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Well I have made a bit of a mistake. I hurt my shoulder at work a couple weeks ago, and being me decided to not go to the doctor right away because I needed to finish out the day and then one thing led to another and I ended up working out the week. Well anyway monday morning rolled around and my shoulder was at a pain level of about 6 and swollen to twice the normal size. So I headed to VA and they said I tore my rotator cuff, and now require surgery to get it fixed. The question is has anyone been through this? Any hints and tips to get through this as quickly and painlessly as possible? Please feel free to share your experiances. Thanks, Robert
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by John Crabbe on
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Not to state the obvious, but you will have a very difficult time if any chance, to have this as a Work Comp claim or any relation to this injury occuring at work. Thus the importance od documentation, even if it is a minor injury, if it isn't documented, it didn't happen..
As for the injury and surgery itself, I can't speak from experience. I know of several people who have had such injuries and go through physical therapy and so forth. Basically keep up on the therapy and instructions after surgery and you should be ok.
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Permalink Reply by Anita King on
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I haven't been thru it , but I have some family that have had this surgery. Their advice is simple: Listen to your doctor, go to therapy, and don't push your recovery. If you take care of it, you will come thru it just fine. If you don't listen, you are in for a long haul. I"ll say a prayer for you, hang in there and let me know how everything goes.
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Permalink Reply by Robert on
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Thank you both very much for your encouragement and support. It is unfortunately not possible to claim workman's comp. on this either, because I was working for a friend at the time under the table for the extra money. The Veterans admin. is paying for everything because it is a recurring injury from my time spent in Iraq. So cost is not a issue. Just the missed work. But things will work out on that front. Anyway once again thanks for the support and encouragement.
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Permalink Reply by Marvin Hawk on
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Being a member of the been there done that got the sticker club, you are looking at anywhere between 6 -18 weeks depending on how bad the tear is and if it actually needs surgery. My guess is that the VA is going to want to have you do some Physical Therapy prior to the surgery for two reasons. The first is they will say that that may solve your problem and if it doesn't it will , believe it or not shorten your recovery time. Mine was done arthroscopically by an Orthopedic specialist who used to be on staff with the NY Jets and the local AHL Hockey team so I got the best.
It was about a three hour surgery and an overnight hospital stay with about 6-8 weeks recovery after that with more physical therapy you will learn that P.T. actually means Physical Torture and that the Therapist actually enjoy their job on a level that would make the Marquis De Sade look like a choir boy. In the end it is worth the hard work.
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Thank you for the information. I really do appreciate it. As of this past weekend at my National Guard Drill I was made to take a PT test, (physical training). Even with a Doctors letter of recommendation to not do just that. They said to suck it up and soldier on. Which I did as I had no choice. I have since been back to my Doctor and they say that the weakness and symptoms are noticeably worse. They are suspecting now that I will need surgery.
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Permalink Reply by Spanner 122 on
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Arthroscopic surgery. It is less invasive and heals faster. Because you are in the states, it is likely also more costly (I don't mean it's more costly because you're there, just that you pay out of pocket instead of being taxed to the eyeballs). But, if you want to recover and rehab in weeks (6-8) instead of months (also 6-8) that would be my suggestion. And DO THE REHAB!! Don't cop out when it comes to recovery or you will be a sure candidate for re-injruy. We're very hard on our shoulders, so do it right!
I would also suggest not saying you were working under the table for cash.. lol... especially not on a public forum! Just sayin'!
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It doesn't matter as I am unemployed and not receiving any unemployment benefits. (don't get me started). And I really, don't get much of a choice on the type of surgery, the VA will get the final say. So fortunately I don't have to pay. And since they are sending me directly to UofM hospital The chance of getting the best of the best are good.
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Permalink Reply by Mike Schlags (Captain Busy) Retd on
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this type of surgery has become almost cookie cutter... it does not sound like you traumatized the shoulder enough to fracture anything, which means that you will go in for the surgery, in some situations orthoscopic, which is less invasive and enables you to get on with your life within days. you will become friends with ice pacs and tylenol... Typically, this type of surgery enables you to get back to your life within a week. Plan on wearing an arm sling for awhile as well. you will get through this easily and catch up on some daytime soaps in the process... lol
remember, pain is God's reminder that you are still alive, right?
stay safe brother,
CBz
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