Rotator cuff repair - post-op pain

Hi:
If two medical professional's agree that your progress is good, it probably is. However, you can always get a second opinion. That might make you feel better. Orthopedic procedures can take a while to heal. It is important to follow all of the post-surgical directions/restrictions. When you are finally healed, you will be in good shape. If you try to rush it, you may have long-term consequences. I hope that things have really improved since you made this post. Please let me know how you are doing.

I had rotator cuff surgery November 10 2009, it has been 8 weeks. The pain is tough. I understand how your wife would begin to feel depressed because of the constant pain. Is she taking her pain meds? I tried taking minimal pain meds for about 6 weeks. I finally decided the heck with it and started taking my percocet any time I felt the pain was getting too intense. It helped alot, and I felt like I had my life back. I could function almost normally and was not wore out by the pain at the end of the day. I also in the last 2 weeks started using a heating pad all night. I believe most of my pain now that I have left is muscular. I know the physical therapists say to ice it...for swelling...but I believe after so much time goes past....its becomes more muscle spasms. At least...it seems to have worked for me. During the day I have a pad that I can put in the microwave and heat up....and when I feel pain coming, I throw that in the microwave and can walk around with it on my shoulder. It is a home made pad, that I filled with rice, and made a flannel cover for. Works great in the microwave or freezer. I also asked my Dr. for a rx for a muscle relaxer "skelaxin 800 mg" which I take at bedtime, he said I could take that with one Advil pm. It seems to have helped me sleep tremendously better. I hope this helps your wife. I know how hard it is for other family members also. My husband has been great helping me with the easiest things that makes me frustrated that I can't do yet, such as opening lids, etc. My Dr. has said this is one of the 3 top most painful surgeries there are, because of the recovery time. I have also learned the reason for the long recovery, is because of the low blood supply in the shoulder. I believe this is why the hot pad seems to help, because it would dilate the blood vessels and possibly help the healing process. Again, I am not a Doctor, but am only telling you what has worked for me thus far. I would be glad to keep in contact with your wife, perhaps it would help.

I too have been in the same boat with all of the rotar cuff surgery surviors.. 3 months now and I feel the same pains

glad to hear I am not alone in this pain! it truly a relief to know

I had Rotator Cuff surgery on my dominant side 13 months ago. At the 9 month mark I was sleeping well, with only a small amount of pain. At the 12 month mark I have alot of pain and it wakes me several times a day. Like it was before surgery. HAs anyone else had this experience? I don't think I am doing anything more now with the right arm then I was doing at the 9 month mark. Help!!!

Well all I went to see the doctor and they did a ultra sound on my shoulder area and found some fluild build up and some teindonits in the bicep muscle area and gave me a steriod shot which seems to have reduced my pain.

Hi
My name is Andrew from New Zealand.
I had an accident at work and tore both my rotator cuffs.
My right arm is ok but i still get some form of impingement when reaching for objects.
My left arm has nerve damage and i have on going pain in my shoulder and numbness in my hand and find typing this does not help so it aggrievates or irritaes my arm.
The same as my right arm I get impingement and have a pain on the front of the shoulder that gets worse as the day goes on.
I take medication to sleep to control the pain when sleeping.
I had my first shoulder done in Nov 2008 and my second shoulder in March 2009 I still have difficulty in trying to move and do things normally, I have to think about how I do things because if I move to fast the shoulder could impinge the pain goes from 0 to 10 so you are affraid or have no confidence to do the things you used to take for granted.
I hope things work out for you.

I had a full thickness repair on my dominant side 5 months ago and am finally getting good range of motion. Unfortunately the pain is still there and probably will be for awhile. I had the other side done about 5 years ago and it took a full year to get back to just about normal. Don't get discouraged - by 6 months it's feeling better but night pain will last much, much longer.
Do ALL the rehab and exercise at home - do the stretching exercises. Push to the point it hurts and hold the stretch there and then stretch it more. Rehab is painful.

:D I am doing so much better since I received the steroid shot at the doctors office and rehab is going great! only days I do not do stretching at home are the days I go to rehab. Other than not being able to sleep on either the right or left side I feel things are going great with my recovery!

I am so glad to have found this forum. Like Watersports, I had a full thickness tear on my dominant side as well.  My surgery was March 7th and it went really well and I can honestly say, I have had minimal pain and only had to take pain pills the first couple of days.  As of now, I feel quite well but am paranoid that I am going to do something to re-injure it. 

This is a little embarrassing to mention but while I was at my therapy this week, I told him about some pain occasionally between my shoulder and elbow.   I told him that it seems to happen when I take a shower and am drying off with a towel or when I go to the bathroom and have to wipe.  He told me that I do NOT need to stretch my arm past my side.  I knew that I couldn't do that earlier but my surgeon recently said that I could do everything except "not to carry anything heavier then a glass" and "don't fall down."  Now paranoia has really set in. . . My husband reassures me that if I have re-injured it, I would DEFINITELY know it.

Aside from what I said earlier, from time to time I will feel jabs of pain, aches, soreness and most nights can not sleep too well and sometimes have to go back out to the couch and prop up with a few pillows.  It is nothing I can't deal with but I do not want to go back through this surgery again.  When I go to my surgeon in June for a follow up, he is going to xray my other shoulder because it is showing signs of a tear as well.

Knowing that I did so well with my surgery, I expected to be pain free in no time and I guess that isn't the case.  But after reading these comments, I think everything is ok and what I am experiencing is completely normal. 

Good luck to all.

 

 

wow....its great to see this blog.....i had rotator cuff surgery 9 weeks ago on my shoulder. it has been a very rough 9 weeks of pain. after 4 weeks i was sitting in a hot tub - jacuzzi stretching in the tub every morning then icing, then again at night and icing....i still do this every day. after 6 weeks i am now swimming 10-12 laps everyday -  breast stroke...i can barely do one lap of the crawl.  i am in the rapy 3 times a week and the therapist is now stretching my arm to start to give me 90 degrees. i am currently at around 75 degrees......however,  i do get these recurring headaches (actually behind the ear) that transcend down through the shoulder and go into my lower arm...is this normal? will it eventually subside ? how long does this take? is there nerve damage? it is debilitating ...i take advil in the morning and at night and i am always irritable...please reply   

I am at 11 weeks post op for repair of a full thickness tear, inc a repaired torn labrum, and full decompression (bone spurs removed from my AC joint). I am doing all of my therapy and my range of motion is getting much better, but the pain is constant. It is an achy type pain that almost feels like something isn't quite right, but I'm told by my doctor and PT that it is normal. It seems that it should have subsided by now. In addition, my trapezius has been flared up since before the surgery, probably because it was over-compensating for the damaged muscles. But it is still enflamed and goes all the way up to the neck. Neither the surgeon or my PT seem to be concerned, but it probably makes up for at least 30% of my overall discomfort. Has anyone experienced this? Also, my scapula seems to lift when I do stretches and it is supposed to lay flat. Seems that my mechanics are out of whack and need to be retrained, but the PT just thinks it will resolve over time as I continue to gain strength.

I'm right there with all of you! Especially Sodapop17 I am 7 week post op. (Dominate side) Level III full rotator cuff tear, torn labrum, osteophyte the size of my pinky removed plus... I have been miserable ever since the numbing pain pump came out and wore completely off. I thought WOW this isn't so bad. WOW was I mistaken. Now my neck hurts ALL the time and shoots pain down my arm to my elbow. My elbow feels as if I just hit my funny bone which isn't funny! My shoulder is also raised and the clavicle bone hurts all the time. Even on the oxycodone tablets. IS THIS TRUE FOR ANYONE ELSE? I'm tired and feel worn out, at least now I'm not alone! Thank goodness for this site. I am praying this pain will let up some/soon. I have been worried that my family and friends think I'm exaggerating and I'm not! I plan on showing my husband this site in the AM so he will see that I'm not the only one still in pain! My best to everyone in pain. May God Bless and Heal Us All! Thanks for reading/listening and for any/all information!

HI Sara
I am 5 weeks pastt rotator cuff repair surgery on dominate side. I begin therapy next week and Im experiencing some painful clicks and its affecting my positive outlook. I heal very well and can ignore most pain but this is alittle worrisome. I have to laugh but wiping is way painful too. Just wondering how you are doing now and if you can give me any hard earned advise.