Mike, Good luck with your surgery and I hope that it is a great success.

That recliner needs a lever to operate, not the "push" kind, because you can't push!

My brother broke his shoulder several years ago. Since he is a pianist and was teaching at the University level, he had to get back his full motion. I stayed with him for a couple of weeks because he couldn't drive--he, too, slept in his recliner for a very long time while recuperating. He religiously went to PT even though he told me it was the worse pain he had ever experienced and continued even after the insurance quit paying. I witnessed the pain he endured getting well, but, in the end, his doctor told him that he was only one of two patients he had ever had that recovered to the extent that my brother did. This was due to the PT and my brother's determination to regain as much full motion as possible by exercising at home as well. He was in his late 50's, I believe, when this occurred, and he is doing fine today. Since he lived in California, he wore sandals because he couldn't even put on a pair of socks.

Sue and Scoopie have a good point about pain meds. I'm a pharmacist in my real life, and a veteran of shoulder surgery too. The pain meds make it possible to do the rigorous physical therapy required to get back to normal. I had to go back 9 weeks after my surgery because my shoulder was frozen, to have it "unfrozen" under anesthesia. This was mostly because I couldn't take pain meds before PT since I had to drive myself there and back home. The ball thingy after surgery is a little reservoir with a local anesthetic in it which slowly drains into the surgery site, making the first few days much easier.
I'm 99% better now, just have a hard time reaching behind my back a little.
Thank goodness for physical therapists!
Kathy

I had a nerve block instead which helped for about 3 days!

Scoopie wrote:
Kinda like childbirth, huh! You just revel in the end product when it's all over!!

Sue, sounds like we had the same surgery with the same repairs! I had forgotten about not sleeping flat. I knew there was a reason I slept on the couch. That and being attached to the noisy Ice Man! But, I couldn't have survived without it.

Oh, Mike, your doctor may do this anyway, but ask if he is inserting a pain med device before sending you home. I remember a pain med "ball" that I wore (outside my body) and I guess it automatically injected the pain med at pre-set times. Perhaps it was a drip. I cannot remember where the injection site was, and it was empty and removed on my 3 day follow-up visit.

Dawn
In beautiful Northwest Montana

Take your pain medications and don't be afraid of addiction. When your body stops needing them, you just stop needing them. Don't let the pain get ahead of you, take them on time. The doctor will renew them for as long as you need because they know this is painful surgery. Take them BEforE going to therapy. I thought I was ruined for life after shoulder surgery, recuperation just takes a long time (I was 59 when I had my triple whammy...torn labrum, huge calcium deposit removal & rotator cuff repair). I bought a recliner to sleep in (slept in it for 4 months) before the surgery because you may not be able to sleep lying down for quite awhile.

Hey! Terrorists NEVER help you get better. You will never know just how bad your PT feels to have to put you thru all that!

Oh, Margo!! I forgot about about the Physical Terrorists! There was an especially bad one (probably quite good) at the PT place that I went to, and after one session with him, I requested I never get put with him again!! He was used to working at the Air Force Academy on the younger generation, and my older body just couldn't take it!! LOL

Dawn

I absolutely agree with Dawn. I cried through a lot of my PT sessions and when I did the exercises at home, but I was bound and determined to get full range of motion back, and I did!! I still do exercises to keep it strong and smooth.

BTW....Those PT folks? They are Physical Terrorists!

I had major surgery to my right shoulder for a SLAP tear, so there was a lot of re-attaching of muscles, tendons, and ligaments. Lots of pins/anchors. Anyway, my doctor told me that to have a successful surgery, the patient, PT, and surgeon all play an equal part. The PT is VERY important, so get a good one! And, do everything they tell you to do, and nothing you are not supposed to do!!!!!! The whole week after surgery, for me anyway, was sheer he_ _! I was in a lot of pain, very restricted, being attached to the "ice man" and having my arm velcroed to my waist. It was a week I hope to never go through again! But, I had a trip I wanted to take in two months, and went at the PT and home exercising very, VERY faithfully. And, with sheer determination and optimism, I signed off after two months! I still have to be careful, because if I overdo, it can hurt for a few days. I do not do my weekly arm exercises, as I should, for life!

My elder, bed-ridden mother had a shoulder replacement, but never really did her PT. She would pull down on a pully that she had hooked over a door, a couple of times a day, and that was it. She never regained shoulder strength/movement. She just moved her lower arm from the elbow. So sad! I cannot impress enough the importance of PT!!

I hope everything goes well, and just keep remembering (during that first week) that it gets a little better day by day.

Dawn,
In beautiful Northwest Montana

The nagging, aching pain will go and probably not come back IF you do your rehab faithfully. rehab is not fun or pain-free, but it is absolutely necessary to get full benefit of the procedure and have a functional shoulder. Age DOES make a difference, but attitude and motivation have more effect. God Bless you with your surgery and recovery!

I think they forget to tell you that they have cut through muscle and there is always pain when you have your skin cut. Rehab is important. Anyway, I will pray for you Mike and Marilyn.