Shoulder blues Ridiculous update!

[JBD]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;8633571]
Yeah there is no way we can splurge on a recliner. We have a 6k deductible on our health insurance and 20% copay. If I really need it we have a gross old sectional in the basement that has a recliner in it. We could just bring that part of it upstairs. I am really hopeful that thing I bought and linked above will work. It is for post op supposedly. Comes with a 60 day trial so I can send it back if it doesn’t work.[/QUOTE]

Look on Craigslist for a recliner. You might even want to check the free section.

[beaujolais]

I read the most commonly injured body parts are first - the lumbar spine, then next is the rotator cuff.

I also read the amount of discomfort of the surgery is related to the degree of the tear, the number of anchors put in and if you have your biceps tendon reattached or not.

[Laurierace]

[QUOTE=JBD;8635808]
Look on Craigslist for a recliner. You might even want to check the free section.[/QUOTE]
I would rather go with my own gross recliner than a stranger’s gross recliner. At least it is dog piss on mine…:lol:

[Calvincrowe]

It will suck, then be better and you can make do it! I found out today that indeed, I have to have yet another bunion reconstruction surgery (my 4th…). I hear you on not wanting to go through surgery that you know will hurt like hell and leave you unable to function normally for weeks. There is never a good time to be laid low by surgery, but the good news is you can be fixed!! Hang in there and keep us posted…we are here to support you.

[fanfayre]

And a story on the other side…-
I had the rc/bursal/rough edges surgery on my dominant shoulder just over 4 years ago. I took 3 tylenol 3s (total) and no percocet/vicoden.
I was driving 2 days later (automatic, shifting over my body with my left hand) and was able to toss the sling 5 days after surgery. I slept in my bed (with pillows for support) the first night after the surgery, after napping in my mother’s recliner earlier that afternoon. I was fully back 100% functioning in under 3 months. I have not had a problem with the shoulder since (it’s the left one that’s causing the issues now- with the same symptoms as the right one pre-surgery).
Just an anecdote so you don’t think it’s all "doom and gloom" You’ll be so glad you did it after you’re all healed!

[Laurierace]

Thanks Fanfayre, that is good to hear. I have to wear the sling for a month no matter how it feels due to the labrum but it would be nice to sleep in my own bed.

[beaujolais]

“I have to wear the sling for a month no matter how it feels due to the labrum.”

Correct, but you wear it for your rotator cuff, too. You probably really don’t want to pull the r.c. off the anchor and have to get it redone again!! I felt safer with the sling on. Also, just in case you happen to fall or something, it keeps your arm where it should be. If you don’t have it on, fall & happen to put the arm out, you could pull the newly attached r.c. off the anchor and have to go back to surgery.

I’m so glad, though, that your experience wasn’t too bad, Fan!!

[ElementFarm]

if you don’t want to sleep on a dog-pee-covered recliner, seriously, try the wedge pillow!:
http://www.amazon.com/InteVision-Wedge-Pillow-Quality-Removable/dp/B009HHLBKK/ref=sr_1_1_s_it?s=hpc&ie=UTF8&qid=1461692146&sr=1-1&keywords=InteVision+Foam+Wedge+Bed+Pillow+(25"+x+24"+x+12")+with+High+Quality%2C+Removable+Cover

you can sleep in your regular bed (with clean sheets, and the ice machine running next to it, all night long, to help you be comfortable enough to sleep.)
this is what I used for several weeks, and it was great.

I was supposed to wear the sling for a month as well, though after 2 weeks when I went back to work, I would take it off while working at my desk.
I also had work done to correct some minor rotator cuff issues, and that procedure was simple and had virtually no recovery time or impact to my life. That darned biceps tenodesis (and they did reattach mine) was the big deal.

Hang in there! I know it’s scary. Mine wasn’t causing as much pain as yours sounds like, and in retrospect, I could have/should have delayed the surgery for a year or two, but couldn’t do to my job, long story. If you are debilitated by pain, you need to get it resolved. The recovery will suck–but try to focus on the long-term picture of pain free days without worrying about when that knife pain will strike!

[Laurierace]

I was looking at wedge pillows but the reviews are all so bad that it scared me. You had that exact model and were happy with it? I can give it a shot I guess, can’t be any worse than the piece of junk I already tried.

[Sunlight_Star]

Wishing you well Laurie…

[Laurierace]

I am loving all the support here, thank you! Ok, I am going to get the gross sectional part cleaned. There is one on either end, do I want the arm of the recliner on the bad arm side or the good arm side?

[beaujolais]

Hmm, . . . , not totally sure yet, but if the chair arm is on the bad side, you risk bumping into it and that won’t be a good sensation for awhile.

You had me thinking how glad I am that “the stabber” is gone. It had gotten to where “the stabber” seemed to have turned into a troop of stabbers. I remember I was in the shower once, moved the wrong way, screamed out a little, got the knee buckle and said out loud “help”. Eeesh.

COTHers are great sometimes, righ?. I’ve learned there are certain boards I stay out of, though, as some people who just want to start a fight tend to hang out there.

[Laurierace]

So you don’t rest the bad arm on the arm of the recliner? Glad you are better!

[canadianbacon]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;8638202]
So you don’t rest the bad arm on the arm of the recliner? Glad you are better![/QUOTE]

Ir will depend on what kind of sling/immobilizer you have I think. With my wedge I had a strap around my waist to keep it immobile so I wasn’t able to prop it up on the arm of the sofa. Add that to the list of things to ask your doc…

[beaujolais]

Correct. It needs to stay right at your side (or as it is in the wedge) so you don’t disrupt the surgery. Most likely you won’t want to move it at all, for awhile, not even one little millimeter.

Oh, I remembered that when I had asked my Doctor what recovery would be like he said, as I had told you, the pain is related to the number of anchors, if he puts the biceps tendon back on and etc. However, he also said that it’s all over the board and he’s seen people who had big shoulder procedures have not much pain and people who had small things done have big pain.

[Zu_Zu]

Immobilizer dictates your arm position - worn all the time.

Doctors do not rec sleeping in a bed with your immobilizer and your hand in the air.

Perhaps the immobilizer is not completely understood …?

Ones arm is held / elbow bent - lower arm supported / only hand movable.
then the whole thing is attached / buckled at waist

no way could I have slept in a bed with the immobilizer

a recliner offers support as in no bumping … the cushioned furniture will do the same
On the "involved’ side !
not lifting shoulder / arm up / shoulder girdle is stationary for healing.
arm along side within furniture not up on .

• google how to put on an immobilizer / sleeping in chair or recliner … For video

[Zu_Zu]

Laurie ~~ check out online videos … sorry i did not think of this before

Laurie google shoulder surgery and immobilizer for some GREAT videos that will help you immensely :yes:

sorry it’s so difficult to explain in words …

I truly wish i had seen some of these videos about straPPING ON THE IMMOBILIZER`` BEFORE MY SURGERY AND THE STUFF ABOUT SITTING IN A CHAIR OR RECLINER TO SLEEP

oops capts sorry in a hurry

but these videos will help …

and lastly all will fine with time Jingles & AO

[Zu_Zu]

this my last … Then I’ll go away…

’ a recliner or bed with pillows is simply a ‘form’ to sleep in
a safe form / where you won’t bump or move your arm / shoulder

.where you can’t roll on shoulder or fall out of

your sofa with wedge pillows on the 'involved ’ side must ensure you remain ‘shoulder still’ I hope something I have written had helped ?

best wishes

[Laurierace]

Yes you all helped, thank you. I didn’t mean prop the arm loose on the arm of the chair but was envisioning maybe the bent elbow resting on it. Did you say you did or did not take the immobilizer off to sleep? I think it is supposed to be on all the time.

[ElementFarm]

[QUOTE=Laurierace;8637017]
I was looking at wedge pillows but the reviews are all so bad that it scared me. You had that exact model and were happy with it? I can give it a shot I guess, can’t be any worse than the piece of junk I already tried.[/QUOTE]

Yup, I had that exact model. I still used a regular pillow to prop my head a little more, but it was wide enough to support my shoulder at the angle I needed. I also had a blanket under my elbow to keep the arm-in-sling up across my front. But it helped a lot, and I didn’t want to sleep in a recliner for a month…