Cavitator & Riderk,
Your experience is why one should take the decision to have surgery very seriously. There is risk to having surgery and even if it is less than 5%, if you’re in that 5%, statistics don’t really matter. The decision to have surgery should be based on many factors, some objective and some at the gut level as I was willing to do whatever was necessary to live a normal life or I was willing to die trying.

Sure I could have waited another year. Perhaps a new scientific approach would surface that could fix my shoulder without surgery. There just is not any clear cut formula to make this decision that fits everyone.

I am a very active guy! A Wife, 2 sons, very healthy, interested in the outdoors, socializing and having fun. All that was compromised when my shoulders began dropping me to my knees in pain when I least expected it.

There are grey areas when a slap tear appears to be manageable. If you’re in that situation, you have time to wait and give alternatives like PT a chance. If your 61 years old and in your senior years of life you just may look at things a little differently.

The good thing about this site is it provides anyone in this situation a forum to gather information, some facts and some opinions to consider when making this decision. This site helped me prepare for surgery, it had no influence on my decision to have surgery; that was my decision and until I could sleep with it, I didn’t know what to do.

Your situation is a warning to anyone considering surgery that they should consider all options which carry less risk than surgery. I knew I was taking a risk. I finalized my will and was prepared for the worse. In the end it appears to have worked out, although the fear is still there. In my bog I described this fear as a surgical horror. It was a nightmare that I had to come to grips with. It made me stronger but it did not make me an expert or give me any right to tell others what to do. That is their decision and all I can hope to do is help them on there path whatever it might be.
John

This encapsulates how I feel and live at this point:

Neither words nor time healed anyone. Only living healed, if it healed at all, living as you were meant to live, as best you could with your learned habits and confused intentions, living through time and finally beyond time, where neither therapists nor surgeons were any longer needed to smooth away the pain or cut it out.

Well guys!

Had the arthrogram, MRI and CT scan done yesterday. The arthrogram was an absolute breeze. VERY LITTLE pain at all. They injected the dye and the doctor said he saw some leakage on the xray from my rotator cuff which means, there is possibly a tear in it.

MRI stunk. I absolutely HATE those thing. I freak out and sweat. Sat in that jewel for 30 minutes and contemplated death after it. Then they went on to do a CT scan as well.

I go Friday to go over the results.

Thanks alot for everyone's advice.

I just had an MRI yesterday and I'm now waiting on results. I was supposed to have a arthrogram, but there was miscommunication between me, the place that was going to do it and my doctor.

MRI was fine as I kept my eyes closed. Was nervous about having an arthrogram and I'm hoping I don't need it. Never had one before.

Praying I don't need surgery since the recovery time seems crazy. 4 weeks in a sling! Yikes. And my pain is only when I sleep in certain positions.

Thanks for all the advice folks! Glad to have found this forum.

It's a long ordeal, but necessary for some.

Looks like I've moved officially to pain management, for now. No more orthopaedic intervention. I am grateful I have a really good and compassionate PM doc. Hope I improve some more, but being in that 5% is rotten.

what did the MRI results show?