Shoulder / rotator cuff surgery

[shredmaster]

so it's time once again to go under the knife. seems like every 2 years i'm going in for something. 2 years ago, ankle surgery; torn tendon...worst pain i ever felt. terrible recovery! so, 12-11, it will be the shoulder. i have been living with constant minor burning pain for a year. just like the ankle, don't know how it happened. anyway, anyone had this done? recovery time? etc? i was told it won't be that bad since it is a minor tear but who knows. i will be in a sling for 2 weeks minimum. what i dread most is the anesthetic. it makes me sick for starters, and 2nd, i just don't like it. i hate hospitals and being in that position. anyway, thanks in advance.....

luckily it is the left shoulder being worked on...i'm right-handed.

oh, and how long before i can play guitar you think?

Steve

[jemaholic]

Don't sweat it. I ignored mine for 3 years before I took care of it.
The KEY is in the rehab. You gotta be religious about rehab or else:

A) down time will be longer
B) muscles won't heal strong
C) more pain

Talk to your doctor about playing guitar and how to mesh it into your rehab schedule.

[shredmaster]

had the surgery friday. was pretty nervous. i hate anesthetic, but didn't get violently ill from it...i had them hype me up on all the preventative stuff to block the side effects from general anesthetic. the nurses were great, joked around with them...couldn't ask for a better staff. took me 3 hours to wake up. to me it was instantaneous. i was out then i was up. i don't remember going out. this last nurse came in with the anesthesiologist and said ok, let's get ready. she asked me...what's your name...why are you here? so i told her...are you talking to me to make sure i'm going to pass out? you know why i'm here...are you tricking me? she said no, we're not putting you out yet. then i woke up...it was over. she tricked me. i have much less pain than i thought i would, although i can't raise my arm up at all. i can bend at the elbow but can't raise my arm from the shoulder. let the therapy begin. there wasn't much of a tear. he did some cleaning and removed some bone to allow the tendon to flex easier. they ran that new platelet spinning technique for faster healing as well. it's new, where they use my blood, spin it, replace it on the wound as a healing compound.

[stodge]

I probably damaged my rotator cuff 23 years ago - killed me ever since.

[shredmaster]

i would get it looked at man, if you haven't already. the longer you wait the more issues you will have and the more damage you will have done. i have lived with this for about 6 years, on and off. got tired of dealing with it. luckily it wasn't that bad.