Posted: 10/9/2012 1:47:33 PM EDT
| I had shoulder surgery yesterday, and Boy howdy Im hurting today, it was reattached with (4) screws, rotator cuff repair & cleaned up inside, taking OxyContin every four hours and it still hurting like hell |
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For me, rotating ibuprofen and acetaminophen worked much better than the scrips.
I slept in a chair for a few weeks. Getting up out of a bed will be living hell. Try to stay away from car rides for a while, as every bump can be agony. I feel for you. Hope it hurts less than mine, because it was terrible. ETA: If you take the scrips, start taking laxatives, other wise you'll shit a full size cannon ball. |
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For me, rotating ibuprofen and acetaminophen worked much better than the scrips. I slept in a chair for a few weeks. Getting up out of a bed will be living hell. Try to stay away from car rides for a while, as every bump can be agony. I feel for you. Hope it hurts less than mine, because it was terrible. ETA: If you take the scrips, start taking laxatives, other wise you'll shit a full size cannon ball. Pretty much what he said. It hurts, it sucks and it will take 9-12 months before you're back 100%. The Oxy/vicodin/whatever barely dulled the pain but it gets better after 4 or 5 days. I alternated between sleeping in a chair and piling up 6 or 7 pillows to prop my self up in bed. I slept best when I took the anti nausea medicine because it knocked me out but didn't make me groggy like the pain meds did. |
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The Oxycontin did nothing but give me nightmares.
OxyCodone (Percocet) was better, and not quite as habit forming. Someone else stated the Ibuprofen. That is the one that gave me the most relief. Just make sure it is ok with your MD. Could cause you to bleed so soon after surgery. 3-4 days post-op, you should be fine. It was one of the most painful surgeries I have suffered through, and there have been many. |
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I see I need to give that sports chiropractor more time.  If it's not totally ripped apart like mine was, do that. When I had mine done a guy I worked with warned me. He said, "I've had both knee replaced and a should decompression and rotator repair. The shoulder was a lot more painful than the knees." I thought he was BS'ing me. He wasn't. Mine was bone on bone with bone spurs from hell. It was either live with the loss of function of get it fixed. I'm glad I did but I have since backed off the weights. It's now all high rep light stuff. Paint my dumbbells pink but I'm not going through that again.
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Ouch! Sorry to hear you're hurting OP. I've had three surgeries on my left shoulder, the last one in June. I have two...that's right two RC tears in my right shoulder now and I'm getting cut in the next few weeks. Follow our fellow ARFCOMers' advice on the Oxycontin. After number 2 on the left side, the doc put me on 40mg of those fuckers. REALLY messed me up. After a couple of days, I realized they were not worth the limited help they offered and tossed them out. They are very addictive. Hope you get well soon. If you don't have a rocker/recliner, it might be worth the money. We bought a new powered one for this surgery because I can't use the lever to move the old chair up and down. |
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I has similar surgery. Horrible pain for about a week, but then I stopped taking pain meds after five days.
Was in a sling for months then did physical therapy a couple months. I quit after gaining most of my range of motion back which was a bad idea because my rotator cuff never recovered. My arm now hurts like hell when it's cold, but it doesn't pop out as much, so it all works out. |
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Ouch! Sorry to hear you're hurting OP. I've had three surgeries on my left shoulder, the last one in June. I have two...that's right two RC tears in my right shoulder now and I'm getting cut in the next few weeks. Follow our fellow ARFCOMers' advice on the Oxycontin. After number 2 on the left side, the doc put me on 40mg of those fuckers. REALLY messed me up. After a couple of days, I realized they were not worth the limited help they offered and tossed them out. They are very addictive. Hope you get well soon. If you don't have a rocker/recliner, it might be worth the money. We bought a new powered one for this surgery because I can't use the lever to move the old chair up and down. Best advice so far! I had lost most of my movement in my left arm before I went under the knife, thought I was tough shit before the surgery, now I know Im a big ol pussy 'cus that shit HURT! Multipul bone spurs and RC repair w/decompression. Lived on norcos and somas for 18 months before doc decided I was addicted and pulled me off of them. I still have to eat asprin/ibuprofen by the handful to keep the swelling under control and the pain down so I can sleep at night. Good luck with it all dude, you only have about 8-10 months more to go. |
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I had the right one done in March of 2009 after tearing it tossing a large unpleasant, drunk gentleman by his neck, across the room who was strangling his wife.
The pain was––-"a bastard". That shoulder is back to 95%, after three years. What others have said about the Oxy drugs, I agree with. They gave me hydrocodone, and Ibuprofen and Meclazine for nausea. Run away, if you can from the drugs. Drink lots of fluids to keep the bottom end dump valve working or you'll crap a rock. Then last year, the left one got blown up when I did. No tears, but getting flipped against the ground real hard tore the nerves in the top of the shoulder and the left arm. I have zero fricking feeling from the spine around to the elbow from the bottom of the shoulder blade up. No surgery will ever help, and it's about a 4 year recovery, but with lots of tender loving PT, (torture), it should show improvement in 3 years. Yours will get better, believe me. |
Hoping I'll get off lighter than you guys, I just finished 5 weeks of PRE-op shoulder PT before deciding what to do about surgery. I have a labral tear in my right shoulder, along with a partially torn biceps tendon. Doc said do PT to see how much improvement can be had before, and provide a more successful recovery after. It DID help, but not enough that I could draw my bow so I'm missing archery season this year..... I'll probably delay surgery until after general deer season ends........OP here's to wishing you a fast, effective recovery.
SS |
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Had Left Shoulder repaired years ago due to a Motorcycle accident.
Slap surgery x2, first DR didnt get it right, got a second opinion and was fully recovered with complete mobility in 6 months. Just now almost fully recovered from 2 back surgeries. Had a L4 L5 decompression which helped alot then, about 4 weeks out just before returning to work slowly getting off the meds discovered an instability in the discs. This resulted in another surgery. L4 L5 S1 fusion. Long story short - alternate ice and heat, ice to dull the pain, heat to increase blood flow but, heat can cause inflamation if used in excess - if you are using narcotics use a stool softening product everyday, the pain of passing a brick isnt worth not following this advice especially recovering from back surgery. Miralax contains Propylene Glycol PG 3350, (you can get generics and save some $ same thing) in a powder form which works but if its too much get metamucil which is a psyillium powder and not as brutal if you have digestive issues like IBS. -Physical therapy works wonders, get it as soon as your surgeon allows, slow streching on a regular basis works wonders. Im no expert but since i have gone through two back surgeries since May of this year, and the previously mentioned shoulder surgery, I have learned alot. Those opiods are the devil BTW, I am on a new drug called Exalgo, and Percocet as needed now until I get a pain shot which will hopefully be the last step in this back fiasco. Cant wait to get off all the narcotics and take something like Celebrex. Just realized this has been my first post since I dont freaking know when!!!! |
| I had rotator cuff/biceps tendon surgery 10 months ago. I'm now pain free and have 95% of my mobility––strength is coming. The best news is I'm shooting a bow pain free for the first time in 10 years. Surgery and 6 months of therapy truly sucked. It's taken until the last 45 day to come to the conclusion it was worth doing. If you don't have one, get the shoulder pack that circulates Ice water around your shoulder. This was nearly as effective as the oxys after a week or so. Whatever you do, you got to do the therapy seriously. As painful as it was, it was essential to having range of motion return. Good luck. |
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My wife had rotator cuff surgery 7 weeks ago and she found that she gets really good pain management from the cooling device they provided at the hospital. Here it is:
http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Kodiak-Therapy-Compression-Combo/dp/B006L8NWOQ |
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Looking at my second shoulder surgery in 13 months. Just saw the doc today. I have a 30% tear of my supraspinatus now that is getting worse as we speak and limits my ability to fight fire and workout.
I had a complete year about 10 years ago in my right. Doctor had me oxy and perc. For breakthrough pain. Oxycontin seems a poor choice post surgery to me. Both are the same(oxycodone) except the perc has Tylenol and the oxy is just oxycodone alone, is a higher amount, and has a time release coating on it. All of them are extremely addictive but work wonders for pain. I know the ARFCOM way is to avoid them but I feel like u should take them if u need them. Just be careful If all u have is OxyContin, and have a tolerance, u can chew them for a more immediate release. DO NOT do this if u are opioid naive. It will case respiratory depression and possibly death if your body is not used to opiates. The bottle says dont chew for this reason. It would be no different than taking 4 10mg perc assuming u are getting 40 mg OxyContin. Just be careful. I know the pain. Just trying to help u through it, but do so at your own risk and once again do not do it if you haven't been on opiates for the pain for a while. Your body develops a tolerance very quickly Hope you get better soon and I am sure I will be in your shoes, yet again soon |
| Been there. Don't fret over every moment. Take the pain meds as needed but only if needed. Long rehab, but at least your rehab is a known commodity and not an if, maybe, hope situation. It is what it is and there are a lot of people in much deeper shit than you are in right now. That is what I came away with as I went through long unpredictable rehab. Your road is not as difficult as many others - hang in there and gain an appreciation for the shit others are in. |
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I had my second rotator cuff surgery in February.
I have taken rehabilitation very seriously and was making steady progress, starting to get back into some heavier weights on some exercises. Then 2 weeks ago, a crazy woman hit me with her car. I was on a bike, obeying all laws, and there was absolutely no reason for to hit me. She apparently felt that bicycles do not belong on public roads. This tore the ligaments that attach my acromion process to my clavicle. Very painful! Now I have months more of therapy and possibly another surgery. |
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For me, rotating ibuprofen and acetaminophen worked much better than the scrips. I slept in a chair for a few weeks. Getting up out of a bed will be living hell. Try to stay away from car rides for a while, as every bump can be agony. I feel for you. Hope it hurts less than mine, because it was terrible. ETA: If you take the scrips, start taking laxatives, other wise you'll shit a full size cannon ball. Pretty much what he said. It hurts, it sucks and it will take 9-12 months before you're back 100%. The Oxy/vicodin/whatever barely dulled the pain but it gets better after 4 or 5 days. I alternated between sleeping in a chair and piling up 6 or 7 pillows to prop my self up in bed. I slept best when I took the anti nausea medicine because it knocked me out but didn't make me groggy like the pain meds did. How old are you guys? My dad had this several years ago (In his 50's) and he still hasn't fully recovered? |
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Do you have a "cryo-cuff' to put on your shoulder? If you don't know what it is, it's a shoulder cuff that's hooked to a bucket filled with ice water. You(or whoever can help you) lifts the bucket so ice water runs into the cuff and that way you can ice your shoulder and ease the pain. If you don't have one or can't get one, IM me and I'll send you mine to use. Trust me, you need it and I certainly don't mind sending it to you. Let me know.
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For me, rotating ibuprofen and acetaminophen worked much better than the scrips. I slept in a chair for a few weeks. Getting up out of a bed will be living hell. Try to stay away from car rides for a while, as every bump can be agony. I feel for you. Hope it hurts less than mine, because it was terrible. ETA: If you take the scrips, start taking laxatives, other wise you'll shit a full size cannon ball. Pretty much what he said. It hurts, it sucks and it will take 9-12 months before you're back 100%. The Oxy/vicodin/whatever barely dulled the pain but it gets better after 4 or 5 days. I alternated between sleeping in a chair and piling up 6 or 7 pillows to prop my self up in bed. I slept best when I took the anti nausea medicine because it knocked me out but didn't make me groggy like the pain meds did. How old are you guys? My dad had this several years ago (In his 50's) and he still hasn't fully recovered? I was 38 when I had mine done. PT is essential IMHO, if he's having range of motion issues he's need to go back to PT. A second opinion may not be a bad idea either I went through 2 surgeons before I found one I trusted. |
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I had a "full open" Rt Supraspinatus tear fixed. I was mauled by 2 rotweillers and "supermanned" a fence.
Full thickness tear/acute injury. As far as post Op goes, It is without a doubt My "10" on a pain scale. The most horrible experience of my life. Lots of good posts here. Frozen peas (10 bags of them) in rotation. Never did the 15 on/15 off thing tho. I was full on ice for days. LOTS of pillows to TRY and get comfortable - which doesnt really help. Pain meds were worthless other than tearing up my ass. Nothing like standing there crying and sobbing like a baby, arm in a sling with blood pouring down my legs. Unable to get any solace or relief. Pleading and begging with the surgeon and Dr's was an exercise in futility. It is the only time in my life I gave serious consideration to ending my own life.....It's really that bad. You have my thoughts and prayers today my ARFCOM amigo. PT was no fun either and lots of sobbing and wailing as they get range of motion back (2 weeks of hell), but if you get through the first 5 days post op you wont ever really feel pain like that again. Was not allowed to shoot for 6 months (I was a competitive skeet shooter) so that punishment was bad. Was told I couldnt hunt (shoot) but told them I was going anyway and did. I healed pretty quickly and have full motion and am pain free. Was weak at first but stay dedicated to PT (strength) training and it's all good. After they get range of motion back PT doesnt really hurt anymore.... |
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Been there twice.
The first time about 12 years ago I had the same thing done you did. Had to have screws put in, and then they tied up the muscles (before they could "shrink" them via heat) to limit the rotation my shoulder could do. I had it dislocate soo many times that it rubbed a corresponding flat spot on both the ball and socket in my shoulder, and when they met the shoulder dislocated. Last one was 5 years ago and had my bicep tendon reattached. Evidently, my collarbone was chafing the tendon, and had almost severed it. They cut a 1/4" off the end of the bone, and then added a little wire and reattached. Voila'. Pay heed to what everyone has siad about the meds. Be sure and take it easy and try the laxatives. You'll thank us later. The cryo circulator is a miracle. Mine is a small igloo cooler with the motor in it. Made sleeping ALOT more manageable. If you can't sleep in a chair and pillows aren't comfortable, try getting a small beanbag chair. For like a toddler. They'll form to your back/shoulder, give you some support without putting alot of pressure on the backside of the joint, and allow you to lay a little flatter than you could on pillows. It will also help support the inside of the affected arm. I hate to be the bearer of bad news. But if you think you hurt now, wait until you start rehab. It's a different kind of pain, but it's no better. The saving grace is you know you're getting better. Keep telling yourself that too. Good luck! |
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For all those considering shoulder surgery try glucosamine chondroiton (sp) first. I have some type of injury to my right shoulder (never went to doc), that feels like it is falling out of the socket and is very painful. I have had this injury for about 12 years. I was thinking I needed to get surgery it was so painful.
Somebody suggested I use GC first. I'll be damned that stuff works wonders. Takes about 4 weeks to fully work. When I run out of GC the pain starts to come back in about 2 weeks, and get get my lazy butt online and buy about a years supply. PS...I work out about 3 times a week with no problem. |
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Tore my shoulder up lifting at the gym, thought is was RT, fortunately it turned out to be an impingment. Should be finishing my PT this week, looks like I'm going to be back to 100% with no surgery required. You better believe I'm going to be much more careful with my form when lifting. |
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Quoted: My wife had rotator cuff surgery 7 weeks ago and she found that she gets really good pain management from the cooling device they provided at the hospital. Here it is: http://www.amazon.com/Polar-Kodiak-Therapy-Compression-Combo/dp/B006L8NWOQ Thanks. I'm gonna ask my doc to write a script for one for my next surgery in a few weeks. |