Grade 4 Full-thickness SLAP Tear

I guess I could call my Workman’s Comp case manager and see if they would allow that. I’m not sure how all that works.

I am happy about not having to go through surgery but am worried about the long term effects if I do not. Back to square one I guess. Bumming :(
 
Hello again!

Sorry for not posting in several weeks. My life has been filled with PT 3 x week, numerous doctor, dentist and attorney meetings, along with the normal house cleaning, grocery shopping, hair appointments etc. etc. So, just wanted to give an update. As you can tell from the time I am posting this, I am still not sleeping, even after going to my PCP and getting sleeping pills.

I finally asked around at PT offices, etc. and found an OS who specializes in Shoulder injuries ( used to work for the LA Lakers, Dodgers and several other LA based sports teams as an assistant doctor ) and saw him on Wednesday June 20th. Boy what a night and day difference from my former OS; compassionate, caring, knowledgeable and took the time to explain everything throughly to me and even draw pictures!

Yes, I am going to finally have surgery. He told me that I have a “Very, very severe traumatic tear that no amount of PT would ever fix”. I am now awaiting approval from WC which can take 2 days to 2 months! Since they already have an IME scheduled for July 10th, they may wait until after that to give/deny approval.

Does anyone else have an experience in this?

So, happy Summer to everyone, will talk soon.

Lor
 
Thank goodness you found a good OS who actually looked at your situation. Wishing you quick action from WC.
 
Thank goodness you found a good OS who actually looked at your situation. Wishing you quick action from WC.

Thank You! I really really appreciate any and all support from members of this forum.

This forum is by far the most helpful and supportive forum I have had the pleasure to be a part of !

My new OS’s nurse had the same surgery done and gave me lots of advice and helpful tips for recovery. He also scared me a bit by saying that this surgery is going to be extremely painful and a difficult road to travel during recovery.

I have had back surgery, 2 MCL repairs to my left knee, LCL repair to my right elbow just to mention a “few” of my surgeries to date and it sounds like this is going to be the most restrictive surgery as far as doing even the most seemingly simple tasks, ADLs etc.

I must admit, I am pretty frightened of this surgery. So much for our plans to go to Maine this summer. I don’t want to go if I cannot do all the activities we had planned! Other than returning to work, I MUST be able to snowmobile this winter!

You may be able to tell from my posts, I am very active! I work hard but “play” harder. Horseback riding, 4-Wheeling, camping, fishing and snowmobiling are a few of the activities I enjoy the most. My OS stated my recovery after surgery is going to be approximately 4.5 months.

Have a good day,

Lor
 
Well is sounds like you are back on track to get this fixed. Yes, it may indeed be a complex recovery. But just remember - it's all temporary. Now you have the right surgeon. That is key to this whole journey. Trust your surgeon and don't worry about timelines for recovery. There is no predicting how you will react to the procedure. Just know that you will be back to doing all the activities you enjoy once the healing is done.

Please keep us updated!
 
Forgot to mention, I am quitting smoking!! My quit date is July 04, 2018 and I am very excited about it I have already cut down to 10 cigarettes a day, qoing to cut out 1 per day, trickling down to 1 on July 03. Already have my nicotine gum and lozenges ( Am dot doing the patch because I am getting the nicotine OUT of my system and do not want a steady stream going into my system ). I figured this is a perfect time to quit as I do not smoke in my house and I’m sure that I am not going to feel like going outside to smoke after surgery. Plus, you heal faster if you do not smoke. Wish me luck please
 
Sorry for all the posts this am! Trying to get all my “Ducks in a row” so to speak because once I get approval for the surgery, my OS said he was going to do the surgery ASAP!

Need advice PLEASE !

I am currently in Pain Management and have been since 2009 due to failed back surgery syndrome after my back surgery. My normal medication is Percocet 5/325 3 x Day although I try and usually do skip at least one, sometimes 2 doses per day. Since my shoulder injury on 4/09/18, my Pain Doctor increased it to Percocet 10/325 4 x Day and again try to skip a dose or two if I can.

My old OS had stated to me that if I were to have surgery, that they/I would have a very difficult time controlling my pain due to my ongoing usage of narcotic pain medication.

I am afraid of being in horrible pain. I can take being in some degree of pain and am not a baby in any way but that statement scared me.

Any thoughts?

Thanks,

Lor
 
Well done on quitting smoking. Smoking does hinder healing. You are doing the right thing!
My old OS had stated to me that if I were to have surgery, that they/I would have a very difficult time controlling my pain due to my ongoing usage of narcotic pain medication.
Speak to your current OS about this. I was on pain medication for chronic back pain before both THRs. I ended up taking the same meds during my recoveries and had no issues controlling the pain.

But we are all different. Your surgeon should be able to guide you on this.
 
Thank you Jaycee! I most certainly will! Since I have a Pain Contract, my Pain Management Dr. will have to prescribe all post-surgery medication, obviously with coordination with my OS’s wishes. So that means two pre-surgical Dr. visits, one with my OS and one with my Pain Management Dr.!

I am going to go to the grocery store tomorrow and stock up, as well as start cooking and freezing meals. That part is going to be tough on both my boyfriend and myself because I love to cook and bake and usually go to the grocery store 3-4 times a week for fresh vegetables and fruit. I cook very healthy meals, more vegetables and salads rather than meat and carbs. I also use my Nutribullet constantly with fresh veggies and fruit and always throw in fresh Kale and a scoop of protein powder. I am widely known for my many different varieties of cheesecakes, including the one I made Friday for a graduation party we went to yesterday....Strawberry Lemonade...yum yum ( yep, bragging a little lol!) Boy, I’m gonna miss cooking and baking for a while
 
Strawberry Lemonade.
That sounds lovely!

I remember very early out from my LTHR baking an Italian chocolate cake. It's all about how much energy you have. You can figure out how to work around any restrictions (I had the 90 degree restriction at the time). But you need the energy to see through the cooking and clearing up. I was very pleased to have baked that silly cake.

You are very lucky to already have a pain management doc. This is key when you have any other issues pre-op THR. I didn't have this but was lucky my OS agreed to prescribe what I was already taking for my THR pain management.
 
Hello Everyone,

Tomorrow is my « Independent » Medical Evaluation that the Insurance carrier requested and as you may have guessed, I have not been approved for surgery yet.

Today marks exactly 3 months from my injury date and I am very frustrated, as well as nervous about tomorrow. I will update everyone when I have news.

Good day all.
 
All the best tomorrow @Countrygrl ! Please update when you can.
 
Am in tears and extremely upset about my IME in a few hours.

Been on the internet and although there is good information, there are also a lot of horror stories of people having battles with WC to get the care they need.

I need to stay off the « net «
 
I need to stay off the « net «
I agree except for this site. There is a lot of rubbish out there! No sense in scaring yourself. Keep calm, go for a short walk and get to a positive place for your appointment.
 
Yea! IME went great! Dr. told me he is telling WC I need surgery, PT reports indicated no progress and when he was carefully manipulating my right arm/shoulder it let out a large « crack » and he said « That’s not good after 3 months » nice guy I was pleasantly surprised.

I see my OS on Monday the 16th si hopefully then we can set surgery date.

Thanks for the support, will continue to update. Very excited to get better and get on with life!
 
Result! Well done! See - sometimes things just fall into place. Let us know how your appointment goes on the 16th.
 
Result! Well done! See - sometimes things just fall into place. Let us know how your appointment goes on the 16th.

Good morning,

Well, my Dr.’s office called Friday and cancelled my appointment for the 16th due to the insurance carrier not approving surgery yet, then on Saturday I received a very complicated letter from the insurance carrier « Granting « approval for « Right shoulder Arthroscopy, Subacromial Decompression, Débridement and Open Biceps Tenodesis ».

Called the Dr.’s office back yesterday and LM for the WC person to please call me re: above. No return call as of yet.

Since I have not seen my Dr. yet to discuss the finer details of this surgery, does anyone know if I will have to stay overnight in the hospital for this?

I am happy, excited but scared of this surgery as last time I went under general anesthesia I stopped breathing in recovery and woke up to a bunch of people surrounding my bed and a tube down my throat!

I am going to try Dr. office again today to set up pre surgical appointment.

Will update when I have an update.

Thank you again for your support.

L’or
 
does anyone know if I will have to stay overnight in the hospital for this?
Unfortunately this is a question the surgeon (or his office) will need to answer. Do call again and try and connect with someone. I would think your stay would depend on how extensive the surgery is and how you tolerate the procedure.
last time I went under general anesthesia I stopped breathing in recovery and woke up to a bunch of people surrounding my bed and a tube down my throat
Ask if you can have a spinal and sedation during your op. A much easier recovery and since you have already had that reaction to GA your doc might want to use an alternative anaesthetic.
 
Good morning,

I now have a pure-surgical appointment set up for Wednesday, July 25th.

Since I am out of work, my PCP suggested that I have a large cyst removed from my eyebrow and referred me to a Head/Neck Surgeon in the large healthcare « Umbrella «  if you will, that he practices. They said it could not be done « in office «  but rather in the hospital as day surgery.

They set the surgery date for Monday, July 23 and we decided on « Twighlight «  anesthetia and told me to come in yesterday, July 18 for routine bloodwork and an EKG.

So I had my blood drawn and had the EKG done. My thought process was great! I can have the results faxed to my OS, eliminating the need to do it twice!

That’s when « s..t » hit the fan. My EKG came back abnormal, they told me not to leave the office and a Cardiologist would be seeing me as soon as he returned from lunch. My PCP called me immediately and said stay put « You may be having heart complications you are not even aware of », the Dr. that was going to perform the day surgery on Monday called a few minutes later saying «  He cannot perform the surgery due to the EKG being abnormal » and I panicked, thinking if I cannot even do a Twighlight sedation day surgery, how am I going to get my shoulder fixed under general anesthesia in the next two weeks?!

I saw the Cardiologist after having they EKG repeated, and after I gave consent for my medical records from last year to be sent to him.

Last year I had heart pains numerous times, along with severe Syncope. I had several abnormal EKG’s last year and had a heart monitor for a month, cardiac catherization, Echocardiogram and a Stress test which came back unremarkable.

So now I am sitting here waiting on the Cardiologist’s review of All results to proceed forward.

Wow, more stress.
 
FYI, I failed to mention to the Cardiologist yesterday that my weight went from 96lbs in December 2017 to 137lbs today.

I am going to call his office this morning to give him that information in case it’s pertinent.

L’or
 

BoneSmart #1 Best Blog

Staff online

Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
65,180
Messages
1,597,061
BoneSmarties
39,364
Latest member
All2Gd88
Recent bookmarks
0
Back
Top Bottom