hang in there! it took mine almost 6 full months!
I cannot believe the length of time so many of you are in pain. It is discouraging. I am 14 weeks out and still sore. About the same as my other shoulder, which will NOT get this surgery. Sorry but one in a row is all I need.
Hi all,
I also am right there with you. I had shoulder surgery 9 weeks ago after a work incident and am still in enough pain, especially at night, to need strong medication (Endone). My surgery consisted of reattachment of a torn Subscapularis tendon, Subacromial decompression and Tenodesis of the long head Bicep tendon all at once. I too, as someone else said, thought nothing of the surgery while the pain pump was active but did that all change or what once it ran out!!
Never the less it was explained to me prior to the surgery that the recovery phase is the worst part of the procedure and that I should be prepared for it to be long and drawn out. That said they didn't quite get it across to me just how BAD the pain side of it would be or moreover how unrelenting it would be. So don't despair everyone, what you and I are going through is the "norm" for this surgery.What I can suggest to you from my experience is to ACCEPT your situation, follow your PT's and surgeons advice, take your pain medication guilt free and the result will come.
For me acceptance was the one aspect that changed my whole outlook.
Wishing all a good recovery.
Grahame,
yes your right. I think acceptance of the circumstance is key so you can avoid wollowing in the pain and lack off use which surely leads to deppresion.
its been 3 years after repair of right shoulder and stil in pain i have been to the doctor too many times to count and they tell me i have to live with it. my life has beeen stressfull cant sleep good and dealing with the constant pain its depressing
I had a bone spur removed and clean up of my shoulder 8 weeks ago. I am told it takes 6 months to 1 year to fully recover. I was feeling depressed and thinking I was a baby so all the comments here have really helped me feel normal. Still having pain, don't sleep well and if I move too fast or too far, I can get a pain that radiates down my arm and almost takes me to my knees. I'm told to be patient and keep working my P-T.
Ian, I can only try to imagine how debilitating your constant pain must be. I would be asking myself is the pain post op worse than the pain before the op and if the answer is yes, then what was not done correctly? What did you have repaired in your right shoulder? This Doctor you refer to, I assume a GP (?), is not the doctor you need to be seeing. Telling you that you must live with the pain is to me a sign of a doctor with a closed mind. Did he/she ever mention rechecking the work done by use of MRI? Has it been suggested to you that there are specialist Pain Management practitioners that can deal with your type of situation if there is nothing else that can be done repair wise to your shoulder? Mate, it's 2012 nearly 2013, I don't subscribe to the "you just have to learn to live with the pain" comment. There IS an answer to your troubles, it's just a matter of finding the right professional and I believe you will. All the best to you.
I had a complete detachment of my right rotator cuff.. I returned this year to the doctor that performed the surgery and had another MRI. Due to the hardware in my shoulder they can't really see if their is more damage I am waiting for a injection of dye into my shoulder and another MRI I am on pain meds that just makes me feel dopy, and the pain after the repair just got a little better. I really am frustrated all the doctors I have seen have said my repair is a one time repair that if their is more damage they are unsure if anything can be done.
hi all had my second surgery done in august this year,my first was in jan,i went back to work last week after being nearly a year off,just couldnt stay at home anymore,my job is of a manual kind and very repetitive. my shoulder feels like i have blisters under my skin and feels on fire all the time have been to my physio today and explained to her about the pain and soreness and she told me that pain i feel in the top of my arm is fatigue because my shoulder is not strong enough yet,i still have no feeling in my shoulder to touch,it feels numb and weird,the physio strapped back my shoulder today and has suggested that i go back to my gp to get strong painkillers to help with the pain,she also thinks my shoulder is swollen,so sick of it all,it feels like a nightmare that im never going to come out of,the surgeon told me 3 weeks ago that it would take another 6 to 12 months before the shoulder is better,at my wits end now am thinking after chtristmas of having another mri scan to see what is going on
So sorry to hear about your pain. After reading this maybe I won't get another surgery. I just don't know what to do. But again I can't imagine living with this pain the rest of my life. I wish you luck with your job. I can't imagine going back to work like this, and you are worse than me.
I am only 3wks post rotator cuff surgery. Funny though because at week 2 I felt less pain than week 3 so I thought something was wrong. After reading all of your posts I see it is normal. I came off my pain meds after 4 days because I am terrified of addiction! I use the iceman cryotherapy machine. It works really well but night-time is still the worst for me. Just like before the surgery. The road to recovery is going to be a very long one I think. Thanks for all the input and good luck to everyone on your journey to full recovery!
I am a 49 y/o physical therapist, and I had a subacromial decompression, spur removal, labral repair and RC repair in Dec 2012. OMG I am humbled by this! It is the WORST! I have treated patients for 28 years and never REALLY knew how awful this was! I went from Norco to Tramadol to Mobic, and the pain is still bad enough that I need a sleeping aid (I am trying to wean off of it) and extra strength tylenol to supplement the mobic. I exercise it twice a day, have progressed well, but GEEZE the pain is still really awful, especially when the 24 hrs of the mobic is up. Since being dishcharged from PT (yes, I had to GO to PT!) I have paid for massage at the local massage place, which helped SO MUCH. I still have weakness, occasionally will over do it (housecleaning, etc) and get tendonitis for a couple of days, which is awful. Thank you all for telling me it will get better! My range is ok, not completely full in external rotation, and my scapula does stick out a bit. I know I needed the surgery (pain at night, not sleeping, etc) but right now the jury is still out on whether I would or not again--not good enough yet to say 'yes'...
Firstly hello to Ian (above) I hope your search for pain relief is going well mate. Hello 49yo PT, I'm hearing you (see my original post above for the details of my surgery). I went through hell also but just stuck to the rehab plan set for me by the PT and the advice given me by the surgeon. What I can tell you is that I thought my shoulder was wrecked for good post op. Now at nearly 5 months out I have a perfectly good, functional and pain free shoulder. The ordeal was most definitely worth it (with the benefit of hindsight) but no way on Earth could you have convinced me that this would be the outcome. Stick to the plan, use the pain meds as prescribed and have faith you will recover. The turning point for me was at the 3.5 month mark when I began to cut back the pain meds. I also saw a Myotherapist 6 times, she used needles and specific massage and manipulations and her work really sped up the recovery. As you are most likely aware the RC muscles atrophy to an extent which lowers the amount of support in the shoulder so prolonging the recovery, this is what she worked on restoring. Hang in there and all the best, Grahame.
Such a comfort to have found this website, I am a 55 yr old lady recovering from RC surgery. Had a fall and could not lift my right arm up. My tear was 1.8cm and I am 4 weeks post op. I have to wear the sling 24 hrs aday, can't sleep due to pain and aching in arm and shoulder and the awkwardness of the sling. Having a follow up with my consultant in 2 weeks before starting PT. Worried that something is not right as there is so much pain but I realise now that everyone on the web site has been through the same thing which is a comfort to me. Good luck to everyone. Does anyone know when they let you start driving again?