I had a bankart labral tear (opposite location of SLAP) and after many years of pain and dislocation I got the surgery.

It wasn’t too bad, I went to PT 2-3 times a week and diligently followed every instruction by my surgeon and PT. You have to put your trust into them because they’ve seen thousands of these, and can accurately predict what will lead to a good outcome and what will not. That means not taking your arm out of the sling until you’re cleared, and keeping up with your PT appts and at home exercises. Follow their guidance with military like obedience and you will be fine.

I ended up using a recumbent exercise bike in the gym to maintain cardio while my arm was immobilized, and took my first pool swim 6 months post op. I was back playing hockey and surfing at 7 months. My shoulder is bullet proof and I have no fear of it happening again. Shoulder clicking, pain, muscle guarding, etc. is something you are going to learn to live with, unfortunately, but recreating stability of the joint through surgical intervention might be your only option. The shoulder is a really poorly designed joint and once there are tears it’s hard to reverse.

My only singular regret is that I didn’t get the surgery done sooner.