts, it will pay off later.

THe problem is the labrum is in a very narrow canal and ANY inflammation causes it to rub and hurt like a MF-er.

I didn't fully tear mine so I suffered with no surgery for about a year. 2 years until I could golf like a human.

I do wish you the best of luck and stay the F off the pain killers. Basically tuck your hand into your pants for the next year and you will be fine.

My MRI indicated a full tear. When they went in, they only found it to have calcification and was also impinged. I did, however, develop a frozen shoulder after the first surgery - the doctor had do manipulation under anesthesia to break it free.

Therapy is your friend in the long run. You may really need to take meds for a few days to regulate discomfort. I think I've said this before in posts about this - go to the pharmacy and get some pills that will counteract constipation from the pain killers. The pharmacist suggested that I take on docusate sodium pill each time I took a pain killer.

The therapist will likely use a TENS unit at the end of each session to reduce inflammation and discomfort. Ask them to write a recommendation to your doctor for a personal TENS unit. Your insurance will probably cover the cost of the unit. They work wonders in reducing discomfort locally - pills have to work on the whole body.

Been there. Can't add too much more. I lived in a therapy chair for 4 week 6-8 hours a day to help rehab it. (right shoulder) I didn't touch my shotgun for 6 months. Didn't want to re-injure it. Do the PT period. I found out how folks could get addicted to pain meds, but I did NOT. Good luck.

Ask your Dr to prescribe something like the Breg Polar Care or something similar.If he wont you can find them fairly reasonable on the auction site.Will help with pain management.As said above dont get behind the pain curve and follow the Drs and Therapist orders.

Had right shoulder done due to industrial accident. Surgery, no problem, therapy sucked.Be SURE to take your pain meds an hour or so before therapy as your medicos will likely advise. It does help a lot. Post surgery I have about 15% loss of range of motion and strength, but was told before procedure that it would happen.