[pistol_pete]

During my stay in hospital after my accident I developed Bursitis in my left shoulder due to a torn tendon.
Cortisone injections every three months have eased the pain and kept me going but more cortisone is not a viable option.
I'm booked in to have a 'decompression' operation in Feb. Basically they drain the fluid from the bursar and scrape the top of the humerus to allow more room in the joint.

It's pretty basic keyhole surgery that would normally require the arm immobilised in a sling for a week or two. As you can imagine, for a paraplegic this is not so simple. Not being able to use my arm renders me pretty much incapacitated, meaning I have to spend a week or two back in the rehab ward I spent four months in last year. Just the thought of the smell of the place freaks me out.

I know that when it's all over I will have a good strong shoulder again and finally be able to do some serious weight work, but the thought of being totally immobile, slings and hoists, strangers sticking their fingers up the poopenschaft again eeeek!, not even being able to wheel myself around, is making me kinda anxious.

Has anyone else had this type of operation or similar?
How did you cope?

[MxDisasterGrl]

pistol_pete, on Nov 24 2009, 08:38 PM, said:

During my stay in hospital after my accident I developed Bursitis in my left shoulder due to a torn tendon.
Cortisone injections every three months have eased the pain and kept me going but more cortisone is not a viable option.
I'm booked in to have a 'decompression' operation in Feb. Basically they drain the fluid from the bursar and scrape the top of the humerus to allow more room in the joint.

It's pretty basic keyhole surgery that would normally require the arm immobilised in a sling for a week or two. As you can imagine, for a paraplegic this is not so simple. Not being able to use my arm renders me pretty much incapacitated, meaning I have to spend a week or two back in the rehab ward I spent four months in last year. Just the thought of the smell of the place freaks me out.

I know that when it's all over I will have a good strong shoulder again and finally be able to do some serious weight work, but the thought of being totally immobile, slings and hoists, strangers sticking their fingers up the poopenschaft again eeeek!, not even being able to wheel myself around, is making me kinda anxious.

Has anyone else had this type of operation or similar?
How did you cope?

hey there!

I need to start off that i HAVE NOT had the surgery, but i have performed it, and spoke later w/ AB patients about their recovery. Along w/ family members. I'm sure it would really suck to have to go back to needing so much help. I guess pretty much it just boils down to you needing to weigh your options. How bad is it really hurting. According to my friends it hurts pretty damn bad. And i've given the "corti" shots before and they aren't so easy either. Ive seen great results after surgery and then others that said it really didn't do much for them. They feel about the same....but i guess someone like us that really NEEDS our arms to do EVERYTHING really don't have much of a choice. i wish i had some good advice for you, but really you're the only one who knows the best thing to do. You don't have some family that could look after you for a bit? It shouldn't take long to recovery.

[pistol_pete]

The bursitis does hurt. It makes lifting things past a certain height impossible. The swollen bursar also restricts movement in the joint, so reaching across my body for somethiing is very difficult. I want to be able to build up my upper body to 'uber buffed' proportions and can't. I do a pretty good Arnie impersonation and want the physique to match.
The cortisone shots aint no picnic either.
I want and need 100% use of my arms so this operation is the best option. I am 6'1" and 95 kg (210 lb for you imperialists) I only have two young children and a 5'4" ,50kg wife for family so their is no way she would be able to lift on and off the chair for a week.
I know it's only a week or two and hey...it's a perfect excuse for lying around in bed all day, I may even be of use to some newly injured person in the rehab. So I'll be fine. I was just wondering if anyone else had been through a similar experience.

[greybeard]

Hi Pete,
Not quite the same but I had surgery to remove calcification in a shoulder some years back when I could walk a bit, so didn't have the mobility problem you will have.

Just wanted to say you should be prepared for a lot of pain. I've had numerous ops on knees that were painful enough, but that shoulder one was something else. Your recovery time might be extended because of the extra load you will be putting on the shoulder afterwards. Good luck.

This post has been edited by greybeard: 25 November 2009 - 10:34 AM

[dangerousdave]

Hi Pete
Welcome to the shoulder decision I fear to make
May you have the strength of will to overcome all those trials to come
As we all know .. there is no choice
I detuned my active life 3 years ago to rest my shoulder damage

Good luck and may you recover sooner rather then later

[Tetracyclone]

Pete,

Dec 3rd I am scheduled to have the ulnar nerve moved in my right arm. Sam situation- I won't even be able to expell my urine effectively and have to go back on Indwelling cath. I'm given the option of staying in the hospital- people in my town don't understand a thing about my limitations- Doctors I mean. I'm having to lobby for the catheter.

I have no idea how I will get out of bed in the morning.

Good luck to both of us. I'm going home because I can't tolerate the idea of the aide's "help" always being too late. F&ck 'em.

Pat

[jules]

I'm going through a bit of what you are likely to go through during rehab at the moment. As many of you know i'm on high dose steroids at the moment and on monday as a result i broke my humerus, so am now in a sling for recovery - its a nightmare I have to admit. Its very sore too.

Not sure if this might be an alternative but my hubby injured his shoulder playing rugby and we thought he'd need an op, but he went to see a specialist sports physio who gave him exercises to do whilst applying traction to hold his shoulder in the correct position. His joint was basically subluxing all the time, the exercises meant that he built up the correct muscles, so this might be worth looking into first.

Hope this helps

Jules

[pistol_pete]

Thanks for the replies people.
Jules and Pat - hope your recoveries go well. It's good to know I'm not alone in this.
GB - thanks for the warning on pain. It doesn't make me feel any better, but it is good to know what I may be in for.
The surgeon did give me the choice of having the tendon repaired at the same time, but that would involve 6 weeks of immobilisation and 2-3 months of pain and recovery. Needless to say I declined his offer. It may be something I will have to face in the future, but hopefully by then I will be more financial to afford some home assistance.
He did say that if he operates and discovers the tendon damage is worse than the MRI indicated he will have to repair it then and there. So I face the prospect of waking up to a much longer recovery.
As far as physio treatment, I think mine is a problem that won't respond to that. the other option to cure the bursitis is apparently to completely immobilize the joint for 6-8 weeks,and it may go away. Not much of an option really.
Aahh well...., Haven't got a date yet for the op, some time in Jan or Feb. I bet I'll start my 40th birthday with a nurses finger up my bum and the smell of disinfectant and hospital food. YAy.

[davjed]

Don't despair. I've had two shoulder procedures in the past 18 years, the last one similar to what you describe. Rehab time was about 4 weeks as I also had carpal tunnel release. Can you rent a lift that your family can get you up with and also an electric powered chair. There are ways to take care of poop and pee if you have a good imagination. IM me if you would like for the way I took care of it. Stay with your rehab program and give it plenty of time to heal before stressing it. You're still young enough to take the time to recover most of it.

[Tetracyclone]

Pete
Lucky you- you can hear us moan and whine about our recoveries while you anticipate your own. yesterday I met the Urologist forc the first time. A VERY personable guy who also was up on SCI, which I didn't expect.''

He was as surprised by my surgeons lack of cooperation and good sense re indwelling ans I was. He said "just stop by the day before the proceedure and i will put one in for you."

I replied "That is great, but the nurses in Taiwan taught me how to put them in, can you just give me two- one extra in case I contaminate it?"

He "No problem."

His nurse sent me home with everything I need.

Then my better half suggested I find a place to rent an electric chair for a month. Duh. Dunno why I didn't think of that.

maybe we will all survive these secondary injury "issues"..
Pat

[greybeard]

If you can't rent an electric chair, try for a small mobility scooter instead.