Countdown to shoulder surgery, need encouragement!

wanderinglight · October 2012

On Nov 6 I'm having three tears repaired in my surgery. Although the surgery itself is arthroscopic, the recovery is extremely long and involved since the shoulder is the most complicated joint in the body. I'm having it done on my dominant arm. Doctors have said it could be 6 months to a year before I can go back to my job (I have an extremely physical job).

So...as I prepare for this long road ahead, does anyone have any tips for the time immediately following the surgery? I will have my fiance home to take care of me for two weeks and then I'll be on my own (but can call in help from my sisters).

I am most afraid of going to "the dark place." I went there after my back surgery, and I don't want to go there again. It took me a long time to fight back from the despair of not being able to move, work, work out, go out, etc. I'm a very active person and it's hard for me to ask others for help, but I know I'll need to. Here's what I've done so far to prepare:

Ordered an orthopedic chair in order to sleep sitting up
Collected together a pile of books, magazines and queued up a bunch of shows on Netflix
Baked some healthy meals and froze so that they are quick and easy
Downloaded a speech-to-text app for iphone for emails
Set out sweatpants, strapless dresses and strapless bra for getting dressed in

Open to any and all ideas!

wanderinglight · October 2012

Tap tap tap...is this thing on?? Anyone??

Gallowmere1984 · October 2012

I would say that you shouldn't have to stop working out entirely just for a shoulder surgery. Just go for low impact work that doesn't involve that arm for now. A stationary bike, an elliptical (utilize the uninjured arm), one arm deadlifts, steel suitcase deadlifts, weighted leg lifts...yeah, I could do this for a while. In all reality, keeping your activity up will likely reduce your recovery time.

There's a girl out there who still squats and deadlifts with one leg. A healing shoulder is completely doable.

Justkeepswimmin · October 2012

Absolultely don't go into a dark place and don't sit still after the first couple of weeks! My husband has arthoscopic surgery in both left and right shoulders (one in '05 one in '10) and he is okay, still struggles with long work outs but he is okay and could definately walk (exercize) and do a stationary bike not tooooo long after surgery. Now the bilateral leg surgery this summer has been another story, took 2 months to be able to exercize after that wretchedness. You'll be okay- maybe you wont be doing weights anytime soon but you can move and aren't bed ridden for very long

Back surgery I'm sure was much more limiting than this will be.

hark15 · October 2012

I think its good that you are dealing with this issue head on. Maybe also plan some activities with friends? Like movie nights or have them come over and cook you dinner

Keeping contact with others will help immensely in keeping you out of a dark place. I know I struggled a bit after having my first knee surgery (many years ago) because I was on crutches for 8 weeks and couldn't really exercise. Hopefully you can still go on some sort walks to get yourself out of the house? Or do the stationary bike? Will those be possible? I would think with the shoulder surgery, as compared to back surgery, you might be a little more mobile. Have you talked to your doctor about this?

Lleldiranne · October 2012

Have you talked with your surgeon about physical therapy for after the surgery? If not, you might want to bring it up. Yes, it is painful and generally no fun, but it also will help with recovery time and will give you exercise (and probably improve overall function of the arm). I am making a general assumption here, though, because I don't know what kind of surgery or anything else about the shoulder - but it still will be good to ask, right?

DragonflyF15 · October 2012

I feel for you, I'm getting ready to head into meniscus and MCL and ACL reconstruction next month. I too work a physical job and have been off for the last 3 weeks which has been hard cause it's my second busiest time of the year and was counting on that to help me financially through the winter. I'm learning to modify and still get my minimum burns in each day, but more than ever, I am having to watch my calorie intake and be very selective about food choices. Feel free to add me as a friend, I've been posting modified workouts daily, which have been creative cause I haven't been able to get to the gym as often as I would like cause I still can't drive myself! >hugz< Hang in there!

nejaustin · October 2012

Remember to go outside - get a good chaise lounge, a lap blanket etc. Fresh air and some sunshine can really help.

bugaha1 · October 2012

I had arthroscopic shoulder surgery that went from an estimated 1 ½ hours to 6 hours full blown surgery. I think the worst part of recovery was the first 24 hours after and then the 1 hour of rehab that started about three weeks later. The first rehab session is the worst then you know what to expect after that. My sister just had the same surgery and she posted this after her 2nd rehab session last night. “ Today I had Physical Therapy and surprised myself at how good I am doing. I didn’t even think about punching the therapist in the testicles once this session!”

Good luck and be strong.

PS I had a rope hanging from my ceiling over my bed that helped me get out of the waterbed, but who has waterbeds anymore lol

GrandmaPeridow · October 2012

Definitely go for physical therapy. I just started physical therapy for my shoulder. I was tired of having narcotic pain killers thrown at it. Walking outdoors helps the emotional state. Good luck and success to you.

wanderinglight · October 2012

Thank you so much for the responses. I confess that I've really been having a hard time mentally preparing for it.

I like being able to plan ahead and focus on different aspects of it so I don't get overwhelmed. I find myself focusing on the tiny details and dreading them rather than looking at the big picture of what it means for my long-term future. I think a big part of it has to do with the circumstances of the injury. I have a lot of anger and sadness surrounding the boat accident I was in, and a pending lawsuit against the people responsible for it. Being immersed in an acrimonious lawsuit means there is a lot of negativity surrounding the whole event.

I'm sorry to hear from others who have gone through this, or have dealt with loved ones also recovering. I know of course there are far worse things that I could be dealing with but sometimes it's hard to have that perspective.

Justkeepswinn- hope your husband is feeling better.
Dragonfly -- oh my gosh, hope you feel better too!
Bugaha -- thank you for responding. I hope you are feeling so much stronger now. That sounds incredibly difficult.

Thanks again to all who responded. I'll be taking your advice and checking in! 10 days to go now.

wanderinglight · November 2012

Well here I am three weeks after the surgery. Without going into details it's been a very difficult and painful recovery (so far). I can't sleep more than 2 or 3 hours a night and it's been a tough process so far.

I made the mistake of trying on my wedding dress today. I couldn't even pull it up. I've gained at least 10lbs in the past month from being completely sedentary and eating "comfort food." I'm pretty sad and upset. The jury is still out on whether the surgery was a good idea. Even though I felt prepared, I underestimated how long the recovery would be. I can't believe that it will be 4--6 months until I can lift again (beyond the minimal weights in PT).

Ugh, I know I sound so negative so forgive me for venting a little bit.

I re-read some of the advice in the post and I'm going to focus on taking more walks so that I at least get moving, and changing my eating habits. If nutrition really is 80% of losing weight then perhaps there is still hope that I can reverse the damage or at least not gain any more until I can start getting some real workouts in.

mizzvickic · December 2012

Hi there
I had shoulder surgery in July ot repair two tears and had another surgery last week to remove scar tissue/manipulate movement of arm. It has been difficult and I would love to give/receive support in order to move through and get back to a good place physically and emotionally. I'm usually a very positive person but this has thrown me for a loop. Feel free to add me as a friend.
Vicki

wanderinglight · December 2012

Hi there
I had shoulder surgery in July ot repair two tears and had another surgery last week to remove scar tissue/manipulate movement of arm. It has been difficult and I would love to give/receive support in order to move through and get back to a good place physically and emotionally. I'm usually a very positive person but this has thrown me for a loop. Feel free to add me as a friend.
Vicki

I added you and I will be here for you! It is indeed a "loop throwing" surgery. I'm so sorry you had to go back under the knife. How have things been this last week?

Zaniejane · August 2013

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Countdown to shoulder surgery, need encouragement!

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