Re Shoulder arthroscopy operation.

Hi Irene. I can certainly sympathise with you. I had my opp on the 10th Aug. I was in discomfort before surgery however the pain after surgury is on another level. I'm taking tramadol and gabapentin.

It's the most horrendous op I have ever had. I have to keep on top of my pain relief so as to do physio daily. My physio courses more pain than I feel comfortable with but I do understand it's important to get movement going. I definitely don't want to end up bk in surgery for a frozen shoulder. Keep using the ice it really works for me better than heat. Keep chatting maybe we can help each other.

Jane

Hi Irene, I didn't have surgery; I fell and broke my left shoulder in May 2015 which is very painful. Some tips from me to you are; I went to the hairdresser to get my hair washed and put up in a bun. This didn’t cost very much just 10.00$ each time. I also have good neighbours so I had someone come over to put up my hair when it looked out-of-whack! As for bathing, I bought baby wipes as this was the easiest way to wipe myself clean, at least in the beginning. Dressing was challenging so I used m yoga pants which has elastic waists and some camisoles that were one size bigger to slip from the feet and over my body. Slipping any clothing over my head is impossible. Also a larger blouse to put over my camisoles works great. You don’t need much clothing I just make sure that I wash often so that I am clean. Just because we have injuries doesn’t mean we should look like dogs! Hope some of this helps, wishing you a speedy recovery.

Hello Irene,

I had a shoulder hemiarthroplasty in August 2014.  (It was not done by arthroscopy; I am not sure how this is carried out on a shoulder.)  Another member, Pauline41903, had a shoulder hemiarthroplasty a few weeks before me and there are several discussions between she and I on this page which may be helpful to you.  I was in a sling for six weeks, not allowed to move the shoulder until the sling came off and it was then that physio began and I am still doing it!  It has been a very long road with pain in the beginning and exercise following.  It is a slow process but it is important to keep working no matter how difficult, but not overexerting of course.  Once physio is at a point where they cannot achieve more range of motion in the shoulder/arm, it is important to lift weights, etc., to gain strength.  At this point for you, this will seem like the future is dim as regards using the shoulder again.  It has been approximately one year since I began physio and I just graduated to a 5lb free weight just last week, so very slow.  It is important though, not to get discouraged and to try to do little things no matter how it feels.  I remember when I could not hold a cup of tea (or an empty cup) and many smaller things but it will come. Try not to let it get you down as that can easily happen.  I wouldn't have believed back then (when feeling so miserable) that it would get better but it has.  Once I was able to get off the prescription pain medication and use over-the-counter pain meds that helped also. The prescription meds taken too long (in my case) seemed to oversensitize and felt like it was creating more pain; just my experience. Do keep working at it, Irene. Best of luck. Janice