Hi, I injured my shoulder back in Feb or Jan, really don't know how I did it, maybe dancing to the Wii, or moving a TV to heavy for me, or starting to fall on the ice and grabbing the steering wheel with my already damaged shoulder. In any case, I went to the NP at work who said I should go to PT, so I tried that for awhile but it didn't do any good. So she recommended an ortho surgeon, so I saw him, got X Rays done and an MRI. Showed I have shoulder impegiment (spelling) and a partial thickness rotator cuff tear on my left shoulder. Well that was back in April. He gave me a cortisone shot and told me to see him back in 6 weeks. Cortisone shot did nothing except make my arm ache on the drive home. Then after 6 weeks he told me to see him in another two months, because sometimes these things get better on there own. Well after a month, my shoulder was getting worse (more pain), so I saw him again after only one month, and decided to have surgery. Now I am really scared. I am 54 and have never had surgery of any kind and have never been under general anesthesia. So I'm really not knowing what to expect. Sure I've read about other people's experience and such, but still really, they can only put so much into words. So anyway I'm scheduled for surgery on Aug 27th. The doc said he was going to give me a nerve block so at least I won't be in pain when I wake up, but how do you handle the pain afterwards. I have a very low pain threshold, I do not do well with pain. My doc says this is a very painful surgery. Any help would be extremely helpful. Also I am a woman, so I'm trying to figure what kind of top I should be wearing to surgery so it's easy to get on with a sling. Thanks.

Hi,
I had my first surgery ever at 54 with a complete cuff tear, followed by 4 more. There is no way around it, it is painful. Not sure if knowing that is good or bad! I had no idea. There are ways to deal with the pain, though, including pain meds and cold therapy. Most people recover quickly, and hopefully with a partial tear you may just need debridement and no anchors or bone work. It really is hard to predict as some people breeze through it, and for some it is more difficult depending on what is done. We have all survived, though!

There are a lot of pointers for women to deal with shoulder surgery. First and foremost, have button or zipper tops, elastic waist pants/shorts, get used to using one arm for personal hygiene, have shampoo and/or liquid soap with pump tops so you don't have to open them, forget wearing a bra, don't worry about hair or make-up for awhile, etc. If you don't have an polar (ice) therapy unit, cold gel packs are a must. Sleeping may be a challenge. If you don't have a recliner, a pile of supportive pillows are a must as lying flat is not an option. The more info you can get from your surgeon before hand as to what they expect, the better prepared you will be. Ask how long they require a sling, what the therapy protocol will be, etc. Of course, there are no guarantees of results before they actually go in to look.

Cuff tears won't "heal" on their own, but some people do commit to physical therapy to stregthen surrounding muscle and avoid surgery if it is a partial tear. But that does take time and commitment. Of course, you are going to be going to therapy anyway after surgery, only it will be a bit more challenging and more painful. Also, cortisone shots may help inflammation, but won't do much for a tear, in my opinion.

Don't wait for the block to wear off before taking pain meds, you don't want to play catch up with pain management. First couple of days really suck but you will get through it fine. Good luck.

I think it is the anesthesia that has me the most concerned. Not being able to breath on your won is kind of disconcerting.

Have already been writing down questions for the doc, I will ask all these when I go back to do all the paperwork. I also have to get a pre op physical on the 23rd, so I hope there are no complications with that being so soon b/4 the surgery date, but that was the only date the MD had available. I still don't understand why the surgeon can't do this.

I do have many recliners (2 chairs), 2 on either end of a couch, and 2 on a love seat.

I have already bought large button down shirts.

Surgeons do a physical? Not likely!