Wellness

[CalminHeart]

Has anyone had surgery to repair a torn rotary cuff?  What was recovery like? Did you wear a sling? Did you have PT?  Tips?  Thanks!

[riley1]

@CalminHeart - Yes, I had this surgery in 2009. I had a sling for about 6 weeks, started PT at about 4 weeks 3X a week. I was in PT for about 3 months. Also, had excercise to do at home. If you follow the instructions from your surgeon you will be fine. My surgeon was quite strict so I played by the rules as I was not about to go through that again, lol. Tips - Have your hair done in an easy to style, maintenance free "do". Wear clothes with elastic waists. I got several pair of yoga pants/leisure pants and some oversized tops. If your shower has a hand-held wand, use it. makes shower time easier. Practice doing things with your opposite hand (brushing teeth and eating). It isn't easy doing these things that are so simple with your "good" hand.

[hopi]

Had 2 shoulders done. Yes you wear a sling, there is PT, recovery 6 weeks.  It's a slow process but your good to go when it's done.

Any surgery have Ducolax for 1st day they give you medicine to constipate you, keep water by the bed.  

[pupwhipped]

@CalminHeart, although I've never had this surgery, I always remember this older thread on the QVC forums. It has well over 200 responses so you could probably get a lot of information from it. HTH.  

https://community.qvc.com/t5/Wellness/Rotator-Cuff-Surgery-Can-anyone-give-me-tips/m-p/4685617/highl...

[judy0330]

I had both shoulders done and my experience was similar to @riley1 .  After my second surgery I was taken to physical therapy as soon as I was awake and dressed.  That was different from the first.  They wanted to get my shoulder working immediately.  No pain at all because the nerve block was still working.  One piece of advice I would give about later physical therapy is that if you feel your shoulder is being worked too hard -- it probably is.  I was sick and had to miss a few sessions and felt much better.  I called my surgeon and he told my therapist to hold back a bit.

I used an ice machine with both surgeries.  It prevented swelling and kept the pain down a lot.  The machine I got after the first surgery was much better than the second so I used it for that one too.   (Three friends who had the surgery have borrowed it in the years since my surgery.)  You can see it on Amazon.  Just search on "Cold Therapy Machine -- Cryotherapy Freeze Kit System" (this is the one I used -- with the pad made for shoulder surgeries) or "Polar Active Ice 3.0 Cold Therapy Ice" -- which is similar.   I had one surgery when we lived in NJ and the second where we live now in CT and both surgeons provided the ice machines.  (Of course the cost was built in.)

Good luck!

 

[Big Joanie]

Yes I had one .... Do everything the Dr. and Pt tells you to the letter

and like another said you should be good to go ... Mine now is \

perfectly fine ...very happy with the reapir ....

[wagirl]

Had a frozen shoulder that dr thought was torn RC at first---went thru surgery--one of the more painful ones I've had--was in PT 3 days later for several weeks and made sure I did my home PT religiously--took at least 9 months for fully recovery--got prob 95 % use  back and  wore a sling too. I iced and heated it up and could only take OTC pain meds as the heavy duty ones do awful things to me.

[Shelbelle]

Friend of mine had surgery for this 2 weeks ago, doing well, in a sling for 6 weeks, starts pt soon, but not yet. Some are told to sleep upright in a chair for 6 weeks but he was allowed to sleep in his bed after the first few days. Noi driving for 6 weeks. 

[Growing]

I had a similar surgery at the end of last December. I am now turned the corner pain wise. Still have pain and still have limited movement (much of mine was joint issues plus a torn bicep tendon). The pain has been unbelievable. I do not tolerate narcotics nor NSAIDS so its been rough. I tend to do too much and that has made my muscles get overworked and irratated in the biceps and tricepts and elbow area. I am trying to take more care of myself. This was on my dominate arm. Do your PT and the home exercises. Get some snap shoulder shirts and some one size larger shirts. Button front shirts will help. You won't be able to get on a normal shirt for a while. I also got one size larger fleece zip front jackets as it was winter. Have pants that don't zip but are pull up. Get a shower stool and you'll need help showering and making a meal. Get household help for someone to clean, you won't be able to. Do laundry in small batches so your surgury arm isn't being used to lift or move heavier amounts. Purchase a months worth of food supplies if you can. I was not able to drive for a while due to the pain. I am the only driver in my house so we used a lot of grocery delivery and ride shares. 

[Growing]

They will give you an industrial sling to wear when they wake you up after surgery. They will give you a huge ice pack to use. You might want to get shoulder sized ice packs to have two. I got my snap shoulder shirts on Amazon. Get one size bigger than you think. You won't be able to dress yourself for 3 weeks or so. I had to sleep in a recliner for about 6 weeks due to the pain and how I sleep. That was awful in the recliner. I do sit in the recliner in the afternoon even now and I do nap in it sometimes. It keeps me from flailing my arm in sleep which I tend to do, pushing off the blanket, reaching for the clock, just stretching. The big thing is know your initial recovery will be 12 weeks and then another 12 weeks rehabilitation of the muscles.