United States
Since I already had my left shoulder go bad years ago and had a replacement, I pretty much knew what I was going to hear from the surgeon’s PA in my appointment yesterday. The x-ray told the story. Right shoulder is now bone-on-bone from arthritis and basically trashed (the “medical term” my old surgeon, now retired, used on my left shoulder). Two fairly good sized bone spurs also showed up in the x-ray to confirm why I would periodically get a pinch of pain with movement or weakness and a feeling that something was catching as I would extend and move my arm. All the signs I knew meant I’d probably be facing another joint replacement at some point.
My wonderful shoulder surgeon I’d seen for years is no longer seeing patients, so I had needed to find a new doctor. I think the one I’ve selected may be a good choice. The appointment with his PA yesterday was the beginning of the process with him. You don’t see the surgeon initially. An appointment is made with the PA to determine if you are a candidate for surgery and only then do you get to meet the surgeon. I liked that he deals 100% with shoulder surgery and the fact that he is booked up completely through March. The busy guys frequently are some of the best surgeons. So now I wait to hear from the staff who are able to schedule a meeting with him after the March cutoff for regular scheduling.
While it might be an awful situation for someone in a lot of pain, I’m not at that stage right now. Even though the joint is bone-on-bone, it’s not very painful unless I do a lot of lifting or activity with it. I’m in the middle of a huge home remodeling project with lots of packing and moving of boxes and some furniture and that’s what has amplified my discomfort in the past few months. But I generally have good range of motion and strength in the arm, so as long as I know my activity limits, I should be okay to wait a while for the surgery. The PA suggested that I schedule a “meet and greet” appointment with the surgeon now because I’m a new patient so we could put together a plan. I have another surgery hopefully this winter on my left ankle to repair an old fracture that is causing problems now and needs to be fixed. Ahhhh….the joys of an aging body that has had a lifetime of activity!
I decided to start my pre-op shoulder thread now to document what may be a year-long journey to repair a “trashed” shoulder. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to get the ankle done and healed over this coming winter and plan for my shoulder in October of next year. I feel fortunate to maybe have the luxury of getting this shoulder replaced on my time schedule with minimal pain leading up to the procedure. I believe it is important to pay attention to the beginnings of joint problems and not let them get to the stage where pain takes over and forces surgery. Once arthritis takes a joint, it’s not coming back and things only will get worse with time.
So, here I am with a couple of surgeries in my future and hoping that things work out well for both of them.
My wonderful shoulder surgeon I’d seen for years is no longer seeing patients, so I had needed to find a new doctor. I think the one I’ve selected may be a good choice. The appointment with his PA yesterday was the beginning of the process with him. You don’t see the surgeon initially. An appointment is made with the PA to determine if you are a candidate for surgery and only then do you get to meet the surgeon. I liked that he deals 100% with shoulder surgery and the fact that he is booked up completely through March. The busy guys frequently are some of the best surgeons. So now I wait to hear from the staff who are able to schedule a meeting with him after the March cutoff for regular scheduling.
While it might be an awful situation for someone in a lot of pain, I’m not at that stage right now. Even though the joint is bone-on-bone, it’s not very painful unless I do a lot of lifting or activity with it. I’m in the middle of a huge home remodeling project with lots of packing and moving of boxes and some furniture and that’s what has amplified my discomfort in the past few months. But I generally have good range of motion and strength in the arm, so as long as I know my activity limits, I should be okay to wait a while for the surgery. The PA suggested that I schedule a “meet and greet” appointment with the surgeon now because I’m a new patient so we could put together a plan. I have another surgery hopefully this winter on my left ankle to repair an old fracture that is causing problems now and needs to be fixed. Ahhhh….the joys of an aging body that has had a lifetime of activity!
I decided to start my pre-op shoulder thread now to document what may be a year-long journey to repair a “trashed” shoulder. If I’m lucky, I’ll be able to get the ankle done and healed over this coming winter and plan for my shoulder in October of next year. I feel fortunate to maybe have the luxury of getting this shoulder replaced on my time schedule with minimal pain leading up to the procedure. I believe it is important to pay attention to the beginnings of joint problems and not let them get to the stage where pain takes over and forces surgery. Once arthritis takes a joint, it’s not coming back and things only will get worse with time.
So, here I am with a couple of surgeries in my future and hoping that things work out well for both of them.
