Nwr: Has anyone else had shoulder surgery?

I have not had shoulder surgery. My friend and my hair stylist have. Both surgeries were for the rotator cup on their dominant side. Surgery went well and both maintained physical therapy. 3 months before they could "use" their arm. It was a year before my friend could be back on her snowmobile and for my stylist? She's still was not cutting hair 8 weeks later and that's when the doc said she could go back to work. And both surgeries went well.

Dup.

It looks like I have a really small tear, but mostly they need to go in and clean up some calcium deposits (I have calcific tendonitis... not sure if I spelled that right lol) and they need to clean up the tendons fraying from that. She said I'd be off work for 6 weeks.

I'm an occupational therapist, and I see/have had patients with shoulder surgeries lots of time - each surgery is a little different, and each recovery is a little different. I like when patients tell me they are going to someone who does shoulder surgery more often than other ortho surgery or other surgeries.

A doc who does primarily one type of surgery is generally pretty specialized, and can usually give reasonable protocol for time of recovery. It should go without saying (but I'm going to say it because I don't think people are always given the full story) that although this may be routine, and it generally takes X number of weeks to heal- you may be different. Depending on how you are now, how you heal, how you follow your precautions, and how seriously you take rehab - it could be different for you.

My best advice is to try to do what the doctor and therapists tell you - if they say "non weight bearing" then DON'T USE IT. If they say - "stretch it to 90 degrees" then make sure you understand what 90 degrees looks and should feel like - and DO IT! It's the toughest thing when you hurt to move it if you're supposed to move it, and even tougher when you start to feel better to continue to follow the precautions, but it's important to let yourself heal properly.

If you and your medical providers think surgery is the best answer - ask LOTS of questions to make sure you understand recovery, and what your role needs to be in appointments, exercises, healing, etc. And most importantly - take care of yourself, and think about how much better things will be once you're past all this!

Hi, not a doctor. But I worked in orthopedics. I would definitely consult your doctor about your concerns. We had people reschedule surgeries often because they were going on trips/getting married/etc. UNLESS it was a major surgery like a clavicle repair, or a rotator cuff tear that they worried would come straight off. (Then you pretty much need a shoulder replacement.) If it's minor, June should be just fine. We saw patients at the 6 week mark and they were pretty much good to go, but of course we checked up with them until the year mark. However, it may take up to a year to get the full benefits of the surgery.

Rotator cuff repairs are major surgeries. It doesn't sound like you are getting your cuff repaired. Those are really fragile, and if you don't keep up with the physical therapy you will never recover. (This may be what happened with the hairstylist.)

From not a doctor's perspective: you should be fine for your wedding. If it is causing you a ton of pain it may be worth it to consider doing it in June. Hope this helps!

Thanks for taking the time to reply ladies. I'll talk a little more to my Dr and tell her my concerns. I'd put it off until after the wedding, but it is causing me a lot of pain and missed work. I think that's why the Dr wants to move more quickly.

It took mama about two months I think. It took dad way longer, but his screw tore out and they had to do it again. It took him a little over double the time I think.

Not surgery per se, but I've had to get my muscles ripped (yes, literally) in my shoulders. Long story behind that. But anyway, it took around a week to stop hurting. You'll have about a month to recover, which is about perfect for actual surgery (just asked a friend that has had several surgeries in her shoulder, she confirmed she took about 2-3 weeks to heal)