41 years old , 6'- 180 lbs
sports: Hockey, Softball
Pre Surgery:
Level of pain from 1 to 10 - consider myself a 5
MRI: Right Shoulder Slap Tear , Possible Rotator, possible Clavicle
Surgery : 6/25/12
Confirmed ; Slap Tear - two suters that I know of now from Nurse
Meds: oxycod- as needed 1 every 4hours / Antibiotics - 3day
Post surgery:
Day 1 : Out of surgery 11 am - Sling-Nerve block cant feel a thing from shoulder down , except can move fingers slightley all day. Night:Slept 4 or 5 hours . No Pain
Day 2 : 1:00pm feeling in arm & Shoulder 100% back. Sling. Pain level, about a 6 out of 10. Took first oxy & continued taking.Pain level 1 or 2. Night : slept about 5 hours. Constipated but can Urine
Day3 : Pain level 5 . Switched to 3 Moltrin every 6 hours.Pain level 2. Took sling off 50% of the day. Can raise forarm 90% . Sleep 6 hours. Have level 8 pain @ 3 am for about an hour. Constipated but can urine
Day4 : Pain level 2- 3 . No pain meds. Sling 80 % gone. Can raise my hand to my chin then level 8 pain when return down . Went to see Physical Therapist, Got yelled @ for not wearing sling doing to much etc. then they stretched me out measured movements & gave me some excersise to do.Arm Pendolims & curls. Sleep about 6 hours wake up around 3 am level 8 pain. Did excersise. back to bed.. NOT constipated
Day 5 : Pain level 1 . No pain meds . No sling. Doing Excersise. Can raise hand to eye level then level 8 pain when return down . Sleep 6+ hours Pain @ 3am.Bowel movements Regular
Day6 : pain level 0-1 . Doing Excersise. Can Raise hand just above my head. Pain level 8 when return down. Cant reach straight out yet , but can almost reach the car radio.

I'll be the first to reply but Im sure you are going to hear much of the same thing once others start replying ......KEEP YOUR ARM IN THE SLING!!!!!! I've had slap repairs on both shoulders with bicep tenodesis, my left rotator cuff was 100% torn off the labrum so I have a little bit of experience. it feels as though you can move it because there isn't much pain but your shoulder is not ready after only one week. I was instructed to leave my arms in the sling for six weeks only to be taken out to bath and under no circumstance was I to lift more than a coffee cup.. Passive range of motion exercises at six weeks and light PT at twelve weeks. I had my last surgery on april 18 and things were really feeling good so naturally i went against drs orders and did what i thought i could do and now im having surgery tomorrow morning to repair my bicep tendon which tore off of the anchor. Maybe your surgery wasnt as complex as mine but do yourself a favor and only do what your dr says you can do even though it feels great. good luck.

My bio:
48 year old male
Weightlifter, competitive road cyclist, triathlete, MTB cyclist, golfer

Think of it this way - surgery is 10%, following instructions for rehab exactly is 90% of recovery.

Talk about frustrating, I've been cycling through surgery and rehab for 3 years. Now the rehab is very limited and slow - I'll be lucky to lift my arm at 3 months. You do not want to wreck the repair - trust me.

After every surgery I have had, one common theme was .... the PT was the only one allowed to move my arm ... other than the pendulum exercise I did. My arm was to be in a sling 24/7 for the first 6 weeks. Another theme was...you aren't to lift anything with your arm....not even an empty pop can. It might seem rather restrictive, but there is a reason....you dont want to undo what surgery just fixed. Give yourself and your shoulder a break....be patient with yourself and your recovery. If you do what the PT and OS say, you will have a better chance for a good outcome. This is a major surgery with the most complicated joint in your body....it could take up to 12 months for a full recovery.

Wishing you the best...

Jo

take it easy mate, if you rush you only make things worse, im 8 months on and still cause damage/pain by overdoing it, all the best steve

still you are on pain medications, the level of pain you are indicating is false.
So you could injure yourself without feeling anything, so need to be careful.

- wile