replacement shoulder

It's been almost 6 months since my reverse shoulder replacement. I'm past my number of pt & ot so I'm sure they will not want to see me u til January. I do my exercises at home and still take Percocet . After I do housework, the pain is so bad. Doctor is sending me to pain management. I also see psychiatrist and psychologist, who have me on Valium and tramadol. I have always had general anxiety and this sure makes everything worse. I tried Neurontin & it made me loopy & gave me flu like symptoms. I took my meds 3 hours ago & my arm is so tight I can barely take a shower.  When I took 4 Percocet at a higher dose, I could at least have a normal day. Now I take 3 & life is bad. I will be trying lyrica today but afraid of the symptoms. What in the world am I going to do? My clothes fall off my shoulder so I have to wear only certain things. I have no appetite & can't do anything I used to love to do. I'm getting scared.

I am not an MD.  But I have had a reverse shoulder replacement.  Immediately after you wake up from the surgery, the only pain you should have is the healing from the surgery itself.  Your pain from before the surgery should be gone after the surgery! Not any time later.  While you are in the hospital.  The reason for an anatomic or reverse replacement is for pain-relief.  If you can get a great range of motion and strength, those are bonuses.  But pain relief is the goal.  If you did not get that in 11 weeks, you must seek the best Shoulder Orthopedic Surgeon who specializes in shoulder replacement.  You must personally learn how often the surgeon does replacements, what his/her failure rate is, what her/his complication rate is, etc.  DO RESEARCH YOURSELF about shoulders and their replacement.  Ask the difficult questions, and examine the answers you get.  How your shoulders work, and how they hurt will impact everything for the rest of your life.  This is not the time to be a spectator.  If you do not do the work needed now, you will likely have was more than 11 weeks of difficulty.  I beg you to get going on correcting whatever has been messed up to this point.

Is this answer over a year late?  I hope you are all better, Pauline.  If not, get going. Good Luck.

I am having a very hard time with all the postings I've read here.  The pain and misery of each one of you after an anatomic (TSA) or reverse shoulder replacement (rTSA) is astounding to me.  Is it possible that the UK and the USA are so entirely different in how TSA and rTSA are done, and the PT protocols after have such totally different goals?

I had a rTSA in December of 2014.  2 1/2 months before my surgery the humeral head of my shoulder suddenly collapsed.  What was the ball on the upper end of the big bone in my shoulder came down like the World Trade Center, 9/11/01.  As the doctor who had taken the most recent x-rays of my shoulder before and after the collapse said, the ball had become a low-slung mushroom.  But I had a shoulder that had tears and retractions in three of the four main rotator cuff muscles.  And a whole lot of other damage.

The surgeon I chose is a world-renowned expert in shoulder surgery, repair and replacment.  He has seen, repaired, and replaced some of the worst shoulders ever.  And he said mine was the worst he'd ever seen.

It was reverse replaced.  Four days later it dislocated.  It was relocated without another surgery.  During the closed reduction, for which I was under general anesthetic,  my shoulder was checked thoroughly to assure that it was stable before the procedure was complete.  Four days after that my shoulder dislocated again.  This time a revision open surgery was performed to replace have the prosthetic.  So, I had two dislocations and two open surgeries in nine days.

One might think that the prognosis would be bad.  But they'd be wrong!

I was driving the day I returned home, twelve days after the first surgery.  All of the debilitating pain I had from everything wrong with my shoulder, including the intolerable pain after the humeral head collapse, was gone when I awoke from the first surgery, never to return.  After two months of the very  specific physical therapy protocol my shoulder was terrific!  The healing pain of surgery was way past, and my shoulder was achieving wonderful progress in range of motion (ROM) and strength.  I had PT three times a week for about 2 1/2 months or three months, and a maintenance program after that at home.  During PT I had execises that gradually increased in ROM and strength training, along with the PT.  And doing things at home were only to progress as the PT and home exercise progressed.  I followed all instructions to the letter.  At times I wanted to move forward faster than seemed to be happening, but I forced myself to be patient.  By March of this year I had been on maintenance  work, and I could do anything I wanted, any time, anywhere.  I was pain-free, with strength and ROM that was better than I had ever had in that arm.  And the arm I'm talking about was and is my dominant arm.

I varied my exercises as time has gone on, and I have become more and more strong, with a greater and greater ROM.

From what I can tell in the posts here, it sounds as though people have not been educated as to the physiology and function of the shoulder.  Without that, how can anyone know if they are doing something they should, and doing it right when a physical therapist tells them and shows them what to do?  Did you each have very specific exercises to do in PT that moved you along in a very specific time-line, so that damage would not be caused by PT?  Were you informed why certain things should be done in a certain order to increase ROM and strength to not have pain and further injury?  Were you told at the very outset of everything, before your surgery, that the goal of surgery is to end pain?  That if you ended up with a great ROM and/or great strength that those were bonuses, but being pain-free was the entire reason for the replacement, anatomic or reverse??  It seems as though the expectations for the surgery were not necessarily discussed before the first incision.  THERE IS NO REASON WHY THERE SHOULD BE SO MUCH PAIN AFTER A SHOULDER REPLACEMENT, NO MATTER HOW DAMAGED IT WAS BEFORE SURGERY.  If the surgery was done correctly, pain should be gone by the time you wake up in the hospital.  There will still be the pain of the surgery itself, and pain of healing from it.  But that pain must be a whole lot less than the pain before surgery, or why would you have the surgery?

For my pain I used a Chinese tea made specifically for shoulder healing and me.  It was cheaper than meds, no side effects, and under my complete control.  I understand the reliance on Western medications.  But I chose to do otherwise.  I don't even know where the remainder of the tea is, this far after I needed it.  

I have done medical research for myself, my family and friends for as long as I can remember.  And it pays.  Choosing the very best surgeon you can if the most important thing in any case.  And you have a much better chance of that if you know a lot when you are interviewing doctors.  

If you are in lots of pain, and it isn't getting better after, say five weeks, it is important to seek a DIFFERENT doctor to begin to find out why the pain has persisted.  Waiting a long time with bad pain may be doing considerable damage to the hard and sot tissues of your shoulder.  It sounds as if it is impacting all of your lives.  Don't accept it!  Take charge, and get your shoulder better, whatever it takes.  Taking pain medication is NOT the answer.  You have the rest of your lives.  Why accept limitations that should be corrected?  Incidentally, I'm 67 years old. People who need shoulder replacements are generally not youngsters, unless there was a traumatic injury.  But who care?  Don't settle for the pain.  The pain should not be there for as long as so many of you have had it.  I described my experience with myrTSA so that you would know I was talking from difficult beginnings like yours.  But the result for me sounds like the difference between day and night, to coin a phrase.  Please, please, please, don't allow pain to become a chronic  issue in your lives.  The answers are there for you to find.  It is not the mystery that it sounds like some of you have been led to believe.  If your doctor is saying it's a slow process, what in the world does that mean?  The time-line I've included here is not over-night.  But it's not as long and arduous as it seems to have been for so many of you.  If your doctor, PT, friends, or pet are telling you that the pain is just a part of the recovery, run, don't walk, to the nearest computer and start doing your own research.  A side point:  only articles and research that is signed by someone you can look up to verify credentials, should be read with any serious consideration.  

Well, I'm done.  Good Luck to all of you.  I wish you  all the best.  

Hi

I am based in India and had an accident injuring my right shoulder rotater cuff and had to under go a shoulder hemi arthroplsty .Operated on 13th November 2015 since then i have been regularly doing physio excersises at home and have achieved almost all passive movements but as far as active movements are concerned have had not much sucess about 30 degrees front and 40 degrees side elevation over and above that my shoulder strts rising and that too happnes in certain daily routine works like picking up a cup of coffee and raising spoon to eat my shoulder starts acting up .As per doctor this is an issue of builldeing muscle strength which i am rgularly ding by way of thera nabd excersies . Any hope my shoulder will not act the it is doing right now  .

It will be graet if someone can guide me how not let y shoulder rise  .

Thanks and Regards

I suffered terrible pain with physio but it did get easier with time.  It took me 18 mths and I now have full movement.  It can be hard as initially I would cry due to the pain.  Keep persevering, take pain medication and it will improve.

I am new to this forum. I had actually found this website accidentally. I felt I could offer words of encouragement to any of you that have had shoulder replacement. I had my left shoulder replacement in 2005 and left one in 2006.  I had something know as avascular necrosis from taking steroids for asthma. My first surgery was a core decompression where they drill holes in the bone trying to get blood flow to the joint. That was in 2002. After about two three years that shoulder collapsed. Then I had the replacement. This was a really difficult and painful recovery. My surgeon finally even ordered a passive range of motion machine which I would sit in and put my arm on it and it would lift my arm. It didn't help much. Eventually I had to apply for disability. I was a full time transcriptionist. So in 2006 the other shoulder collapsed. This time a different orthopedic surgeon did the replacement.  Much to my amazement he did not prescribe any formal physical therapy. I did my exercises at home on my own with a stick and some with a pulley. Had very little pain and the incision was about three inches shorter than the first. Fast forward a few years and I eventually had greater range of motion than I probably ever had. They say replacement only lasts ten years but both of mine are still doing well. Here it is 2016 and I hope to go a few more years with them. I hope you are all finding time will be your friend.  I am currently 63. Best wishes.

Hi

I've been following your discussions. I am currently very confused. I started with both shoulder pain April this year was given 2 steroid injections into left shoulder as that is more painful. Ultrasound showed bursitis but only in right so GP just made an assumption left shoulder was the same. Pain worsened in left shoulder very quickly to the point I can't wash or dress myself . I was sent for mri which showed a fracture in upper arm classed as humorous a lot of fluid severe arthritis in top of shoulder to collarbone and a frozen shoulder due to fracture. I am awaiting an urgent appointment with surgeon. I asked my GP what might happen at first he didn't want to answer but I persisted and he said shoulder replacement. I am awaiting a bone density scan as I have in 6 years developed arthritis in my full spine both knees both wrists and now looks like shoulders. I am taking oramorph and increased pain meds but pain is unbearable constantly but worse with any movement. I really would appreciate any advice you have to offer. There is no reason for fracture, I haven't had any injury

Hi,

I am 55 and I am three months out from total replacement.  Mind you that everyone is different.  I have been in competetive sports for 40 years and had no cartilage left.  Big difference from your accident, and I am sorry about your misfortune.  However, I was constantly sore from exercising and the physical therapy.  I was religiously doing the exercises 2 X daily.  Believe it or not some of your soreness is due to the lack of muscle strength in your muscle and rotator cuff.  I suggest heating your shoulder before exercising with electric stimulation.  After exercising apply ice.  Your benchmark should be pain and stop when it hurts but do not give up.  I am getting better and better every day, have returned to the gym, and hope to be playing baseball this coming season.  I am applying shea butter to the incision and do not take anything (anymore) for pain.  There is no harm in taking a day off of exercise to alleviate the pain but DO NOT make a habit of it.  Good luck!

Tom  

I am 68 years old. Last year and 8 months apart, both my left an right Rotator Cuffs had a Reverse Shoulder Replacement. Reverse, because I was over age 64, at that time and both were Torn completely off the bone.

My left due to a bad auto accident. The right from Shrapnel, from getting wounded in Vietnam, 1968, that was never removed and eventually tore through my shoulder.

So, from January 2016, till now, still in quit a bit of pain and cannot reach back around, beyond each side of my body and getting harder to lift anything, over 15 pounds. Hey! They will never tear again. lol

Hi Pau

Hi Pauline/all

I had a partial shoulder replacement around 4 years ago. I did the exercises given to me by physio, went to classes, took up swimming after I was discharged, went to the gym after that and then to Pilates. Unfortunately I cannot lift my arm above the waist without help which makes it difficult at times. Any hints/ advice from anyone would be appreciated. Thanks.