Not looking forward to this. I've heard recovery is going to suck.

If anyone has had it, any tips would be appreciated.

Listen to your PT.

Do your reps.

More doesn't equal getting better quicker.

Ice and toradol. Ask for block if not offered

Sleep in a chair

Work hard at PT

It is going to suck.

Do not get behind on your meds. . . like not even 10 minutes.

Request the do-hickey that periodically numbs the area for a few days.

Request a shoulder nerve block.

Don't try to be a hero with your PT.

* two time shoulder surgery vet here*

You'll be fine.

Get a cryo cuff or whatever version of a circulating ice pack.  Take stool softeners with narcs, alternate narc and then ibuprofen, and when pain improves narc and then Tylenol.  If you have a progressive thinking surgeon hopefully they’ll prescribe oxy w/o Tylenol, so you can alternate oxy/tylenol/ibuprofen every two hours.

The block will make you FEEL short of breath but you’re not

Do your PT, and follow activity restrictions

Edit:  since you’re in CO, if you do alternative pain relief don’t do it with the narcs.  Never mix the whacky tabaccy and oxycodone

I’m a PT and I see 5-6 of these per month. It sucks at first, you’ll probably want to sleep in a recliner for a while. Take your pain meds, don’t get behind the curve there. Don’t overdo things, stick with the restrictions from the surgeon or you sure as hell can rupture the graft. It’s more fragile than you’d think. Ice Ice and more Ice.

Good luck. It’s not as bad as many say, especially if you’re not a woman with shitty pain tolerance.

I had my labrum repaired which is similar. Its going to suck hard and long. Follow the PT religiously. Don't stop rehabbing it even when you are discharged. Baby steps. Work your way back up.



My surgeon asked me prior what my expectations were. I told him I fully expected to be doing dead hang pullups. Overhead pressing my body-weight. And doing barbell bench-pressing at least 1.5x my body-weight without problems.  He thought I was being a little optimistic. Making a full recovery is unlikely. Etc.




I didn't recover 100% but my surgeon and PT under-estimated what my recovery would be. I'd say my shoulder is at about 95%. I can do all of the things listed above ^ despite my surgeon and PT telling me it would be unlikely to do those things.


Granted. It took about 2-2.5 years for me to make a full recovery. I wasn't really able to workout or lift weights for over a year.

My 1st shoulder surgery was very invasive apparently.  The PT lady took off my bandages and said out loud "oh my God, what did he do to you!?"  I was green, purple, yellow, and brown  to my elbow and halfway across my chest.   Incision went from the top of my shoulder to my armpit.  You're goshdamn right it hurt like a MF'r!!

Had it done about a year ago.  Took a little longer to heal than I thought to get to 100%.  I had the whole deal done.  Rotator cuff, tendonesis, arthritis removal and shaving my collar bone to prevent impingement.  

I would say it took 6 months before it was relatively pain free, 8 months to feel mostly normal.  Now I would say it is actually better than the other shoulder. Really don't notice any issues at all maybe just a little weaker in that arm than I remember being before.

Here you go:

Attached File

Anesthesia
Block
TIVA
Toradol
Zofran

Surgery
It’s all arthroscopic, no mini-open. Those suck.

Listen to your Orthopod about activity and stick to only what he says.
Do the PT as prescribed, don’t push. It takes time, pushing too hard only risks setting you back (and it will never be the same after a “re-do”).
Minimize narcotics, take stool softeners from the get-go.
Ice.
Expect a year of meaningful recovery.

good luck, been there.  Hope you have a speedy recovery.  Do you PT if you really want best results.

One day at a time.

Your arm will be so m’fing stiff you’ll think it’ll never work again.  Be patient, do the PT.  

The stretching exercises are weird because feels very different from stretching a muscle.  Feels like your joint hits a hard stop.  Little by little that ‘hard stop’ moves and you gain a little more range of motion.  Eventually it just disappears.

On a Friday during golfing hours

Get the nerve block.

I had surgery in either 2018 or 19.  They surgery was minimally invasive to make the needed repairs, and they didn't have to do the typical tear repairs.  but he did mention he ground off and removed parts of my collar bone and other bone spurs. never felt any discomfort from that.  BUT... I am convinced they pulled all the muscles out of my arm through a 1/2" incision to show to all his friends.  My muscles are what hurt for the longest time.  Thankfully, I had a quick, non standard (read easier than most all) recovery.

I had separated labrum and torn rotator cuff surgery in 2020.  I took zero pain meds.  It was pretty painful for about 24 hours and then just sore. I never felt the need for pain meds.  Sleeping sitting upright was much easier than I thought it would be.    

PT is what the eventual fix will be.  Four years later, I still do my all of PT exercises every other day during normal workout.  My shoulder is great today.

nothing more to add than what others have already mentioned. speedy recovery, OP!!

Thanks everyone.

Yes, the first 24 hours after will be the worst but it will get better as long as you follow the protocol.

Dibs on guns and ammo.

I've heard people say they'd do both knees again before they'd ever do another rotator cuff.  

Good luck op and remember that your rehab will dictate how you heal.  Never want to use that shoulder again? Then half ass the pt.  

My grandma scoffed at the pt after her knee replacement and she ended up wheel chair bound until she passed 20 years later.

Mine must have been a mild repair - I didn’t need opiates at all (just Tylenol) and was up and shooting a 3-Gun match in 3 months.

Surgery went well. Apparently the tendonosis wasn't necessary, nor any scraping.

Glad it went well! Both of mine have been screwed for about 15 years. I'm good though. :-)

Wow, you weren't kidding about that.

When the nerve block wears off, its eye opening pain, stay on top of your meds.

Recovery does suck.  Badly. I had rotator cuff surgery done in 2012. Couldn't believe how painful post op and recovery was.  Sleeping in a recliner for a few weeks sucked also.  The ice chest with the bubble wrap looking thing to wrap around my shoulder gave some relief for about 20 minutes at a time.
All in all. Rotator surgery sucks. A lot.

Been through that with my foot.

The strange thing is, I'm already starting to feel towards the elbow. This block isn't going to last as long as they said.

Not going to sugar coat it - It’s going to SUCK!  3x rotator cuff surgery recipient here.  Most painful and irritating thing I’ve ever endured

You’re gonna need lots of help for the next month.  It’ll be aggravating and embarrassing.  But you’ll need it.  You’re gonna be useless for at least a month.  You’ll need someone to drive you, help you get dressed, get your shirt on, clean the incision(s), shop for you,,etc.

Get some sweats and loose shirts and looser zip up shirts/ sweatshirts to go over your sling.  Same for shoes.  Easy on/ easy off.  For once, crocs have a legit purpose.  

You don’t want to go to stores where your arm can get bumped into for a while.

When the nerve block wears off, it’s going to suck more.  Get your pain management routine in order.  Doesn’t matter what your thoughts on opioids are, you’re going to need them.   If they low ball you, and give you Tylenol 800’s or some other shit, call then next day and demand the good stuff.   Seriously.  It’s going to hurt.  A lot.

If you’ve ever wondered how bad a sneeze can possibly hurt, you’re gonna find out.  Wiggling a toe will be felt in your shoulder.

Everyone has different tolerances and ability to metabolize different meds.  I got Percocet.  When it didn’t work, they told me to double the dosage.  That made me manic.  And I wanted to cut my arm off with a sawzall.

You’re going to need pain meds, and you need to be both careful and truthful with their effectiveness.  If it doesn’t work, tell them.  If you have a bad effect, tell them.  

Dilaudid was the only thing that even remotely worked for me.  I also realized how people could become addicted to opioids.  Never understood it before.  My body set its own clock and craved it.  Be careful with that shit.  Once the pain is manageable on its own, flush the rest.

Be prepared for wild mood swings.  Not only because of the meds, but because you just can’t do what you want to do.  Your arm just isn’t going to work.  For a good while.  It’s a huge adjustment period.  Apologize in advance, and often after.

That said, get stool softeners NOW.  And take them. Often.  

Also, get an ice machine.  Insurance should cover it, but you may need to ask for it.  Freeze 6 bottles of water.  Prime the machine with ice cubes, then drop 3 frozen bottles in, and rotate them in the freezer.  Much better results with longer lasting cold on your shoulder, and way better than ice cubes.

If you prefer to sleep in bed next to your SO (if applicable), get an orthopedic bed wedge.  Something like this:



If your strong side is the one being operated on, you should’ve already been practicing wiping your ass with your weak side. It’s not natural lol.

Watch your food intake.  Comfort foods and junk are tempting being laid up,  it you’re not going to be moving or seeing the caloric burn you do in pre-surgical life, and you’re gonna pack on pounds if you’re not cognizant of that.  Ask me how I know.

Muscle atrophy WILL happen.  You’re gonna have to put some effort back in to get back in shape.  Rotator cuff surgery recovery is a long haul.

DO YOUR PT. DO YOUR PT. DO YOUR PT.  Do it 100% to the letter with maximum effort.

Protect that arm.  Stay in the mobilization sling as prescribed.  No matter how uncomfortable, don’t take it off.  Follow your orthos direction to the T. There’s really no middle ground or gray area where you can decide what’s best.  Fuck it up, you’re going back under the knife.

It’s a long haul.  Almost a full year before I could even toss a ball again. Still only have about 85% mobility, but it’s better than it was and I’m pain free.

Also, frozen shoulder is a thing.

Good luck man, wishing you a speedy recovery.  

I had it done last May on my non dominant arm “left”.  Rotator cuff, pectoral tendon , bicep tendon and cleaned up the bone spurs.  I followed that rehab booklet they gave and did all the PT myself.  I was salmon fishing in Alaska on Kenia river the end of July.  Wasn’t the smartest thing to do but I still had my dominant arm.  Hang in there.  First couple weeks is a bitch.

Edit.  I’m almost at 100 percent now.

awesome. glad you’re ok op. stay AHEAD OF the pains meds & alternate tylenol/ibuprofen, if dr allows.

ice is your friend as well.

When I had shoulder surgery, my block wore off in the middle of the night, excruciating pain, it was supposed to last until lunch time. Not happy

Oh and thanks for not calling it a “rotary cup”

Recovery is slow, but not necessarily "suck".  You get past the initial surgical pain, then it's mostly just inconvenience of being one-armed for a good while, then you have to PT and stretch the thing lots, which honestly isn't terrible - just inconvenient.

The wife’s was a bad tear

Do the physical therapy

In her case, everything took longer
than expected during recovery

I’m guessing she had about  a 80%
recovery. There is still some loss of
movement

Ha.  Years as an acute care surg nurse taught me women have a far greater pain tolerance than men.

If you are sleeping it WILL wake you up.

So how did ya sleep OP.

Attached File

Fell off bike last October.  Had an MRI in February.  In March the surgeon says I need surgery due to a "pretty good tear", tentatively in October.

Funny thing is I was in pain with limited movement from Oct-Mar.  About 2 weeks after him giving me the news about surgery the pain is almost totally gone and my range of motion is about 90% and only feel pain when I push to 100% and even the pain from that now is not too bad.

I feel like it's getting better on its own.  I really don't wanna have surgery.   I see him again in August and will discuss with him then obviously.

Is this a thing or will I still need the surgery?

I'm 1 week 3 days post op, torn labrum in 3 places,  and 2 other tears somewhere. Not a bad recovery, sleep sucks though.  I weaned off percosets in 3 days.

Take it easy, and do the little pt things they want you to start the next day.

Me to the first time sucked bad the second not as much however PT on a second tear after the first surgery was just as bad as the surgery. Thanks to my therapist who recognized that there was a problem and pushed the doctor to do a second MRI which led to the second surgery

Percocet is your friend.

Mind your dosing schedule.

My 2nd surgery on the same shoulder was done via scope roughly 7 months after the 1st (had an incident that ripped some of the previous work apart).  World of difference in pain level.  Apparently having a Ortho that was previously an NFL teams DR made a difference.

I will be having this surgery in a few weeks.  I dred it.  2 complete tears, one partial tear.  Bicep tendon is kinda rolled over.  So that has to be unattached and reattached on a different spot.   Its my right arm, my strong arm.  I drive with my left arm oddly enough.  So I don't think driving will be a problem.   I had my right elbow and tricep done a few years back.  So it was in a sling for 10 days I think.  I know this one will be a sling for 6 weeks.   So I have some experience being one-armed.  

One thing I am concerned about is sleeping.  I don't have a recliner.  Just a couch in my living room and my bed in the bedroom.  

OP how are you sleeping?  I sleep on my back.   Not sure how that will go if I try that.  Maybe I will have to stack some pillows.  Ortho said it will also be arthro on my shoulder thank goodness no big cuts.

Had a bone spur and torn labrum back in 2002.  From what I remember surgery wasn't too bad.  I do remember it hurt for like 8 months.  I finally just went back into the gym.  It stopped hurting as soon as I started working out.   Maybe I babied it too much.  

my dad just had his 2nd shoulder done with reverse ball and cup about a month ago. he was blown away how well the first one went. the 2nd one is kicking his ass a bit more. DR said the right side was much worse off.

Have your spouse pick up extra ice (2-3 bags) for the little cooler pump thing and a Christmas light timer. Plug pump into it. 15 on 15 off. Drugs didn’t work nearly like they said, but the ice machine was awesome.  I had full  circumference labral  repair.

Mine was close to that as well and I felt it tear the day after surgery and reported it to the doc. who said that it was nothing. Started PT 6 weeks later and  and after another 6 weeks the therapist step in as I was in pain. I had second MRI and doc. say sorry it was a tear we have to fix with another surgery. I was out of work for almost a year