Left Shoulder . . .

My left shoulder was giving me fits, a great deal of pain.  At first I would take a Naproxen Sodium pill (Aleve) that kinda made it livable.  Then my personal doctor said no NSAIDs other than your baby aspirin.  Finally, she relented and said do not take more than four a day.

She had an X-ray done and referred me to a Orthopedic Surgeon and also had an MRI done.

I made to the Orthopedic Surgeon.  He looked at my MRI (and I do mean my MRI, it is in my possession).  He lifted me arm and moved about a little bit and said, "You need a shoulder replacement, you are bone on bone at the moment."  He also gave me Cortisone shot and said that it would not do much for me.

And the shot did not do much for me.  He then referred me to another Orthopedic Surgeon who does shoulder operations.

I got to see the second doctor, found out he went to LSU med school.  And that he was indeed from New Orleans.  He was a much younger man that the first Orthopedic Surgeon (who informed me he no longer did operations).  And he also said the new doctor was the best one in the Fort Worth region.

I was impressed with the second doctor.  Like the first doctor, he said bone on bone and no relief until the joint was replaced.  He also said I may not recover all my range of motion but I would get pain relief.  It is my left shoulder, not my primary use arm so yes, I can tolerate a good bit of loss of range of motion and not worry about.  He said often the range improves with time.

He showed me on the joint displayed on his lap top computer what we were going to do.  Basically, it is a total replacement of the rotator cuff with a new synthetic/plastic material that will not wear out.  I will not have to come and get a grease job every so often, it is once and done.  The big recovery he said was the reattachment of ligament that had to be removed for the operation.  That and stitches were the big issue.  And there would be some soreness for a while.

He was intent upon selling me to do the operation.  I said I was ready right now to have it done.  Pain relief was paramount to me.

He said recovery is about six weeks.  I am sure in that time is some rehab also.  But that I would get paid relief immediately.  And I could quit taking Aleve or getting Cortisone shots.

My biggest issue is getting the grass cut while I am recuperating.  I am pretty sure I can survive that.  I do have to get clearance from my Cardiologist but I get to see in just a couple of days for a Nuclear Stress Test.  So that is easy.  Now it is just a matter of getting the operation scheduled.