Rotator Cuff repair X 2 advice needed

[brocka]

You will be in a immobilizer for the first six weeks and you will be doing
a fair amount of PT.
Your right side will really be stressed, as it will be your good arm and compensating for your other side.
I had my Rotator cuff, Labrum, and Bicep tendon reattached.
My Doctor (Wendy Heusch) at Rainier Ortho in Puyallup is awesome.
She did a nerve block which really alleviated a lot of pain and reduced the need for pain meds.
I was back Skiing in 6 months, but it takes at least a full year to be close to normal.
Your Doctor will advise you properly.
Good luck.

Dr. Heusch did my surgery as well on the 16th. She is great.

And to the OP, I am on week two and there is absolutely no way a guy can get both done that close together.

[trophyhunt]

You will be in a immobilizer for the first six weeks and you will be doing
a fair amount of PT.
Your right side will really be stressed, as it will be your good arm and compensating for your other side.
I had my Rotator cuff, Labrum, and Bicep tendon reattached.
My Doctor (Wendy Heusch) at Rainier Ortho in Puyallup is awesome.
She did a nerve block which really alleviated a lot of pain and reduced the need for pain meds.
I was back Skiing in 6 months, but it takes at least a full year to be close to normal.
Your Doctor will advise you properly.
Good luck.

Dr. Heusch did my surgery as well on the 16th. She is great.

And to the OP, I am on week two and there is absolutely no way a guy can get both done that close together.

I was hoping you’d comment!

[Wood2Sawdust]

I'm scheduled on March 20 with Dr Rossi in Wenatchee. Have a friend who had one done by him a year ago who recommended him

[trophyhunt]

I'm scheduled on March 20 with Dr Rossi in Wenatchee. Have a friend who had one done by him a year ago who recommended him

One piece of advice from me, take your pain pills on TIME, not by pain the first few days.  I don’t like how pain pills make you feel so I took them when I felt the pain (which is pretty constant) get worse, by then it was too late.  I started taking them every 4-6 hours as recommended and it helped with the INTENSE pain. Brocka is a bit younger than me and he did the blocker, we’ve been talking and he seems to be having a little better life than I did my first week, I never took the blocker.  Maybe the blocker is better, or maybe just being younger helps??? Prepare for the SUCK!!  Hope you have a recliner to sleep in, you will need it. 

[baldopepper]

Just kinda need to add a couple things.  If you are older (late 60s or 70+) you need to really think hard about surgery. If your tear is the result of an accident or is more of a minor tear it might be repairable. If it just kind of happened as you aged and is a massive tear you're probably wasting money and useless pain. Truth is many rotator cuff problems in older people is that the tendons just wear out.  Surgically reattching them does no good because the tendon just can't hold any longer. I would advise a really in depth conversation with your doctor about the cause of your tear. Not pointing any specific fingers, but surgery is a major profit generator for many doctors. I just have too many older friends who've done it and found no long term relief.  Good luck with whatever decision you make.

.
 

[Platensek-po]

Has anyone had them both done in a short time? i am scheduled March 20 for left rotator Cuff tear and 4 tendon tears surgery. Now I found out right shoulder is almost as bad. Is it remotely possible to do second surgery 10 weeks after first shoulder. I'm 69 year old guy in fair physical shape who still wants to shoot a bow again every day and would like to at least rifle hunt this year. Any experiences? recovery times? Thanks to all

10 weeks is too soon. I wouldn’t do the other one until 6 months. Find a good physical therapy clinic. Anywhere that only offers 30-45min will not be good enough. Do your exercises 3 times a day before the surgery. Then once you start pt do them as often as you can tolerate. It will def be painful but not as bad as some suggest if you get as strong as you can prior to the surgery. If after 6 months you aren’t at least 80% of what your shoulder was prior to injury you may never recover it. Our bodies are built to move and the longer you go with limited movement the harder and worse it will be. The people who can push through the pain and get their motion back as quickly as possible do waaaay better than the complainers who won’t push themselves. I have helped many many people recover from shoulder surgeries and that’s my observation.

have you had rotator cuff surgery?

Yes but i was half the OP age and it was a minor repair from a year I suffered when I was 18. I’m not saying it doesn’t hurt a lot. I’m saying I see a lot of people who say it hurts to move it and so they don’t. That’s the worse thing you can do. Having a frozen shoulder and needing a manipulation is awful. Much better to push through the pain and break up scar tissue early than to have to be put under again and have the doctor move your arm in all directions to break up the scar tissue that’s frozen your shoulder in place. I also agree that taking your meds on time is the best bet but also consider saving some of the stronger pain meds for PT. You can also take ibuprofen and Tylenol at the same time or staggered to overlap. Of course consult with your dr before following any medical advice online. Another option is turmeric or curcumin as an anti-inflammatory. I agree that having an in depth conversation with your surgeon is the best way to go. If you don’t feel comfortable with your surgeon find another. Ask people who have had shoulder surgery who they had do it and how it went. Having a good surgeon makes a big difference. I hope that whatever your choice is you get relief and can recover your shoulder as quickly as possible.

[trophyhunt]

Yes, you have to move it right away.  My doctor gave me exercises to do a couple days after the surgery.  Had my 2nd real pt today and my motion is great.  If you don’t move it, I’ve heard it’s really bad.

[HntnFsh]

I've had a frozen shoulder after surgury to repair a type two slap tear, torn labrum, and torn bicep muscle. Took a few anchors to reattach everything.  Absolutely sucked. Had a good massage therapist get my range of motion back. It was absolutely miserable to go through his treatments.

[trophyhunt]

I've had a frozen shoulder after surgury to repair a type two slap tear, torn labrum, and torn bicep muscle. Took a few anchors to reattach everything.  Absolutely sucked. Had a good massage therapist get my range of motion back. It was absolutely miserable to go through his treatments.

two anchors for me, I swear its therapy just talking w people that have gone through this type of surgery, you’ll never know the pain until you go through it.  I will not have the frozen shoulder to deal with, heard about it and I’m working too hard to get it. 

[Platensek-po]

I've had a frozen shoulder after surgury to repair a type two slap tear, torn labrum, and torn bicep muscle. Took a few anchors to reattach everything.  Absolutely sucked. Had a good massage therapist get my range of motion back. It was absolutely miserable to go through his treatments.

two anchors for me, I swear its therapy just talking w people that have gone through this type of surgery, you’ll never know the pain until you go through it.  I will not have the frozen shoulder to deal with, heard about it and I’m working too hard to get it.

Good job man! Keep at it and I swear it gets better!!! Massage definitely helps to break up some of the scar tissue as well but nothing beats movement

[trophyhunt]

I've had a frozen shoulder after surgury to repair a type two slap tear, torn labrum, and torn bicep muscle. Took a few anchors to reattach everything.  Absolutely sucked. Had a good massage therapist get my range of motion back. It was absolutely miserable to go through his treatments.

two anchors for me, I swear its therapy just talking w people that have gone through this type of surgery, you’ll never know the pain until you go through it.  I will not have the frozen shoulder to deal with, heard about it and I’m working too hard to get it.

Good job man! Keep at it and I swear it gets better!!! Massage definitely helps to break up some of the scar tissue as well but nothing beats movement

Thanks!

[HntnFsh]

I've had a frozen shoulder after surgery to repair a type two slap tear, torn labrum, and torn bicep muscle. Took a few anchors to reattach everything.  Absolutely sucked. Had a good massage therapist get my range of motion back. It was absolutely miserable to go through his treatments.

two anchors for me, I swear its therapy just talking w people that have gone through this type of surgery, you’ll never know the pain until you go through it.  I will not have the frozen shoulder to deal with, heard about it and I’m working too hard to get it.

Thats good. you dont want it. I worked hard to keep from getting it. Dont know why I did. I tried several options to get it freed up. The Massage therapist was a last ditch effort before manipulation. He would have me lay on my back and have somebody pull on my arm while he dug his thumb and fingers in until they cramped and then resorted to using his elbow. He would tell me."Your one tough s.o.b." I didnt feel like it. A couple times I thought I was going to pass out from the pain.

[trophyhunt]

Good God man, that makes my arm hurt just heading about it!!

[Encore 280]

Went to the doc yesterday and explained things so he agreed with the MRI. So now just waiting for the MRI schedule. It'll be a relief just finding out what's going on in there. After reading what you guys are posting, surgery will be a last ditch effort but pretty much out of the question. Getting too damn old for anymore misery. I'll just deal with it.

[Ridgeratt]

If you do get it done see if your doc will script a Polar cold ice machine it is a god, send in recovery.
If this is a L&I claim they will exhaust all the possibilities to avoid the surgery. Including a cortisone injection.