Rotator cuff repair - post-op pain

I too am two mos post supraspinatus repair and ITS KILLING ME!!! I'm crying worse than before. It does NOT feel ok. I'm in pt and we are going slow, crawling. Still on passive and just started passive asst pt . I cannot raise arm up and I lift or hood things yet nor drive my truck or my six speed so I'm miserable. Is all of this normal? I too use muscle relaxants mostly at night, zanaflex and two 5 mg knocks me out. But at times lately I wake up crying. When will it end?! I have fibromyalgia too and possibly lupus and APS. So that hurts. I have a c5-6 fusion revision in jan 2014, then n dec 2014 he debrided rotator cuff w/decomp and bursectomy but it made it worse. The nerve pain sucks so I have gabaoentin for it. Heat and my Breg polar ice machine are my bff along w/Percocet and oxy! Any help is appreciated

My surgery is scheduled for Dec 6 and I only have 2 weeks off of work. the Dr said I can probably go back as I sit at a desk and type and can answer the phones. I live right down the street from work so driving will be a minimum. The week I come back to work is the week of xmas so it will be slow and it will only be a 3 day work week and the following week is new years so only a 4 day work week. Do you think this will be ok? Will I be able to handle it?

I had my surgery just 4 days ago. Upon waking up I was told my cuff was completely shredded and it looked like an 85 yo woman that had a bomb go off in her shoulder. They only could fix 80% of it and said I would need a full shoulder replacement. Kaiser won't allow that until I'm 65. Which is 10 yrs. from now. So I don't know what to expect. The pain after surgery was beyond excruciating. I'm still on pain meds and am hoping to be off soon. Thanks for sharing your story. I'm glad your pain went away finally.
Take care!
Dawn

I am in the same boat.had surgery in Oct. Still haven't got in physical therapy because of a mix up.i am still swolen and in a lot of pain.iam irritable and very depressed.Afraid to call for refill on pain meds that they say I can't get any.Dont no what to do but cry alot.

I am 5 weeks out and have just started PT this week..As I write this I am icing my painful shoulder and have taken one hydro codone pill...have to take at least one during the day and 2 an hour before I go to sleep. Is this unusual? I cannot tolerate the pain otherwise. I had a complete tear due to bone spur slicing tendon, arthritis, bone scraped, i.e. Extensive work..this is an extremely unpleasant experience! Please respond about how long you used pain meds!

Glad to hear your doctor still prescribing pain meds. I am 5 weeks out and still need them, just concerned about what dr. Will say about that next week at my 6 week check...dependence I know is a concern, but so is losing ones mind!

What are patients supposed to do when they have severe swelling 10 weeks post surgery? The physician says use ice to relieve pain and swelling. The ice is applied for almost 24 hours at a time and does not help the swelling or pain? I believe the pain is actually caused by the swelling. But the physician will not prescribe anything for the swelling and nothing for the pain. So the patient is not only worn out and depressed but can do nothing but cry because the pain is so bad. This patient has a high pain tolerance and has also gone through hip replacement on both hips and a few other surgical procedures and only took half doses of pain meds for those procedures. It is frustrating as a family member when no one will listen to the patient and seems to think it is normal for there to be swelling on the back and chest on that side and also around the collar bone and under the arm and arm pit. Swelling on the arm to the elbow. The swelling is clearly visible. Not sure why this physician is letting the patient go through total torture. I understand Rotator Cuff surgery is painful and takes time to heal. But to make the patient endure this pain without anything after 6 weeks is not humane.

Sodapop, I am at the same place as you were looks like over a year ago and I am 6 weeks postop from my surgery and feel like my shoulder and trap muscle is in a big knot. I have been doing passive range of motion with PT since one week post surgery since I had a "frozen shoulder" 6 weeks prior to my surgery so they were wanting to make sure not to have this issue again. I a have very good range of motion with using pulley and pole etc. I don't have pain when I am not using my arm however during therapy the pain is in my upper arm and trap muscle. I also am not able to lift my arm when I am in a standing position much above shoulder height and I feel like my entire shoulder is lifting as I am trying to raise my arm. It feels very tight and I feel like this is what is keeping me from being able to raise my arm on my own. I am hoping that after 1 year post surgery that you might be able to help enlighten me. thanks

It has now been 4 years since my rotator cuff operation. The first two years I had sore movement spots in my arm and shoulder. the third year the lessened and now 4 years to date I have full use and strength in my right arm. Male 63.

Oh, my 4 years? I have a lot of work ahead of me.

My son has just gone in for rotator cuff surgery a week ago. Due to the pain in his shoulder and nothing else working, he had surgery. We are hoping that because he is young he will recovery with ease. Even though we know its going to be hard. We were able to get him some adaptive wear clothing
So far it has made the beginning part of his recovery pretty easy. I am told the first few weeks are the most crucial since you cannot move your arm at all or risk doing more damage to your shoulder. What else should we expect from him. Despite him being young, I fear he may not actually get better.

 ***this post is edited by moderator *** *** web addresses not allowed*** Please read our Terms of Use

I'm 11 weeks post op exact same surgery as yours feeling despondent as still painful and rehab is slow process hard to gauge where I am on progress

I am so glad I found this forum. I had the surgery 15 weeks ago and was told very little by doctor, except that it was torn away from bone and he had to open my incision. I am still taking at least one hydrocodone per day, which scares me. After two months of PT three times a week he told me to just stop PT and do the ladder excercise twice at day at home (walking fingers up wall). He also said not to raise my arm out to the side (WHAT!!??). I am totally baffled about what's happening, feel like I'm going backwards. 62 year old female

I am about 4 week post T3 rotator along with interior and exterior labrum repair: how long do you guys stay on medication? I can't sleep well, went out and purchased a pregnancy pillow: works wonders for sitting around and sleeping. The pain though: terrible!!! Constant ache, glad I came upon this sight
I don't feel so alone

I am 12 weeks post op from dominant side rotator cuff repair. I had my left side repaired last year and it was a more extensive repair however for some reason this recent experience seems to be more painful. I also was told that this surgery is one of the most painful and most demanding, psychologically, as the healing and therapy process is long and tedious. Please hear me: It takes one year. It takes one year. It takes one year before you are pain free for the most part and even then you will have pings when you move the joint a certain way. I have tried every possible product over the counter and several prescription drugs to help alleviate the pain and I can say that their effectiveness may work for a couple of weeks then not. I have found that it works to rotate them. My constant pain feels like a throbbing toothache in my shoulder that radiates up to my neck then down to my bicep and at times all the way to my fingers. What keeps me going with this second surgery is knowing that it will get better and I will get my range of motion back. Believe me folks when I say I feel your pain and it is real and I totally understand your frustration. Hang in there and keep trying to find a cocktail of meds and/or therapy that will help you get through the next week, month and finally year. Keep stretching and opening up the that joint! Prayers for healing to you all!