On May 11, 2010 I went under the knife for rotator cuff surgery. I didn't have a tear and there was not one thing I did that aggravated it enough for me to have surgery.
About nine years ago, I started having pain in my shoulder and chronic headaches. The pain in my shoulder felt as though it were being pulled out of the socket on a regular basis. If I did my rotator cuff exercises, I could keep the pain to a minimum, as long as I didn't do any heavy lifting for my chest. A doctor diagnosed me with, "Nursing Mother's Syndrome," and said I would just have to keep doing the exercises and maybe one day resort to surgery.
My headaches were diagnosed as migraines. Throughout the years I tried multiple migraine medications. Most were effective but made me sleep until the headache was gone. However, having three small children, sleeping for extended periods of time was not an option. I was put on Tylenol 3. After years on the particular medication, I switched to a hydrocodone/ibuprofen combination. I was not fond of the amount of acetaminophen I was taking over the years and soon realized I was suffering from rebound headaches.
My main chronic headache was caused by occipital neuralgia. My occipital nerves were pinched, making my head feel like it was in a constant charlie horse. Even washing my hair hurt. My scalp felt like one big bruise underneath. It was horribly painful. Add in the rebound headaches from the pain medication and I was pretty much miserable all the time.
As time went on over the last nine years, my headaches got worse and my shoulder pain more frequent. Finally, in April of this year, my chiropractor referred me to an orthopedic doctor. The chiropractor said I had acromial tendinitis and possible bursitis.
The orthopedic doctor confirmed the diagnosis and suggested I get a shot in the bursa to relieve the inflammation. I had been in pain for so long, I was open to anything. The shot into the shoulder was not bad at all. What amazed me was that by the time I was getting into my car ten minutes later, the occipital neuralgia was melting away, along with the pain under my shoulder blade. To this day, I can wash my hair without pain at the base of my skull and above my ears.
The pain in my shoulder, however, did not go away. Hence the surgery. I had a bone spur removed, chronic bursitis to clean up, and stretched out ligaments the doctor put stitches in to tighten up. He told me out of everything he could do to a shoulder, mine would take the longest to recover from.
The first couple of days after surgery are by far the worst. However, it is now almost eight weeks later and I still can't sleep flat. The best purchase I made was a reading pillow with adjustable sides and headrest. That and super fluffy pillows have made my recovery much more comfortable.
I attempted to walk about 8 days post surgery. The two miles felt wonderful, but the pain afterwards did not. I was then told by someone else who had the surgery to definitely not walk before three weeks. The doctor couldn't tell me that? That came from a man that actually went back to work just four days after his surgery. I took two weeks off and wish I had taken four as typing still aggravates it.
I immediately started doing 30 shoulder shrugs and rowing movements with my shoulders three times a day. I also did bicep curls when my sling was off a couple of times a day. I read that if you do not move your shoulder, scar tissue will build up and you will lose all range of motion. The doctor nor the nurse told me why to do the exercises, just to make sure I did.
At four weeks post surgery I started walking to and from work, which is a half mile each way. Add in lunch and I was walking about two miles a day. I could not believe that walking made my legs sore. I guess that is what happens when you lay around for four weeks. Oh, and exhausted. I can't even tell you how exhausted I was going back to work and still am by the end of the week.
At five weeks, I started going to the gym and working my legs (Just three to four sets of 15 reps). I then tried to lay on my back overnight. Not a good thing. The pain was excruciating laying down and the pain getting myself out of the position was even more so.
At six weeks, I got my sling off and started to work my shoulder slightly. Every other night, I hang the jump rope over the pullup bar at the gym and make like a pulley. I wrap one end around my wrist and use the other hand to pull my shoulder through the ranges of motion. OUCH!
At 7.5 weeks, I put my sling back on for the weekend. The pain was so bad, I actually had to take pain pills at work to make it through the day (something I usually reserve for first thing in the morning and after work when the pain is at its worst.) That was just three days ago. The sling must have given it the rest it needed because it feels much better. Typing still aggravates it a little bit, so I am doing it in little spurts. I think using the mouse hurts it the most. Oh, that and situps on the decline bench. I wasn't even going all the way down and thought I had caused major damage after just 10 reps.
My friend that had the surgery said he started running again at seven weeks and thinks he reinjured his shoulder doing so. He said his physical therapist did not think that was the case, but it still caused him excruciating pain. I think I will wait until the ten week mark before I try running.
I am surprised to find that I cannot lay down to sleep and when I try, it hurts my midback, which is used to a sitting position. The best part - I am almost out of pain killers and they say they don't like to prescribe them more than a month past the surgery. Future blogs could be interesting...
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