Well, I'm touching wood as I type this...

I'm 5 days post op from capsular release, SAD and other scar tissue releases, blah blah blah and for the first time in 8 years I'm painfree. I know it's early and that's why I was so hesitant to write this but then figured, I haven't had a painfree day (without meds) in 8 years, I think I should be celebrating that as opposed to brushing it away for fear it may not last. If there's one thing I tell people here over and over, it's that you really need to take things one day at a time...and right now, today, I am painfree. I've got 60 degrees ER, flexion back to what I had pre-surgery (about 130), full extension, IR to about L4. I started some resisted IR/ER today, again no pain. Deltoid is feeling a bit weaker, but might have to do with swelling still in the joint. If there is one thing I hoped for, it would be some pain relief, I wasn't expecting to be doing this well recovering from surgery #6 on that shoulder no less. Mind you, over the next few days is generally when things start to get stiff again, but not having the pain is making doing more ROM much easier.

Anyways, I felt I should share something positive...it's been a hell of a journey, haven't had many positive updates so, I decided not to hold back...for nothing is impossible, don't give up.

That is really good to hear. As I've said before, you are way too young for this. How the heck did all this start for you anyway? Looking at the series of ops, it almost looks like the docs have been tightening, loosening, tightening, loosening (to put it simply).

All I know is that I will go the pain management route if things start heading south for me again. Done with being butchered!

Well, my ortho told me that my glenoid is quite shallow and is a bit of an inverted pear shape which would make me prone to instability. My right one, anteriorly stretched out over time after years of pitching and playing lots of baseball growing up. My left one, when I was 17 years old I was on a french ski trip to Quebec and (using very poor judgement) took a bad angle off a mogul and lost control (it was almost pure ice from freezing rain the day before) ended up crashing pretty badly. I dislocated my left shoulder, was knocked unconscious and left with a pretty bad concussion. This was back before most people wore helmets (needless to say, I wouldn't even go on a bunny hill without a helmet now). So I was genetically predisposed to the dislocations but it was a significant trauma that led me down this path. That coupled with the fact that I produce excessive amounts of scar tissue, is what then led to the release, SAD, and then tenodesis was mostly due to having such poor mechanics from scar tissue/immobility. About 16 months post op tenodesis, I was lifting a box that was top heavy off a shelf overhead, didn't have the strength/mobility to control it bringing it down and dislocated again. My OS said that because of the shape of my glenoid and then he thinks that moving the biceps, it had helped stabilize the humerus enough in that position that, not having it there was just enough for it to give again. That was ultimately why I needed the latarjet, I didn't have enough soft tissue to compensate for the bone deficiency. I also have the same on the right in terms of the shape, but so far it has held. I also have a buford complex in both shoulders.

Wow, sounds like some life style changes or adjustments might be in order to protect yourself as long as possible. You do NOT want to go the replacement route any time soon, if ever. The despair I felt when the surgeon came in to mark my shoulder was devastating - when he said "people come to me when they've slid to the bottom of the hill.' (he's a skier) I am so glad I didn't need the reverse - that would have been the end of my life as I live it. But the next one might be just that as chances are this won't last very long.

Well, I'm just gonna keep the ball rolling here. I had surgery about a week and a half ago and today I went GOLFING! I went out to the driving range and hit a small bucket of balls...from full out driving off a tee to chip shots. I was driving the ball about 180 yards which I would say is pretty damn good for only having surgery last week. It's pretty sore right now, but mostly because I'm putting my shoulder in ranges it hasn't been in a while. I still have some pain around the graft, which I think I will have to learn to live with, but today, I learned I can still golf, which is something I have worried about all year.

Depending how I feel tomorrow, I may just go out again and continue to try and rip apart some scar tissue lol.

that is wonderful. good for you.

i feel ok as long as nothing moves, but i have a feeling this is going to be a tough time ahead. i went with a friend to see her new horse today - he was perfect, and I was depressed. haha- my husband and I bought a rifle today to protect our chickens from the raccoons - he had to fill out a form to be approved by the NCIS. good thing *I* didn't have to answer those questions about depression and meds!