Got my surgery coming up soon. Who's had one? Any advice on what to expect?

7/7/2011 1:10:37 PM

Depends on what they're cleaning up. I had mine done when I was 16. Some tenderness in the area for a few days. Had to some PT for a few weeks. Otherwise, no major issues.

7/7/2011 1:13:05 PM

Type II Slap tear.

7/7/2011 1:15:21 PM

I had Type 1. Your recovery may vary from mine, specifically in the length of immobilization recommended by your surgeon.

7/7/2011 1:23:32 PM

im having my ankle done next friday. they said to expect no weight bearing for 1 week, followed by immobilization for 3 (walking boot). not a shoulder but that's my situation.

7/7/2011 1:31:39 PM

I had one. Torn labrum, ligament and tendon damage, etc. Pretty serious surgery actually. Complete immobilization for 2 weeks, another few weeks of very minimal movement, and then about 6 weeks of physical therapy. From what I gather I had pretty severe damage in comparison to most folks due to the fact that I had done considerable damage to my shoulder on multiple occasions over the course of 15 years or so.

7/7/2011 1:49:13 PM

TKE-Teg had shoulder surgery done last fall. you should talk to him.

7/7/2011 1:51:32 PM

Who is your surgeon?

7/7/2011 2:25:01 PM

An Air Force Major in Italy.

7/7/2011 2:26:53 PM

I've assisted in several SLAP repairs and have followed up with a number of patients. Expect quite a bit of pain the first couple days following the procedure. The second day is typically the worst but it gets better from there. After that, do as much physical therapy as possible. It might not be the most comfortable thing, but the patients who did additional PT at home (table slides, arm swings, etc.) showed the greatest improvement. I think just about every patient who had the procedure was thankful they did it.

7/7/2011 3:34:38 PM

Yeah, I've been doing PT pretty heavily to strengthen up my shoulder prior to surgery too, so I'm hoping that helps.

7/7/2011 3:48:45 PM

Yup, I did all of my at home pt and it did a huge amount of good. Therapist was very pleased with how quickly progressed, especially compares to some other folks rehabbing at the same time as me.

7/7/2011 4:00:53 PM

I think I'm going to finally see about getting me shoulder fixed. My brother gave me a high five at the NCSU football game today and it popped my shoulder out. I'm tired of dealing with it. Since I don't live in Raleigh anymore, I'm going to have to find a super awesome doctor in Charlotte area I guess.

11/27/2011 12:25:35 AM

Good luck! Let us know if you have any questions.

11/27/2011 12:41:44 AM

GGetting an MRI tomorrow hope I don't freak out. Do they put your whole head in there?

12/8/2011 1:58:01 PM

The top half of my body was in the machine. It takes between 10-30 min

12/8/2011 1:59:40 PM

Physical therapy at the student health center has been beneficial after shoulder surgery---cheaper too. Too bad you are out of town.

12/8/2011 2:21:01 PM

^^^yes. its a pretty small space. And make sure you do not move!!! lol

12/8/2011 2:23:44 PM

I was thinking of taking a sedative, but I have to drive there and back, so maybe not

12/8/2011 3:25:14 PM

It's not bad unless you're claustrophobic.

12/8/2011 3:34:53 PM

lol, do you have a problem not moving? I mean you just lay there. I've had MRIs twice, both over 30 minutes. Wasn't that tough

12/8/2011 3:35:08 PM

haha, I don't think I'm claustrophobic. I do have a fear of fire though and not being able to escape. In school I always wanted to sit on the end of the row so I could run away if need be. Yeah, I'm weird. I'm sure I'll be fine as long as I have pleasant thoughts. Thanks for the input.

12/8/2011 3:39:56 PM

My first was in Korean hospital, second time was Italian hospital. Both without translators (they kind of just dropped me off) so the only thing I was going off of was episodes of House. I was expecting 2-5 minutes...

Btw, it's not like you can get stuck in the machine, I mean worse case scenario the table doesn't retract so you just slide out.

[Edited on December 8, 2011 at 3:42 PM. Reason : a]

12/8/2011 3:41:34 PM

alright, well I should be fine then as long as I can stay still.

12/8/2011 3:46:56 PM

I consider myself slightly claustrophobic (like the thought of being in a small tunnel underground freaks me out) but I didn't think anything of it when in the MRI machine.

Those machines are pretty noisy but sometimes they'll give you headphones to listen to music while in there. Either way, you'll do great!

[Edited on December 9, 2011 at 9:02 AM. Reason : k]

12/9/2011 9:01:20 AM

I survived. They gave me earplugs and told me to breath shallow. I don't think I did a good job, but I did my best.

After reviewing the pictures from the MRI, I have determine that my shoulder is growing a small baby and a penis. I won't know for sure until the 14th though, when I go ask the doctor.

12/9/2011 3:03:38 PM

Congrats

12/9/2011 3:04:56 PM

i've gotten one MRI (lower back) and they had satellite radio and I could listen to whatever I wanted during the scan!

12/11/2011 10:34:45 PM

You can also ask for valium if the MRI freaks you out that much (for those who are skeptical about MRIs, obviously bmel has already gotten it).

[Edited on December 11, 2011 at 10:36 PM. Reason : ]

12/11/2011 10:35:23 PM

^^i had that once. It was nice.

I fall asleep in them, despite them being so loud... its not a deep sleep, its just... my body has nothing to do so i drift off.

12/11/2011 10:42:58 PM

Getting dat 190% shoulder arthroscopy. Doc says I have a labrum tear and stretching. Waiting to schedule my appointment now.

12/14/2011 9:38:23 AM

Is it your dominant arm? Its my left shoulder thats fucked, and I only really use it for butterfly presses, sex moves, and tennis, so I'm not sure its worth the hassle of surgery and the subsequent rehab.

12/14/2011 9:42:18 AM

yeah, it's my right shoulder. I've gotten pretty good at doing things with my left arm, but I'd like to have my dominant arm back.

12/14/2011 10:54:48 AM

Thats what I had. Have fun :-)

12/14/2011 10:57:40 AM

^^that's what I had, though it was my left shoulder.

^^^you should get it fixed unless you have crappy insurance. If you don't you'll really be kicking yourself 20 years from now.

12/14/2011 11:19:56 AM

TKE, I've been meaning to ask you, the part of my bicep closet to the shoulder has been bugging me for about a month now. Not exactly pain, just a really weird/annoying feeling when I have the muscle flexed (lifting something, bent, etc)...normal?

12/14/2011 11:21:46 AM

You'll be happy to know that I had a weird feeling there, almost exclusively when I was working out and lifting weights. It gradually went away...was maybe entirely gone 9 months after surgery? I can't really recall.

You should be good

12/14/2011 11:26:10 AM

bmel, I had that same surgery in like 07. No big deal, though it does suck sleeping in your sling for ~5 weeks. Though, I will say I couldn't sleep comfortably on my left side for around a year after my surgery.

12/14/2011 11:47:33 AM

Doc recommended I sleep in a recliner or at least propped up on pillows. Looks like I want me snuggling for a few weeks. how long did y'all take off from work?

12/14/2011 12:34:41 PM

I got 2 weeks off work (mandated convalescent leave, military), however, I honestly could have gone back to work after a couple days. I say a couple days only because you can't shower/remove the gauze/dressings until 3 days later.

Go for the nerve block if you have the option.

12/14/2011 12:42:34 PM

Manager is giving me a full 7 days. Luckily, my vacation starts on the 5th, which is the day of my surgery.

12/14/2011 2:19:56 PM

I was a student when I had my surgery and I had it over the summer, though about a week after I went back to my internship on a part time basis....I didn't have much trouble after the first 3 days.

12/14/2011 2:23:00 PM

^^do you not have short term disability available to you? I was out of work for 2 1/2 weeks and had my arm in a sling for 8 weeks. None of my time away from work came out of my vacation time.

I slept in a recliner the first night after surgery and that was it, b/c it was flat out horrible and uncomfortable. Instead I suggest sleeping on a bed with 1-2 pillows on your side (whichever side the surgery was on) to provide a little support for your shoulder.

I had a nerve block (was administered right before surgery) which was great. However it wore off around 2am that first night and I was in a lot of pain/discomfort. I think for the first week I was going through 12 percocets a day.

[Edited on December 14, 2011 at 3:08 PM. Reason : k]

12/14/2011 3:05:43 PM

^ I bought some short term disability, but I can't take advantage of it because my injury is an old one and I haven't had the policy for over a year. BCBS called me and said that they'd like me to pay $1538.06 on the day of my surgery. However, I think my HRA will pay $750 since it starts over on the 1st. Kind of sucks splitting this between the new year. I'll remember that if I have future surgeries.

12/29/2011 10:16:16 PM

Got surgery tomorrow at 7:15am. Hopefully I am the first to go under to avoid delays.

I am only losing one vacation day due to the surgery. Thanks to being employee of the month and new years vacation time.

I am curious how many pt visits I will have to attend. I plan to do as much pt at home as I can.

1/4/2012 10:12:17 AM

Good luck darlin

1/4/2012 10:45:15 AM

^^good luck!

Also don't short change yourself on PT, as doing so could make your shoulder feel "different" for the rest of your life. I think I had around 40 PT appointments (in addition to what they had me do at home). You probably won't need that many, but my copay is $0 so I went as long as it made sense

[Edited on January 4, 2012 at 11:56 AM. Reason : k]

1/4/2012 11:56:05 AM

Any updates bmel?

1/6/2012 1:55:05 AM

My IV leaked and made my non surgery arm swell, but that went away after a day. That was about the only complication. I got the nerve block and it wore out sometime this morning, so now I'm on a percocet routine. It makes me nauseous

1/6/2012 9:34:48 PM

Congrats, the percs never made me nauseous(of course they never really helped with the pain) Did you get pictures?

1/6/2012 9:42:51 PM