- Joined
- May 27, 2001
The biggest thing you can do to make the recovery easier is figure out a way to sleep upright. That was where I struggled. We dont have a recliner so I got one of those things you use for propping yourself up in bed and slept with that. What I didnt consider is that I would slide down so after a couple of hours, I was half sitting, half laying down and its very difficult to reposition yourself when you only have one arm, are zonked out on pain meds and feel like your shoulder is in a vice.
Not to mention on the second night my wife elbowed me in my sore shoulder in her sleep.
I think by night 4 I was sleeping laying down again. I was only able to lay on my back and on one side with my arm propped up with a pillow and I really think by that time I was so exhausted from lack of sleep I could have slept anywhere.
If its a slight tear and they dont have to do anything major in there, you should be out of sling in a few days. I wore mine sleeping but I was out of it by day 3. By a week I could walk my arm up completely over my head with my hand on a wall.
Take at least 10 days off from work. I only took a week and I went back too early.
Use your ice machine as much as you can tolerate it.
Its not a fun recovery by any means. It was a weird surgery because of the way it was done and the sedation they used. Be ready to suffer for a few days but once you get past day 3 or 4, its manageable.
I asked him who he went to for his surgery, and he said it was a Dr. Comisar in Pickerington. He must be good, because my friend is back at it.