Shoulder Replacement: Still having pain

I had reverse shoulder replacement March 18th. It seems there is some type of problem because I am dealing with terrible pain and have not slept in weeks. I went back to my surgeon will be a week ago tomorrow. He saw something he did not like on the xray and ordered an MRI. I found out today that will be after Wednesday for scheduling. Gave me a script for Meloxicam and told me to take Tylenol in the afternoon. Nothing for pain. Ugh

No more PT until after the MRI.

Good afternoon @elainepow1. And I think this is still within the Welcome period so please let me tell you that I am glad to see you on Connect. One reason is that I am also a reverse shoulder replacement patient. My first one was 10 years ago and it appears that I will soon need to have the other one done.

I want to make sure that I have interpreted your words accurately. You have not slept in weeks. It has been about 7 weeks since your surgery. Do you mean you cannot sleep because of a high level of pain? That would certainly be frightening. You need sleep and rest to heal. And yet.... 7 weeks is not a long time to recover from this major surgery. Have you been taking the Tylenol as requested? Since Tylenol is a frequent post-surgery OTC medication for pain during recovery, I am wondering why it hasn't worked for you.

And secondly, I am wondering if you have started PT? Usually, you start with shoulder swirls, gently, gently. And the other follow-up that really helps is an ICE Machine, used as frequently as needed. Were you able to secure and use some form of ice therapy?

Are you living alone Elaine? I remember how meaningful it was to have my friend GiGi stop by every day or so to check on me. She is an RN and was quite helpful.....especially with reminders for good post-surgery care.

And I have a couple more questions.......are you wearing an immobilizer during the day and night? I know they can be cumbersome and yet.......for the protection of your shoulder, they work well. Sometimes at night.....you need to create a special sleeping arrangement with a wedge, a t-shirt put on without using the armholes to keep your arm against your body, or just sitting/leaning back in a recliner.

I hope you will get some answers this week from your surgeon. Would you please let me know the results of your visit. I am not a medical provider just a caring mentor who has been there. When you respond on Connect.....many, many people benefit from your experience.

I look forward to your response and to knowing the MRI findings.

May you be free of suffering and the causes of suffering.
Chris

I had two reverse shoulder replacements last year…4 months apart. Seven weeks is not enough time to be out of pain. I went thru 7 months of physical therapy. My doctor moved out of state a week after my last surgery. I am seeing another orthopedic surgeon. I am still not out of pain. Turns out I have heterotopic ossification and notching in one shoulder and have been told I need another major surgery to correct this. The other shoulder has a fractured scapula from the surgery. So, that shoulder also hurts. Give it time to heal. If the pain is still there, An MRI should tell you if there is a problem. Best wishes for a smooth recovery. Just taking it day by day.

Yes, I discussed my pain with my doctor last week and he said it was rather unusual after a total shoulder replacement but everyone has a different tolerance for pain. He upped my tramadol and put me on Advil. Neither of which seem to help. When I go for physical therapy it hurts on my way there let alone while she is doing the exercises with me and the stretches.
I had the surgery on May 21 with some physical therapy in the hospital for three days. Then I went to an inpatient physical therapy facility where I had occupational therapy and physical therapy six days a week.
After three weeks I came home and had physical therapy here for three weeks. Now I’m going to outpatient physical therapy and I’m just not finding any improvement in pain.
I have quite a bit of improvement in motion and movement but the pain keeps me from activities I enjoy.
I’m wondering if anyone else has had this much pain for this long as I find it very discouraging.

Noticed that you specifically addressed non-opioids pain medications. I’ve had 2 separate shoulder repair surgeries, 1 knee arthroscopic surgery, and one knee replacement on the same knee. Plus several dental implants with complications like fractured old tooth that had to be picked out piece-meal, another time infection of the jawbone. So I’ve been taking prescription opioids as needed in 5 instances (2 of the dental implants I did not bother to fill prescription). Mostly the opioids were extremely helpful in controlling pain, as long as taken on schedule and not “as needed” when pain came on. They are also super annoying bc of the constipation side effect. And I think the fear of automatic, unavoidable, prevalent, addiction is sooo overblown. Not sure if you have access to opioids, or if you cannot take them, and I am not familiar with Tramadol. However, Ibuprofen, Advil, or Tylenol do/did absolutely nothing for my post-surgical pain, or even everyday generic pain (Aleve for that).

I have discussed my ongoing pain and difficulties with my Dr. several times. With very little support. They prescribed a prednisone 6-pack which I was able to refill, however after 2 of them, I'm still in severe pain and have very little use of my arm. It's been 4 months since surgery. I started PT, but have not been able to accomplish much because my arm gets so swollen and painful afterwards. It takes several days for it to calm down. That is, if I take Excedrin, which I'm not supposed to take because of my heart. I am very frustrated at this point and don't know where to turn for help with this.

I had two reverse shoulder replacements last year…4 months apart. Seven weeks is not enough time to be out of pain. I went thru 7 months of physical therapy. My doctor moved out of state a week after my last surgery. I am seeing another orthopedic surgeon. I am still not out of pain. Turns out I have heterotopic ossification and notching in one shoulder and have been told I need another major surgery to correct this. The other shoulder has a fractured scapula from the surgery. So, that shoulder also hurts. Give it time to heal. If the pain is still there, An MRI should tell you if there is a problem. Best wishes for a smooth recovery. Just taking it day by day.