shoulder woes

“So I have been fighting a bad cold for 3 weeks now. 2 weeks back I went to the doc to see what was up and while I was there I decided to have an xray done on my right shoulder. Its hurts bad from time to time. I injured it a few times when I use to lift weights too often (thats why I quit actually, didnt want to do any permanent damage). Any way I messed it up in January and its been more painful then normal. I get a call about being referred to an orthopedic surgeon. I transfered doctors the day before so my new doc had to get the film and report. I was able to speak to my Docs P.A. today and was stunned when she read the report to me. The only words I recall are "old fracture that has healed improperly,possible degenerative arthritis"..."you need to see Dr----- an orthopedic surgeon".

Next wed at 8am I get my first MRI, yippee frickin skippy! To say I am bummed would be an understatement. I know its not the end of the world and that shoulder surgery is pretty common. Those words were a comfort before it was something I may face. I am just bitter today, I am sure I'll have a better attitude soon. Thanks for lettin me vent.”

“good luck birch, the surgery might be just the ticket, it'll screw up your summer plans prolly, but by next spring you'll be really glad to have gotten it over with.

I'd bet that'll be the case anyhow.”

“Roam, I will try to delay the surgery (if its needed) till after october. I want to change some insurance stuff before hand plus I have some really cool plans I dont want to miss,I would rather be down in the fall/winter.”

“Count you blessings, man. I have the same problem with my right knee. I'm not going to have to have surgery right away, but the doc is telling me that backpacking will just make it worse until it does need surgery.

I'm no psychic, but I see the need for surgery in my future.”

“can't blame ya for that, the way you describe the problem, the delay prolly won't make much difference either.

my uncle had some sort of surgery a few years ago to fix some problems created when he was younger, the rehad seemed to be about the worst part, but I think the end result was pretty good. He was in his 50s when they did it too. Your a lot younger so recovery/rehad should be easier and faster for you. He wasn't in very good shape either.”

“Sass will carry all yer gear for ya Birch, won't'cha Sass?”

“Phaedrus, a shoulder is better then knees,except at work. My hands are over my head prolly 75% of the time.

Roam, I hope that being young and healthy helps. I have heard form numerous people I know that rehab is quite painful.”

“LOL buddur!”

“Phaedrus, a shoulder is better then knees,except at work. My hands are over my head prolly 75% of the time.


You're teaching inner city kids how to deal with the police in Cinci?

=]”

“Seeing an Orthopaedic surgeon doesn't necessarily indicate surgery. No doubt they will try more conservative measures first. Have they ruled out torn rotator cuff? That's pretty common with weight lifters, especially those who are prone to bench press style lifting. Mine seems to be better since I've laid off weights for quite some time and stayed with core strength and aerobic exercises. More fun too. Good luck.”

“Phaedrus, I was actually teaching some french shoulders advanced surrender techniques, LOL.”

“I knew that was coming so I had to act preemptively.

=]”

“You know I will Buddur! (I just won't be able to hike as far ;) )”

“That's a bummer, birch! Keep us posted on it.


My dad is going in for a knee replacement early next month. What I didn't know is that he's planning to have both knees replaced this summer, then have carpal tunnel surgery on one hand. He's falling apart, and he's only 66 years old!”

“Bummer Birch. Just get lot's of good books for the winter. Keep us posted.

Hey, we've been playing phone tag. I'll call you after work.”

“Birch, would you mind a running partner tomorrow (Thursday)? I could drop by after work and maybe you could inspire me to run a mile and a half or even two. Let me know!”

“AAACK!!!!!!!! Sorry to hear about your shoulder, dude! Hopefully the ortho will have a relatively rapid path for you to recover. Hang in there (just not by your arms....)!”

“Oh, and hopefully you're not claustophobic like I am. I almost had to claw my way outta that MRI machine!”

“Birch, I had orthoscopic shoulder surgery a few years ago on my right shoulder. They tried PT at first and some drugs to decrease internal swelling, but it didn't help. As it turns out, I had shoulder surgery in June 2001 and was recovered enough by December to continue ski racing. I had a torn rotator cuff and some other stuff wrong with the shoulder. They put in some plastic rivets that disolve or something like that, removed some cartilage and repaired a tendon. PT after the surgery was the worst part. Well, that and I developed a staph infection in my left elbow right after the shoulder surgery. They ended up having to do elbow surgery exactly 3 weeks after the initial shoulder surgery. The elbow surgery was a slice and dice and I ended up with a nice 5" scar right on the outside of my elbow. Both surgeries took a week each of recovery time before I was able to go back to work in a non-physical job. It was much better after 6 months, but it was a full year before it felt completely normal.

They had me pumped full of morphine with this automatic dispensing unit to the shoulder for a few days after the surgery. Sleeping was difficult. I ended up propping my shoulder up with a pillow and using a strap to hold my wrists together when I slept for a few weeks. That helped to keep the shoulder stabilized.

Hopefully, yours won't be as bad. Good luck! An orthopedic surgeon is definitely the person who can tell you what you need.”

“Oh...and you can hardly see the four small scars where the went in with orthoscopy on my shoulder.”

“Man, orthoscopy is the shizzit, isn't it? You can barely see the scars from when I had my gall bladder taken out, and they had to put some big tubes in me...


...did that qualify as TMI? lol...”

“Well sense you used the "gear" icon maybe they'll give you a bionic shoulder?

"We have the tecnology. We can rebuild him. Birch Harvey...the $32.95 Man..."”

“LOL Nigal!

I am sure that whatever happens I'll be fine, thanks all!”

“Birch, I've got the degenerative arthritis in my right shoulder as well. My doc says "you wore it out". I was told I'd be on mega doses of ibuprofin for the rest of my life or until my spleen shot sideways out of my body from all the ibuprofin tabs. It hurt like hell with them...and it hurts like hell without them, every day, all day. I've been thinking of getting some other opinions. It sucks because I love my work and it's quite physical. I totally feel for you, because I know what nagging constant pain feels like. been this way for 3 years now.”

“Had the appt this morn. Gave the doc (both of em and a nurse) all the info. Got my arm twited and contorted in a whole variety of ways, got 7 x-rays. The diagnosis...minor degenerative arthitis on the end of my collar bone (bone is nipped away from weight lifting). The cure motrin as needed. Everything else is great, full range of motion strong joint,adequate spacing in joint. Oddly I have a rare (his words not mine) bone deformation on the rear of the shoulder. The bone is supposed the be arched. The point of the arch can cause discomfort after lots of use as it rubs connective tissue. Surgery is done to remove/round out the "point". Mine has no arch or point and is (his words again) "how we like to see them after surgery. I would tell the surgeon, good job". So after the appt I ran some errands and went kayaking... I am sooooo pleased!”

“hey, that's great news man! No surgery, no knife, no rehab!

perfect!”

“wow, just noticed as I clicked submit that all the ads on the right are for ortho surgeons and such.

my god, it's like big brother or something!”

“bump...

What's the verdict birch?”