Rotator Cuff Repair Gecko in recovery

[gecko]

Finally at home trying to ģet on top of my pain after a 2.5 hour drive home, rotar cuff repair went well just can not get comfortable with this sling :-(((

 

[Jaycey]

Welcome to the other side @gecko ! I hope you can get comfortable quickly. I'll tag my colleague @SaraK who might be able to give you some hints on how to live with that sling.

Meanwhile, try to stay ahead of any pain by taking your prescribed medication around the clock.

Hang in there! Better days are coming!

 

[gecko]

Thankyou

 

[beachy]

@gecko
Do you have the sling with the pillow attached?
I found sitting up a bit in bed helped when sleeping.
I had the sling with pillow.
Hope your pain is better.
Who would have thought 4 yrs after our tkrs we'd be in the shoulder forum.....and you had bilateral??? Lets hope this is the end of it for you!

 

[gecko]

@beachy
Yes my sling has a pillow attached, and I can only sleep sitting in my chair and not for long, my whole arm is swollen and bruised and I have a trigger finger hopefully it will all settle soon, would rather have bilateral knees I think
Oh sorry for whineing but it is so painful, I dont quite knòw what to do with myself

 

[SaraK]

When I was sleeping in the chair, I angled the sling so that the forearm was pointing straight up. It seemed to help. Load up that entire sling with ice packs - it will help with the pain and swelling. I didn't use it after surgery but the tens machine was helpful beforehand. Try to get the pain under control. It's easier to keep it away than to get rid of it once it takes hold.

 

[beachy]

@gecko
Oh no! so sorry you're hurting so badly! I have heard rotator cuff is a tough surgery. Lets hope you're going thru the worst of it now and it will ease soon. What pain meds are you taking?

 

[gecko]

@beachy I am on slow release palexia twice daily, Declofenec anti inflamatoriès 3 times daily!, 2 x paracetamol every 4 hours and lots and lots of ice packs, but only just covering it
I will get better I am sure , just need some sleep I guess
Thanks for letting me vent

 

[gecko]

@SaraK thank you for the advice with the ice I had a nap this afternoon with lots of ice in the sling it helped a lot, think I might need an imediate release pain medication just to get control of pain

 

[SaraK]

You might check with your surgeon to see if there is anything they can do to get pain under control. Do keep up with the ice - it's nature's non-opioid NSAID and can do wonders

 

[beachy]

Geez, Gecko! I hate to hear that you're in that much pain. Not familiar with those meds except for paracetamol. Keep up with icing and absolutely call your doc for better pain control so you can sleep.
Keep us posted , ok? Hugs

 

[gecko]

@beachy feeling better today, still real sore but more manageable, had a good sleep last night thanks to a sleeping pill I forgot I had, have a drs appointment in 3 days so might be able to get more pain killers , if I still need them, how are you doing ? Hope you are ok
Chris xxxxx

 

[beachy]

@gecko
That's a relief! Pain management and sleep do wonders, right?
All is well here. Just getting ready for the holidays and counting down to Jan. 11.
I'm glad you're feeling better!

 

[gecko]

@beachy I am still doing ok , funny thing but painful, I am having trouble getting my pjama bottoms over my hip on my operation side then realised that hip is quite sore so I asked my daughter take a look, she said it is swollen and bruised, how do you get a sore hip from shoulder surgery? Tammy is a theatre nurse and explained someone would of been leaning òn my hip whilst holding my arm during the surgerywho would of thought

 

[beachy]

Oh for heavens sake! That's just insult on top of injury.
It is kind of comical getting dressed when you only have 1 arm.
Guess you're now getting some pain relief in the surgery area. Happy to hear that!

 

[gecko]

@beachy managing much better now, I swapped ice out for heat and also realised I was trying to hold on to the cushion of the sling by clamping my arm on it thinking it might fallthis was engaging my very sore shoulder muscles, have got physio on Monday so hope still ok after that but also seeing my GP so will get more meds just in case

Glad you have a date for your knee , though I am sorry you are having to do it , I am sure you will be fine unfortunately we are both becoming old hands at these surgery's

 

[SaraK]

Interesting that you have physio this early. My surgeon had me wait until the 6 week mark. I'll be interested to hear what they have you do.

I'm glad you realized you were going onto the cushion - it's definitely not going to fall and will bear the weight of your relaxed arm.

I'm glad the pain is better now. USE the pain meds if you need them but it may be best not to use them before physio - you don't want to mask any pain because it may lead to doing too much too soon.

 

[beachy]

@gecko
I started PT at 3 weeks. But, we had very different surgeries. Also, different countries, different protocols. I hope the PT doesn't hurt and helps you with movement.
Good to hear about that pain under control!

 

[SaraK]

@beachy - yes, protocols do differ by country and surgeon but there is a significant difference between the protocols for TSR v rotator cuff repair. Not all, but many, surgeons wait until 6weeks with rotator cuff or have very limited activity in PT during that time frame. I had a massive tear and the surgeon wanted as much time as possible for the tendon to knit itself back together before being stretched or stressed. It's a difficult tradeoff between healing and atrophy!

 

[beachy]

@SaraK
6 weeks is better than 1 week out.
I started PT 1 week later than recommended.
And, yes, HUGE difference in TSR and rotator cuff as I stated. My surgery was pretty easy. I was thrilled the MRI showed no tears.