I am very confused.
I had my SLAP repair one week ago. Pre-op, I was told it was a pretty severe tear. In fact, I was very limited in my range of motion in my shoulder, and in my ability to do biceps curls.
Since the surgery, I haven't had my first follow up with the ortho yet, and so I haven't started PT yet either.

At present, I can lift my arm over my head, place my hand behind my head (which is great for washing my hair), I can lift my arm to the side, behind me, I can push and I can pull. I am even typing this message with both hands at normal speed.

There really is only a minor discomfort and the range of motion limitations are minor as well. I stopped taking the narcoitc meds after the 3rd day.

Most of my pain right now is in the front of my shoulder, and I can definately tell he did SOMETHING though I don't know what.

All of this bothers me though, because the doc told me to wear a sling for four weeks, and I really expected that I would not have these abilities so soon. And reading other posts, I seem to be an oddity. So It makes me wonder if I didn't botch my own surgery. I'm just wondering if anyone else has had such a speedy recovery as I am having.

I can't even believe you would want to try to do all of that! 1 week after my surgery I couldn't have done any of what you describe. My OS did tell me NO overhead motion, only movement was pendulum swings, and keep it in the sling 4 weeks. I had my first PT at 8 days post op, the PT moved above my head, but said that it was ok that she was doing it because she was doing all of the work, and warned me not to even try to do that. I had no ROM behind the back until like 6-8 weeks, even at the 6 month mark my ROM wasn't 100%. Please be careful! I am facing a repeat surgery due to re injury, I am not looking forward to it, I would hate to see you end up back in for a repair!

The problem sometimes with very little pain post surgery is the temptation to do too much. If your OS did not send you home with specific instructions then shame on him, it could prove to be a big mistake. The repair usually needs 3 weeks of sling protection and no active(you performing the move 100% with your operated arm) movement overhead. Passive movements and certain ROM are usually OK. Call the OS office and get the protocol of do's and don'ts. Become informed about the specifics of your surgery, getting a post-op report helps if you cannot talk with the OS directly. This is why I highly suggest the person who picks you up from surgery get and write down what was done and how to proceed after surgery. Each surgery is different so it is difficult to compare to others. Sharon

I too had little pain after surgery. I was in a sling for 4 weeks. I wasn't allowed to do active ROM until I was out of the sling. I followed almost every precaution to a tee because I know from my work experience as an athletic trainer in a PT clinic what can happen if you don't follow the precautions. My OS told me at my first follow-up 10 days post-op that he worries about people like me. We feel good, have age going for us, and want to go out and do things we shouldn't. Not having any pain isn't always a good thing because then it gives you the desire to do things you shouldn't. I would make sure that you are following your OS orders to a tee!! Otherwise you may be back in the OR sooner than you would like!!

I was in the same boat as you after my first surgery on 12/07. Pain was minimal and ROM was about a hundred percent in the first month. As a result I got way overconfident and pushed to hard to soon and because of that I had a redo on 8/27. I know since you feel so good it is hard not to push things, but unless you want to end up with another surgery (which is not as easy as the first) I would take every precaution and just let your arm heal. It takes a few weeks before the anchors and sutures are set if they used them. Take it from me, its better to take care of it now and lose a little freedom, then to damage the repair and have it not heal right.