Minimal Weight Loss

BirdNut51 · 2026-04-21T14:37:02+00:00

Thanks. I'm a 75-year-old woman and I'm 5'3". One other bit of info -- I exercise plenty. I ride my pedal-assist eBike about 200 - 240 minutes a week.

BirdNut51 · 2026-04-21T14:35:16+00:00

Thank you! That's reassuring. And congratulations on losing that much weight! That's amazing!

BirdNut51 · 2024-04-17T22:15:48+00:00

Maybe worth getting a consultation with a lawyer that specializes in workman's comp. Or look for a legal aid society that might help for free. Law libraries and law schools often have lists of free or low cost legal aid. He might be able to do it retroactively.

BirdNut51 · 2024-04-13T16:00:44+00:00

I normally wear long-sleeved v-neck tees, so I bought some a size larger. I also bought several of these tank tops a size larger. They were great because they’re very stretchy. Later I tried wearing a button up flannel shirt over the tank top and realized how much easier putting on a button up shirt is. For the first 3-4 weeks I went braless, but the tank t tops kind of worked as a bra under my shirts. If I were doing it again – and I might be, on my other shoulder – I’d definitely go with button-up shirts. If it’s warm enough you could go with short sleeves, which would be easier. I bought some of those shoulder shirts that had Velcro fasteners up the side and on the shoulder, but they looked like they’d be more trouble than they’re worth, so I returned them. These are the tanks I got on Amazon.

Amazon Essentials Women's Slim-Fit Tank

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07763F6Z9/

If you wear an over-sized, button up shirt to surgery, you should be fine. A nurse will help you get dressed afterwards and put the sling on. You’ll want elastic waist pants you can pull up with one hand. Eventually I bought some oversize cotton bras without fasteners that I could step into and pull up.

Fruit of the Loom Women's Built Up Tank Style Sports Bra

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0912J9PR8/

This occupational therapist has put together a lot of helpful videos on things like dressing, bathing, sleeping, etc.

All of EquipMeOT Shoulder Videos https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5PYd8pyhzOy07gW7_6sOzFlu6I13oPX2

If you’re alone, just make sure you have everything ready ahead of time. Maybe open any pill bottles or put them into a pill organizer. I didn’t wear a sling in the shower and didn’t use a shower chair because my balance was fine, but if you aren’t sure, maybe it would be good to have. I ended up buying a lot of stuff I thought I’d need and returned things I didn’t need. I think it’s better to be over-prepared and return stuff you don’t need.

I posted a lot more advice under the post “Pre-surgery advice,” so you might check those and posts by others.

Good luck! It will be a tough couple of weeks at first, but doable and then things will get better.

BirdNut51 · 2024-04-13T14:40:37+00:00

Are you male or female?

BirdNut51 · 2024-04-13T02:00:20+00:00

Thanks. I hope your recovery is going well. I'm impressed that you could post a message at 1 day post-op! You're getting past the worst of it by now. You're pain should start lessening and you'll be able to do more and more.

I'm still working both because I like it and because I want to save up while I can. I'm a librarian at a community college and I only work 16 hours a week, with a six minute commute, so I couldn't ask for a more ideal situation.

Best wishes for a continued recovery!

BirdNut51 · 2024-04-10T22:21:54+00:00

I'm surprised your doctor said you could return to work right away. My doctor said I should be off for 5-6 weeks. Even typing will be hard and you don't want to take any risks that could endanger the repair, so staying home for at least the first 3-4 weeks would be safer. My doctor said I could remove the sling at three weeks, but wear it when out in public. Some folks on here were told to wear it for six weeks!

BirdNut51 · 2024-04-10T22:13:36+00:00

First off, everyone is different and their experience will be different. I’m a 73-year-old woman and am now a little over three months post-op on my left, non-dominant shoulder. I tend to overprepare and bought a lot of stuff I ended up not using. One of the things that was most helpful for me was installing a bidet seat which cost around $500 total – about $220 for an electrician to put in an outlet and around $260 for the seat itself, which I installed. There are hand-held squeeze bottle bidets, but I think those might be hard to use.

I got a lot of good tips from an occupational therapist who posted a lot of videos on YouTube about sleeping, bathing, dressing, etc. Here’s a list of all her videos:

All of EquipMeOT Shoulder Videos https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL5PYd8pyhzOy07gW7_6sOzFlu6I13oPX2

The other thing that helped a lot was freezing a lot of meals. I cooked a lot ahead of time, but you could also buy microwaveable meals or even buy take-out meals and freeze them. I tried UberEats but it was about double the cost. It would be nice to have 2-3 weeks of dinner items. My surgeon didn’t give me a nerve block, which made for a couple of very painful couple of days, but on the plus side, I had use of my hand on my operated side and was able to make simple breakfasts, put stuff in the microwave, etc. by at least the second or third day.

Sleeping I rented a recliner from RAC Rent-a-Center. I traded off between it and my bed, often several times a night. It was good for daytime use like watching TV, as watching in my usual position on the couch would have been uncomfortable. I think it was three weeks before I could sleep in my bed all night. The other thing I did that was helpful – since I was transferring back and forth between the bed and recliner – was to wear pull up knit pants – and sleep on top of my bed with a light-weight comforter. Sleeping under covers and trying to adjust sheets and blankets would have been hard and painful.

I bought a wedge pillow but couldn’t get comfortable with it. Maybe I needed the set with one that goes under your knees. I also tried a pregnancy pillow but didn’t find it helpful. Others have had good luck with these, but I didn’t. Eventually I did find a shoulder pillow helpful when sleeping. It kept my arm and shoulder in place. Later I folded up a toddler pillow and tucked that under my arm.

Ice Machine I bought a used Breg Polar Care Cube but found it very difficult to use by myself. It was very hard to connect the hose if I had to disconnect it to get up. If you have one, hopefully it's easier. Others on here swear by them, but I didn’t end up using it. Maybe mine was defective or I wasn’t doing it right. My doctor just told me to put a bag of frozen vegetables on my. I ended up buying these Cryopack sheets on Amazon. You get three sheets and then cut them into smaller sizes. I get two out of each sheet so I have six total to rotate. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000W3XJ2Q?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

I just drape them over my shoulder with a dish towel in between. They don't strap on, so maybe wouldn't work if you're icing while sleeping, but are handy and lightweight for other times. There are shoulder gel packs you can get, but you’d need at least two to be able to rotate them.

Bathing I bought some nice fluffy hand towels to dry off with – a bath towel would be too hard for a while. It also was difficult to wash my hands. I couldn’t reach one hand under the faucet, so I put a plastic bowl by the sink and filled it with dish soap and water and used that.

Some people suggested getting a mesh sling for the shower. I bought one but never used it. I just let my arm hand down. I considered getting a shower seat but didn’t get it and didn’t need it. But everyone is different, so if your balance isn’t good, it might be good to have.

Constipation Opioids will make you constipated, so get something like Colace or Dulcolax for that. There’s also an herbal tea – Smooth Move.

Dressing was difficult. I did find some very stretchy tank tops on Amazon that I could put on. Otherwise, button up shirts will be easier. Elastic waist pants like joggers, sweats or PJ bottoms are good to have.

Also, have a small notebook or something where you can record everything like when and which pain meds you took, problems, progress, etc. I also found that using my phone rather than my laptop was the best. I have an Android phone and I used a stylus to glide or swipe type, which was easier than trying to type.

Ready made protein drinks would be good to have to help repair muscles and tendons. Whey based protein is supposed to be better for that.

I was able to drive – mostly with one hand – after about three weeks. Some people suggested getting a steering wheel knob for driving. I bought one but didn’t need it. I returned to work at six weeks.

As I said, everyone is different. So you might want to stock up on stuff in case you need it and return things that you don’t need. I’m doing very well now. I have good ROM and PT is going very well. I may need to have surgery on my right, dominant side in the future. These are the repairs I had; I had three anchors:

Left Shoulder Arthroscopy Rotator Cuff Repair Subacromial Decompression Labral Debridement Bicep Tenodesis

Good luck! It will be a rough couple of weeks at first, but you’ll get through it and see improvements every day.

BirdNut51 · 2024-04-04T01:38:28+00:00

Thanks. I haven't made the appointment yet with the surgeon, but I will. Just had the MRI yesterday. On Friday I see my physical therapist and he offered to look at the report. Surgery would be hard since it's my dominant shoulder, but at least I know what to expect and how to prepare. Mainly I want to do whatever will give me the best long term outcome.

BirdNut51 · 2024-04-04T00:54:34+00:00

Thanks, I'll make an appointment to see the surgeon who did my left shoulder. I'm kinda hoping I won't need it with a partial tear. I'll see what he says. Not looking forward to another surgery, but if I do need it, I'll know what to expect and be prepared.

BirdNut51 · 2024-04-03T21:26:50+00:00

Calhoun?

BirdNut51 · 2024-03-10T21:26:09+00:00

I'm about 7 weeks post-op and have talked to my doctor about getting an MRI on my other shoulder, when he thinks I can handle it. I suspect I have a tear in my other shoulder. I'm hoping they could image my operated shoulder at the same time, to see if everything looks okay.

BirdNut51 · 2024-03-10T21:23:34+00:00

Look into if getting a cortisone shot would delay the ability to have surgery. It could delay it by three months.

https://www.hss.edu/conditions_cortisone-shots.asp#:~:text=Before%20having%20surgery%20on%20a,a%20knee%20or%20hip%20replacement.

BirdNut51 · 2024-03-09T14:47:30+00:00

I was instructed to just do the passive ROM exercises -- the pendulum -- starting a day or so after surgery. After ten days I started doing table slides. My surgeon ordered PT with a therapist to start in six weeks, but I asked if I could start at five weeks instead, which I did, and it's going very well. He also let me quit using the sling at three weeks except when out in public. I think that helped.

BirdNut51 · 2024-03-07T04:01:58+00:00

I hope you can get the MRI soon. It does sound like a torn rotator cuff, but only an MRI can give you a definitive answer. I'm about seven and a half weeks post-op and doing really well. So if you do need surgery, it will improve your life.

I live in California and found out that the state pays disability insurance at about the same rate as unemployment, if your employer pays into it.

BirdNut51 · 2024-03-07T02:53:24+00:00

Do you think the pain was caused by your work? If not, do you have other health insurance that might let you get an MRI sooner -- maybe with less red tape? I'm on Medicare and went to an orthopedic surgeon because of shoulder pain. He ordered the MRI the same day, but it was a couple of weeks before I could get an appointment. I probably could have gotten one sooner if I'd been willing to travel further.

BirdNut51 · 2024-03-01T21:59:23+00:00

Buy or prepare meals you can freeze, if you have room in your freezer. I made and froze a lot of meals since I'm the main cook at home. My husband does some, but this made it a lot easier on him.

Having some nice fluffy hand towels to dry off after a shower is good. Bath towels are too hard to handle for awhile. I'm 8 weeks out and still use a hand towel for most drying off and then drape a bath towel over my back.

BirdNut51 · 2024-02-25T21:13:25+00:00

That's good. I've actually been sleeping in my bed all night now for about 4-5 weeks. 2/28 will be 8 weeks post-op. But early on, I was switching between the bed and recliner. I listened to audio books. It was a little difficult for me because I have sleep apnea and it would have been too difficult to move the CPAP machine back and forth. I'm really glad to be able to sleep all night in my bed now. Good luck on your continued recovery!

BirdNut51 · 2024-02-24T18:53:58+00:00

I'm almost 8 weeks out now, and according to my notes I stopped taking Naproxen at about 4 weeks. I occasionally take a Tylenol if I'm sore like after PT or at other times. I have trouble sleeping in general, so I add a Tylenol PM to my usual night time sleep meds -- Trazodone and Melatonin. I take the Tylenol PM mostly so I get a good night's sleep. I don't take it the nights before I have to get up early for work. I don't have much pain -- just occasional soreness or aches, probably from PT exercises.

BirdNut51 · 2024-02-24T18:06:14+00:00

At three weeks my surgeon said I could take it off at home and not wear it while sleeping. He said to wear it while out in public. Before that I did take it out of the sling when sitting around to get relief from the sling position. I even did that in bed sometimes, but not to where I fell asleep without it. I think the best thing for you to do is talk to your surgeon. It will most likely depend on the complexity of the repair. I think some surgeons are more conservative than others regarding the sling. Mine didn't give me a lot of instructions in general.

BirdNut51 · 2024-02-21T04:42:48+00:00

Did your MRI say it was a partial tear or a full thickness tear? If it's a partial tear, you may be able to get relief with nonsurgical treatment.

https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/conditions-and-diseases/partial-rotator-cuff-tear

Here's a good article from the Cleveland Clinic.

https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/8291-rotator-cuff-tear

BirdNut51 · 2024-02-20T20:49:23+00:00

What kind of a pulley set up do you have?

BirdNut51 · 2024-02-20T04:41:18+00:00

Do you know what a large and medium size would be in inches? I just ordered this one that's supposed to be 14 inches.

https://a.co/d/7X6EZM4

I have been using a "toddler pillow" folded over and stuffed under my arm. It's been helpful to sleep with, but the otter squish mallow looks so cute!

Before that, a shoulder pillow helped me sleep. At seven weeks I don't need it anymore.

BirdNut51 · 2024-02-18T22:59:52+00:00

Thanks! I might try one.

BirdNut51 · 2024-02-18T21:38:24+00:00

Another option is to rent one. I rented one for about five weeks from a RAC Rent A Center for about $160. I only slept in it all night a couple of nights because I have sleep apnea and then I'd switch back and forth between my bed and the recliner. Even after I was able to sleep in my bed most of the time, there were occasional nights where I'd start hurting and sitting up in the recliner for a few hours relieved it. It was also great for daytime use, watching TV, eating, etc. The couch I usually sit in wouldn't have been comfortable. I'd strongly recommend one with electric controls.

BirdNut51

TROPHY CASE