View Full Version : So If I'm Offline The Next Month Or So...
I didn't die, or at least I hope that won't happen.
Going in for rotator cuff surgery. Almost a year ago I was helping somebody move and I hurt myself bad lifting heavy crap, and then against my better judgement and a lot of pain continued to do so. And it was a bad idea, the MRI was a mess.
I have spent the last 6+ month trying to rehab it so surgery might no be necessary but I simply did too much damage and it's challenging to put a gallon of milk on the top shelf of the refrigerator and this is not an acceptable limitation this early in life so surgery it is.
I will be two months in a sling and under doctors orders to not screw up his work. My working limitations is I'm not allowed to take my elbow off the side of my body for two months while I heal. Then I have 6-9-12 months of physical therapy to try and get everything back to "pre injury" status so that I can do normal things like swing a hammer and run stages with an AR.
Pretty sure my judo black belt days might be done, but so long as I can practice most martial arts that don't require high torque and heavy loads it will be alright.
I'm technically allowed to type but not sure how soon that will actually be, probably as soon as sitting on my ass doing nothing becomes intolerable and I need to do something to keep me away from the work bench and the projects that are gonna pile up on me.
At least I got the lawn mowed today. Oh and despite having quality insurance, because this is a specialist and not my GP, I'm on the hook for 20% of the procedure and the hospital room which is just shy of $10k, thankfully I'm not there overnight. So I have a 3 year car payment but no car to show for it. I'll find time to be annoyed with that when my shoulder is finally 100%.
Diamondback
10-04-22, 03:05
T&P, amigo.
Hope it all goes well and you have a speedy recovery. Let us know how it’s going whenever you can.
Straight Shooter
10-04-22, 05:43
Best wishes brother- as you know thats a rough surgery. I pray you get comfortable asap after surgery.
But, you will be glad you had it after you heal, I know many who've had it and I myself am a candidate for it now. Im gonna wait long as I can.
Holler back when you can.
You will come back stronger. Listen to the instructions, especially the physical therapist and don't do anything other than what they tell you to do. I came back stronger with more flexibility. Do a bunch of walking as it keeps the body moving along.
All the best to you. Take it easy and let it heal.
When this is over- you should give Tom Platz a good run! Hit them legs!
You will respect range of motion AND the ability of your therapist to pop your scar tissue while she extracts your confession. Sit there and enjoy your time with the old women who can no longer put their bras on the normal way. You will both sit there and work on the flexibility required to engage the clasp. Enjoy the suck.
You will come back stronger. Listen to the instructions, especially the physical therapist and don't do anything other than what they tell you to do. I came back stronger with more flexibility. Do a bunch of walking as it keeps the body moving along.
That's the plan.
How do you Fu with that injury?
Best of luck, in and out quickly.
Averageman
10-04-22, 07:02
I've got damage to my both my Ulnar nerves, I've managed to detatch them near my elbow.
I talked to my Doctor and he said six months rehab and then they can evaluate and do the next one, six more months rehab.
I couldn't do it.
I just couldn't see a year in a brace and no mobility. I rehabed myself, it still acts up a bit, but I'll deal with it.
I'm 61, being forced to learn to wipe left handed, naahhhh too much.
Sorry to hear that man. I know exactly how much that sucks. Don't ya just hate moving a little wrong with a half cup of coffee? Don't know how many times jut reaching a little to set the cup down or pick it up has almost floored me. Don't even get me started about moving my arm from the armrest to the window ledge in the truck.
I'm back to 100% with my right shoulder after about a year and a half following a SLAP tear and rotator cuff damage. Word to the wise, take it easy and don't overcompensate with the opposite side. I've torn up my left rotator cuff while the right was healing and have to get that fixed when I get home from my current contract.
As for M4C connectivity? Will miss yaif you go black. Try a tablet. That's how I got my fix. Light enough to hold in odd positions that worked to type with my injured right, and big enough to read at that range with my 50+ Mark One eyeballs.
I had shoulder rebuild just over nine years ago. The following rehab was llllloooooonnnggggg, but well worth it. Do exactly what they say, even when you feel you can do more. Good luck.
Heal up and you'll be back to normal before you know it!
FromMyColdDeadHand
10-04-22, 08:38
Sorry to hear about that. Good luck with the surgery. My wife is facing having to get one of her shoulders done too. I can’t believe how long the rehab is and how long she’ll have to be off work. I think the scariest thing for the wife and I is that she told me that I am going to have to style her hair for like three months. :0
Of course, she’ll be off of work for a lot of that time. I never realized how wicked the recovery is from shoulder surgery. I would’ve assumed a leg based when was worse.
Sorry to hear, will keep you in our prayers
After having three repairs L,R,L I agree about taking it easy through your recovery and rehab!
Good luck.
Just some more snap crackle pop for your mornings
FromMyColdDeadHand
10-04-22, 10:29
We'll forgive you for the SIRI miscommunications and wrong words. We'll get the jist...
I didn't die, or at least I hope that won't happen.
Going in for rotator cuff surgery. Almost a year ago I was helping somebody move and I hurt myself bad lifting heavy crap, and then against my better judgement and a lot of pain continued to do so. And it was a bad idea, the MRI was a mess.
I have spent the last 6+ month trying to rehab it so surgery might no be necessary but I simply did too much damage and it's challenging to put a gallon of milk on the top shelf of the refrigerator and this is not an acceptable limitation this early in life so surgery it is.
I will be two months in a sling and under doctors orders to not screw up his work. My working limitations is I'm not allowed to take my elbow off the side of my body for two months while I heal. Then I have 6-9-12 months of physical therapy to try and get everything back to "pre injury" status so that I can do normal things like swing a hammer and run stages with an AR.
Pretty sure my judo black belt days might be done, but so long as I can practice most martial arts that don't require high torque and heavy loads it will be alright.
I'm technically allowed to type but not sure how soon that will actually be, probably as soon as sitting on my ass doing nothing becomes intolerable and I need to do something to keep me away from the work bench and the projects that are gonna pile up on me.
At least I got the lawn mowed today. Oh and despite having quality insurance, because this is a specialist and not my GP, I'm on the hook for 20% of the procedure and the hospital room which is just shy of $10k, thankfully I'm not there overnight. So I have a 3 year car payment but no car to show for it. I'll find time to be annoyed with that when my shoulder is finally 100%.
Hang in there, brother, and take care of yourself. Mend, we'll be here when you get back.
Good luck on the surgery and recovery.
Hoping everything goes perfectly. Heal up.
I hope it all goes well. I've had right hand injuries that have resulted in difficulty in wiping my butt and typing. You get over it. You will be typing left handed in no time. Best of luck, follow the instructions, and you'll be better than ever.
Had both knees replaced in Dec. of 2019, right before COVID hit.
I have lifted weights for well over 30 years, and have had numerous shoulder issues---and surgeries---before (duh!). Last October I was doing decline DB presses when I hear a tear (and most certainly felt it), DB's hit the floor and I was cussing up a storm. Couldn't lift a jug of OJ into the fridge. Had an MRI done, and I had done some Googling and it sounded like my labrum tore. Ortho doc, who I know all too well, called and said the labrum is the least of your worries. My rotator cuff was totally torn, completely shot. In fact it had been torn so long the two muscles that hold it together (supraspinatus and the other I can't think of) had retracted > 5cm's and couldn't be pulled out and re-attached to perform a normal rotator cuff repair. In a strange yet retarded way I was kind of proud of myself for lifting with a totally shot rotator cuff, apparently for quite some time! :rolleyes:
Last November I had a total reverse shoulder replacement. What, you might ask, is a reverse shoulder replacement? The head of the humerous (the "ball") is cut off and a spike pounded into it with a cup on the end of it. A "trailer hitch" is drilled into the scapula (formerly the "socket"). So what was the "ball" is now the "socket" and vice versa. My shoulder has been flipped around essentially. Told me I have a 25lb lifetime weight limit......uh-huh. I'll get right on that. Didn't touch a weight for 8 weeks, then started VERY light with 10lb DB's. Now it's 11 months later and I can incline press 55lb DB's for 11 reps. I used to warm up with 60's, so my current point is pathetic. Nonetheless, my goal is to get back to 60's and do more sets with more reps instead of adding on more weight. Probably shouldn't even be doing that, but hey, I'm the same guy who lifted with a completely torn rotator cuff! Dips will never happen again, nor will heavy BB bench pressing, deadlifts, heavy trap work, etc. All DB work with creative workouts, less time between sets, higher reps, etc.
Moral of my long-winded story? For starters, good luck! Take your time and do what they tell you. Be glad yours is at least salvageable in a more traditional fashion than mine was. You'll do fine. Having done both, I can honestly say that lower body (i.e. knees) are rougher than upper body since we don't walk on our hands......but I didn't have to learn to wipe my ass with a different hand either so there's that!
What else you gonna do all hopped up on pain pills?
kaiservontexas
10-04-22, 13:09
I hope and pray will be all and well for you StyerAug, and may you make a speedy recovery.
titsonritz
10-04-22, 13:19
Good luck, don't over do it when you're healing up. Pick up some prunes if you're going to be on any opiates, don't want to throw your shoulder out trying to take a shit. Best wished and speedy recovery.
wildcard600
10-04-22, 13:37
Best wishes.
triggerjerk
10-04-22, 15:02
Hope it goes well. Have had complete replacement of both shoulders. (Shot a .458 Lott 2 wks before 2nd shoulder done. Yeah, it hurt..) No labrum in either, torn rotator and bicep on both by the time I had the work done. My mother, dead 13 years at the time, came to visit me in the pain after the 1st one. 2nd one I went to pt 3 times and they said don't come back. What I'm trying to say is watch the pain meds. Took me a week and a half, 1every 4 hours, to get addicted to percs. And that was tapering off the last few days before cold turkey. Doctor just offered me more. Pharmacist said to half pills toward end of tapering off and it worked.. I do wish I had an electro massage machine of my own.... Again, best luck with it.
Get better
Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I've got damage to my both my Ulnar nerves, I've managed to detatch them near my elbow.
I talked to my Doctor and he said six months rehab and then they can evaluate and do the next one, six more months rehab.
I couldn't do it.
I just couldn't see a year in a brace and no mobility. I rehabed myself, it still acts up a bit, but I'll deal with it.
I'm 61, being forced to learn to wipe left handed, naahhhh too much.
I'm beyond that. I was told surgery now or total shoulder replacement surgery in 10 years.
What else you gonna do all hopped up on pain pills?
DVD library of 10,000+ titles. Gonna also try and "power through" with as few pain pills as possible. I have a severe aversion to that stuff.
My buddy went through several arm, shoulder surgeries and he spent the last year running his JP PCC in local matches. Shot his pistol the first time in a year last week. So maybe you play with that soft shooting mofo AFTER you heal for a minute.
Best of luck Steyr.
PB
My buddy went through several arm, shoulder surgeries and he spent the last year running his JP PCC in local matches. Shot his pistol the first time in a year last week. So maybe you play with that soft shooting mofo AFTER you heal for a minute.
Best of luck Steyr.
PB
Yeah, I'm not doing anything that the rehab people don't tell me to do. I want it all back as much as possible so if I gotta do nothing but rehab for a year, that is what is gonna happen.
DVD library of 10,000+ titles. Gonna also try and "power through" with as few pain pills as possible. I have a severe aversion to that stuff.
OK, but no porn movies. Don't wanna overtax that shoulder. ;)
Shoulder injuries suck. Wishing you a successful surgery and a good recovery. Post surgery physical therapy can be grueling, but stick with the program all the way through to the end and you should be right as rain.
Good luck dude. I’m sure you’ll be fine. A friend just got over a rotator cuff surgery and is doing fine. He went a lot of years with a bad one and hadn’t gotten it fixed. He was afraid of the worst but it was so minimally invasive it’s crazy. Just gotta keep up the PT.
P2Vaircrewman
10-05-22, 09:33
Good luck, I have had heart surgery, neck, back, knee twice and shoulder. By far shoulder had the most painful recovery and it was just to clean up some impingement, not rotator cuff repair.
If you don’t make it through the surgery, can I have your shit???
Seriously, I hope all goes well. A good ortho surgeon and good PT person will do wonders. Hang in there.
You will be given the option of a nerve block by your anesthesiologist. Absolutely say yes to this.
A good physical therapist is valuable. And follow the PT's instructions.
Good luck.
Best of luck for a speedy recovery.
The Dumb Gun Collector
10-05-22, 22:48
Get better fast!
Left handed tonight but ok.
kaiservontexas
10-05-22, 23:59
Good to hear you are doin okay. Still hoping and praying for you to be blessed with a speedy recovery.
triggerjerk
10-07-22, 14:04
As I was cleaning up at the range this morning I remembered that one of my therapy exercises
after shoulder replacement was leaning forward and swinging arm to and fro and also moving hand in circles from same position. I also remembered that reaching for and picking up spent casings was like an awesome extension of those exercises. For a couple of reasons..... Hope you get back in the game soonest!
I feel, felt your pain. Dominant shoulder/rotator surgery twice.
I’ll just stress; follow Surgeons advise re. recovery protocol.
Also; learn to wipe ass and perform other essentials with support hand in advance.
Look at this as an opportunity to become a legitimate Bad Ass with support hand only shooting.
Hope the surgery goes flawlessly and your recovery is full and quick. Best wishes to you sir.
I feel, felt your pain. Dominant shoulder/rotator surgery twice.
I’ll just stress; follow Surgeons advise re. recovery protocol.
Also; learn to wipe ass and perform other essentials with support hand in advance.
Look at this as an opportunity to become a legitimate Bad Ass with support hand only shooting.
Funny you should bring that up. Just last night I was kinda wishing that the time I spent doing weak side handgun, might have been better spent on weak side bathroom activities. So far everything is still in the A zone but some close calls. Trying to sleep in a sling also sucks. I dont really sleep so much as I pass out in 30 minute increments. That stupid pillow block on the sling also makes me feel like I have a cardboard box taped to my side.
This reply hunt and pecked with great effort by my left hand.
titsonritz
10-07-22, 18:00
Left handed tonight but ok.
I credit injuries for my exceptional ambidexterity.
Funny you should bring that up. Just last night I was kinda wishing that the time I spent doing weak side handgun, might have been better spent on weak side bathroom activities. So far everything is still in the A zone but some close calls. Trying to sleep in a sling also sucks. I dont really sleep so much as I pass out in 30 minute increments. That stupid pillow block on the sling also makes me feel like I have a cardboard box taped to my side.
This reply hunt and pecked with great effort by my left hand.
Forgot about that.
I’m a “side sleeper”, but sleep fitfully under best of circumstances.
That attempting to sleep on my back was a sentence.
Stay strong, seek your “happy place”.
triggerjerk
10-07-22, 18:54
Speaking of weakside, 2nd shoulder replaced was strong side. Worrying about getting back into things, I put a $25 single chamber brake on my cheapie AR in hopes I could go centerfire sooner. Ends up that was the easy shoulder, and it was a waste of money. Of course, I still haven't replaced that loud sumbitch with the original a2.....
So for the longest time I "imagined" I'd be able to function at a high level even if impaired. After all I trained weak side shooting drills and in martial arts did my best to develop my weak side to it's best potential. In some disciplines we even practiced daily activities without reliance on one of our senses or something along those lines.
And while it may have given us a concept, at least I had no idea what it would really be like. Nerve blockers were an eye opener. 24 hours of loss of use of my right arm to where it felt like I had a dead weight prosthetic was a reality check. I couldn't even lift my thumb into a completely open position. And that was just for 24 hours.
I have a newfound respect and understanding for the injured and handicapped. I always assumed I understood and if it ever happened to me, I'd simply find a way to deal with it. I now get those who become despondent over their limitations, not that I think they should do that, but I get it. If this would have been how the rest of my days would have been, I'm unsure how well I might have adapted or accepted it.
It's only been 3 days, each day brings slightly more mobility but also a bit more pain an discomfort. Pretty sure the next two month where I will be limited to a sling are going to completely suck, but at least the truth is there will be improvement with the pain and it's not like I have many other options, it's just gonna suck.
Anyway, take care of yourself because serious injuries are a lot of work.
Good luck. The older you get the longer it takes to recover.
Serious injuries and the recovery time associated with them do indeed suck. You won't necessarily notice every improvement and step in the healing process every single day. Some days you'll do something and it will hit you, "Hey, I wasn't able to do that yesterday". Small victories over the next several months are what will get you through.
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