Well Crap!
 

Saw the doc today to get the results of the MRI on my shoulder. Not what I was hoping for but close to what I expected. As the doc explained:

There are 4 muscles that wrap over the shoulder and down that form the rotator cuff. The 4 muscles work together to move your arm up, down, front, back, etc. The primary/main muscle has a partial tear. Oh wait, there are 2 tendons coming off the top of the bicep muscle. Two tendons is why it's called the bicep. Well one of those, as he said is frayed. Guess that's why I wake up in the middle of the night with pain in my shoulder and arm.

He specializes in pelvis, hips and knees and said he didn't want to do my shoulder and would recommend a ortho surgeon that does. He said they might not do surgery but his guess was that they would based on reading the MRI report. He Said:

I'll have my staff set you up with an appointment to see him and give them all the info. They'll probably get an appointment for the end of the month or January. While they're doing that I'll call him and should be able to get you in next week.

He was right, the office girls got off the phone and said you have appointment on the 21st. Dr. Colin walked up at the same time and said "No, he has an appointment for 1:30 tomorrow. Call them back and make sure everything is all set." That was pretty cool of him to do that, now I don't have to wait until next year to get this fixed.

Moral of the story, be careful. Been up and down that extension ladder more times than I can count. Take your time, think about what you're doing and be safe. Whether it's a ladder, working under your Chevelle, whatever. It only takes one time to really change or even worse, end your life. I've been dealing with this and basically lost almost 4 months of my life and it's not done yet. And I was lucky, it could have been a lot worse. I'll get through this and I'll be fine. Just think and take your time. We've all done dumb things. Until it really impacts you, you forget about it and are likely to do it again. Next time you might not be so lucky.

wow dude thats crazy! i just learned my lesson on the 11th about not wearing safety glasses. i was working at my job running a cable and a piece of ceiling tile fell in my eye and really messed me up! from now on i wear safety glasses on pretty much everything i do now!

Hank, hang in there and you will be good as new soon .I agree with being careful with ladders or whatever youre working with as one mistake can be fatal. A very good friend of mine was cleaning his gutters preparing for a Chevelle Club gathering 1 1/2 years ago and fell to his death .Instead of a club gathering it became a very tough funeral with a Final Cruise with all his car buddies doing the Last Cruise with him.I miss my buddy Butch every day and wish he was still here with us so everyone be careful we need you all.

you know muscle tears can repair themselves .... is this not the case? I find alot of times doctors are "cut happy" when in the natural scheme of things the body can do wonders repairing itself.

I've been a metal fabricator/auto tech for most of my life. Gloves when working with sharp metal. Safety glasses when I work with most anything else. Jack stands under a car before I crawl under it.

I've had more metal dug out of my eye, more stitches in my hands and limbs hit with heavy metal objects, that I just tend to watch my arse these days.

My mother used to say I was stubborn and had to learn things the hard way. Pfft. I guess I showed her! :D

Hank, I hope that the doctor tomorrow gives you the answers that you need. Please let us know what happens. I hope that you feel better soon.

Surgery is just a guess on the other docs part, won't know for sure until tomorrow what they recommend. I hear what you're saying but I've had 6 weeks of therapy, 3 times a week, on my shoulder and it hasn't really improved. Not any worse but still will wake up in the middle of the night and it's now been 3 and half months since it happened. The pelvis guy is definitely not cut happy. Everyone, nurses, other docs, etc. all assumed I had surgery on it but the doc said he didn't want to and didn't think it was necessary, and he was right. Hopefully the shoulder guy has the same attitude and won't suggest surgery unless it's absolutely necessary.

Anyway, glad you all recognize the need to think and be safe before you start something potentially dangerous.

Hank, I hope you get some good news tomorrow and you at least know what your next move is to your road to getting well and ready for a great summer.

Ray

Good luck today Hank. I hope it goes smooth.

Where was your advice when I was operating that tractor...oh wait, the advice should have been... don't get married, then you dont have to wear a ring on that finger:)

lol i take my ring off now for everything once it got caught on a metal tube and almost snapped my finger!

I never wore my ring or watch at work when working on computers. 220V will melt them real fast. Also never wore them when working around the house or on a car. Saw what happened to a guy when he got his ring across the posts of a solenoid, basically melted his gold ring around his finger. Too bad I wasn't as cautious when climbing that ladder.

Hey, I read the MRI report again. It's actually the tendon coming off the main muscle in the rotator cuff that's torn, not the muscle itself.

Hey, thanks, I'll be fine guys. Just a couple of torn tendons, nothing life threatening. We need to worry about Ric right now, he's the one that could use the prayers and good thoughts.

What did the Doc have to say Hank? Is the Ford tractor running today?

Hey, Henry just drove the tractor up and down the drive. It moves on it's own and the engine sounds good. Have to finish putting on a few more pieces then and it will be done. Then we check out the snow blower attachment.

Doc gave me a cortisone shot. Maybe I misunderstood or heard what I wanted to. Lynda thinks it's only a temporary fix. I called him back but he was gone. I'll try again on Monday to talk to him. Even if it is only temporary I need a break. I'm tired of hurting and tired of going to therapy. Maybe it will require surgery for a real fix, we'll see.

Man, I just read about Ric's day and then I read about you, Hank. Man it sucks getting older !!!

It sure beats the alternative though.

Now you have to figure out how to get a super-charger on the Ford. Make for fast work blowing snow that way.

I've had quite a few cortisone shots. They worked for some things, but not others.

Ms.....hell yes it's a pain getting old! This cold weather is real hard on us old guys too.

I hope it works, but remember you want to be good for next summer as you missed the Summer / Fall 2011.

I was fine till I turned 50 and then everything starts falling apart and it SUCKS.

What ever it takes, I aint missing next summer too.

So, what's your opinion? Lynda thinks I'm just delaying things and should go ahead and have the surgery now. Maybe the cortisone is only temporary and I will have to have surgery at some point. Like I said, I'm tired of being in pain and going to therapy. I'm not worried or afraid of the surgery, just not ready to jump in to another 6-8 weeks of recovery.

There is never a good time to take one arm out of commission for 2 months but I don't think right now is the best time. Our driveway is about 100' long, 2 cars wide and widens to about 30' at the house. Lynda can't shovel that or sbowblow it. The shoulder hurts but it doesn't stop me. I was thinking first of March. That gives me March and April to recover.

I don't know what to do. I'm just tired right now and not ready to deal with more crap.

I would do the surgery and start the road to recovery. I have had several friends all have shoulder surgery and are doing great after it. If you are going to be laid up winter is the best time.

Ray

So I called the shoulder specialist today. He wasn't in the office today, don't know why they didn't tell me that Friday when I called. They said he would call tomorrow. So I decided to go talk to the therapist I've been seeing. He asked me Friday morning, my last appointment, if I had the MRI report with me, I didn't have it then. He read the report and showed me on a model shoulder what was going on.

He said nothing he saw in the report said it wouldn't heal on it's own. No guarantees, but possible. Later the Dr. called while in between surgeries. He said the same thing. The cortisone shot will reduce the pressure and things may heal. If it provides relief then let's wait and see what happens. He can always do surgery later, once it's done it can't be undone.

The tendons, based on the report are partial tears. Depending on how much is torn they can heal. The cartilage or whatever the cushion is inside the shoulder may be torn or may just be a compression injury. A tear won't heal, a compression injury can.

So I'll wait, continue to do the exercises and see what happens

Well Hank that sounds like good news, I guess you can always give a few months to see how it works out. Just try not to overdue it so it can heal all natural. Good luck.

I'll bet you breathed a sigh of relief. Hopefully it will heal on it's own.

Maybe more Beer and Smokes will help it heal. :drunk:

Kind of, it isn't the surgery, it's the couple of months with only one arm.

The beer definitely seems to help. Actually the cortisone shot helped a lot. Haven't woken up in the middle of the night because of the pain the last couple nights. Right now I feel a very dull ache or pain that I mostly don't notice. Like a sore muscle after doing heavy work around the house. If that's all it is I can live with that or maybe it will go away.