left handed typing sucks for a rightie...

[no guns here]

had my right shoulder scoped yesterday.  5 total incisions, 2.5 hours.  Percoset makes it hard to type, but it's worse when the right hand is in a sling.  Doc said that there was very little cartiledge left in my shoulder.  recommended no more heavy lifting and no more haevy recoil.  said it would cause too much bone on bone contact.  We'll see how it goes.  Doc is supposed to give me a recommendation for no archery either so I can shoot a crossbow at home in archery season.  Wow the screen is spinning... gotta go back to bed...

see ya' again in a couple of days.


NGH 

[Datil]

 Sorry to hear of your mis fortune You can Come on and read if not post.
 Take care let the shouder heal maybe get back to shooting.
 Datil

[Dee]

Hope ya get better soon no guns.

[SHOOTALL]

Good luck with the shoulder . went thru. the no heavy recoil about 25 years ago , After dislocating it twice and tearing it up really bad Doc said come back for a replacement when you can't stand the pain anymore . Seems i was to young really as the joint would not last as long as i might live . Main reason for the 7X30 waters ( low recoil). A good friend got one also for the same reason . Well seems alot of guys in construction have bad shoulders . I ran into an old bricklayer who had been told the same as I had . He said he babyed for several years and it seemed to get much better . The same has been true for me . I now shoot what I want but only a couple times at a sitting . To be honest i find lighter kicking rounds work really well . So give it some time and let it heal itself and you may be better than you think in a couple of years .
GOOD LUCK !

[Graybeard]

I desperately need the surgery on both shoulders. So far I keep putting it off not wanting to deal with the follow on consequences even tho dealing with the pain isn't fun either.

I'll be very interested in reading how you cope and what you have to do now that you've had it. I know several folks personally who've had it and I don't recall any of them saying that if they had it to do over that they would do it again.

[SHOOTALL]

GB i have heard one say it helped alot but he could not raise his arm to start with . He was the other guy with the 7X30 . He shot a 348 win before , got it and 500 rounds in  41 . He was still shooting some of that ammo in the late 70's and early 80's .

[Siskiyou]

Thursday I make the trip to the Med Center for them to hook up the wires to a computer and for them to stick needles in me like a lab rat.  They told me the test would take an hour or so, and would not be comfortable.  Just the in office testing was not very comfortable.  I think this will lead to surgery, I should practice typing with my toes.

How is this?

jjill  j  isll

I guess I need to work it more?

[Heather]

Ummm...you do know that you are supposed to type with two hands all of the time right?  LOL...j/k hope you get better soon!

Heather

[fr3db3ar]

Good luck.......practice shooting lefty...it's not that bad.  Just because it's not right......doesn't make it wrong 

[Graybeard]

In my case I think my left is actually worse off than the right. When it was only the right I blamed it on all the shooting of heavy recoiling guns but when the left got worse than the right I had to accept that shooting wasn't the cause there and likely isn't the reason the right went either.

Since I'm the only one who drives around here getting to the therapy sessions required might get a bit tricky to complicate the other problems it brings on. If the folks I know personally who've had the surgery had spoken more favorably of it afterward I might be more tempted. As it is I just hang in as best as I can and hope the shoulders last as long as the rest of the old body which seems to be wearing out pretty fast anyway. If the shoulders had gone earlier in life I might not have that option and the doctors tell me it's a poor choice even now.

[powderman]

I take a glucosamin Chrondroiton tab, 750mg,  2X a day and ibuprofen daily. My rt shoulder is the worst. I don't have trouble working but when I cough or sneeze it hurts a lot in the shoulder muscles. It's especially bad at night when I lay down, have to get it in just the right position to sleep. Doc says I wore it out working. Ibuprofen is my friend, I think. POWDERMAN. 

[slim rem 7]

 i vote we make heather designated super woman.. that way  the ones that ,like me who post totally un understandible post .. can say the magic wrds an presto she can type while we dictate to her what we are trying to say .. on our post..you game heather..  
 
  get well soon no guns..we all know you gonna shoot something :)slim

[Sourdough]

I was having trouble with both shoulders, knees, and hips.  My son was having problems from a Hockey injury to his knee.  Sky started taking Glucosamine and Chondroitin tablets, but did not like the high sodium content.  But it really made a difference in his knee.  Sky tried to get me to take the tablets, but I was not comfortable with the sodium content as well.  So we started drinking Elations, it is a drink with both Glucosamine and Chondroitin.  We both are no longer having pain in our joints.  0 grams of sodium.  1500mg Glucosamine, 12mg Chondroitin. 

[no guns here]

fisrt night the nerve block wore off before the percoset kicked in.  That pretty much defined pain.  Since then hasn't been too bad.  I'm going to try to back down to one pill at a time instead of two since two knock me out and I don't want to sleep ALL the time.  I'll go in on Friday for a check up.  With the sling off i can move fairly well.  not full range or even close to it, but the arm hangs straight and i can grip things.  Can't twist or torque.  Started at home therapy yesterday.  Will get to the physical therapist in a week or so.

I can shoot leftie pretty well from a bench.  Off-hand has always beeen okay with .22's.  At least minute of deer any way.


No real pain right now... Just a bit of "ache" down deep in the joint.


Later,
NGH

[williamlayton]

There is one who can make staight the withered arm.
Blessings

[Heather]

i vote we make heather designated super woman.. that way  the ones that ,like me who post totally un understandible post .. can say the magic wrds an presto she can type while we dictate to her what we are trying to say .. on our post..you game heather..  
 
  get well soon no guns..we all know you gonna shoot something :)slim

Considering I can type faster than some of you can talk then sure! 

Heather

[no guns here]

Since GB wanted to know how things were progressing, I thought I'd dig this thread out and update y'all.

Surgery was on the 5th.

Today is the 20th.

I have had two or three pretty bad nights without sleep in the past week.  I changed med's and the new one doesn't handle the pain AND knock me out.

Daytime is good.  Not too much pain.  Seems to be good as long as I'm up and moving around.  Intermittent use of a sling is good.  If I DON'T use it, then it hurts pretty bad at night.  If I use it all day, then it hurts at night.

I have maybe 40% of my mobility back.  It's getting better.  I can tell a difference daily.  Still can't really "torque" anything with my right hand though.

Can't type much unless it's left handed.  Running a mouse causes much pain after just 5-10 minutes.

Enough of that...



Now for more news...

I may be headed back to Montgomery in June/July.  Am looking to retire and pick up a civilian job here in Germany, but if that isn't nailed down pretty firmly by 20 Feb, I'll have to accept an assigment back to CONUS.  Two assignments possible, one back in Fort Meade, Maryland and one at Maxwell AFB, Alabama.  I've been stationed in both places before.  I was at Maxwell from 94-99 and Fort Meade from 02-05.  We would rather come back to Alabama than Maryland.

GB, where are you in Alabama?



NGH

[williamlayton]

Getting old aint for the faint of heart.
I am in this with all of you and can relate to every word---I feel the pain.
Blessings

[no guns here]

WilliamLayton,
     I ain't conceding anything to age just yet... I'm gonna fight that monster pretty hard for another decade or two.  If I'm going to stay in the AF for another year or three that means I'll have to get the PT back online really soon.  I guess tomorrow, I'll have to start some sort of PT program.  Not much I can do right now.  The doc has me dialed back, no lifting, no running, no push-ups, no sit-ups.  About all I can do is the stationary (recumbent) bike and walking.  Can't wear a ruck-sack.  I'll start walking 3-5 miles a day in the morning.  That should help.  I have two weeks until the next check up.  After that maybe I can start some lite running or maybe use a light ruck sack.  The weight lifting will have to wait a few months I'm sure.  I wonder how long until I can shoot again?


NGH

[Graybeard]

GB, where are you in Alabama?

I'm in the NE area roughly have way between Anniston and Gadsden with Jacksonville the University town nearest to me. I'm about seven miles out of Jacksonville.

I'm struggling myself this morning. I had my right rear lower molar out yesterday. I really thought I was doing OK when the doctor called around 7:00 to 7:30 to check up on me. Bleeding was mostly stopped and pain was tolerable with darvocet. By the time I turned in last night tho the pain was picking up a good deal but still within my tolerance level if not by a lot.

I began to get cold soon after going to bed and was just shivering. I figured I had a fever but decided to ride it out as it was midnight or later by then. I turned the heat up and tossed an extra blanket on the bed and it was at best a shivering cold night even with that.

This morning I was up at 5:30 after not a lot of sleep but at least some rest. I was pretty light headed but forced myself to wait until my body settled out before checking. My fever was 100.8 and my BP was 130/77 which isn't off my average that much these days. My pulse rate tho was 112 even tho I had done nothing but rest. I suspect that's not good.

I've used an ice pack on the jaw and fore head and rinsed my mouth with salt water as per directions. Once I've had time for my body to settle back from the ice pack I'll check it all again. I think I'm gonna be needing to see the doctor or at least get some antibiotics as clearly infection has set in. Sure was a major change over night.

[Glanceblamm]

Considering I can type faster than some of you can talk then sure! 

Heather

I can type faster than I can think or at least to articulate to be more specific.

[no guns here]

I HATE the dentist... not because of the pain but because every time they do ANY thing, I end up with an infection.  Usually not what you are describing but it knocks me down for a day or two.

I'm stuck in that place that everyone in the military knows... I may have orders, but I don't have orders, I wish I had orders, but... anyway, if I make it back to 'bama this year I'll have to drive up and buy ya a cup a joe.  Sort of looking forward to it if it all works out.  Knowing my luck they'll send me back to Maryland again and I'll be hating life in 5 lanes of traffic...

Hope your jaw and infection get better.


NGH

[no guns here]

GB,

How ya' feelin' now?  All healed up and back to normal?  I'm getting there.  The shoulder doesn't hurt TOO much now.  I can do most things throughout the day.  Most of the pain is at night when I'm not moving around.  Still not sleeping very well.  Physical Therapist was happy with my progress today.  Pretty good range of movement back.  Not normal but getting there.  Was able to go to the wood shop last night and spent 2 hours on the band saw, disc sander and router.  Worked on 18 Cub Scout Arrow of Light plaques.  Wasn't bad doing it but then my shoulder got mad at me for most of the night.  Found out I most likely WON'T be moving back to Alabama.  Sort of frustrated about that.  I was getting my hopes up a little. 


Later,
NGH

[Graybeard]

You seem to be making much better and faster progress than any of the folks I know personally around here who have had the operation. Most all have told me it took them six months to a year to get back to what passes for normal and few said they ever truly returned to normal full range of motion and without pain. But then most are like me old farts at the time they had the operation and we don't heal as fast as younger folks.

As for my tooth situation the antibiotic I got from a different dentist seems to have taken care of the infection and the swelling is almost gone but not quite yet. I'm getting to where I can open my mouth fully again but only in the last couple days as it has been difficult eating even a ham biscuit as it was painful to open my mouth wide enough.

The pain has not all gone away but is improving again. A couple days ago it got quite bad again but now seems to be less. All in all this has not gone well but tooth work seldom does for me.

I'm gonna continue to do without the rotator cuff surgery even tho both shoulders do need it badly and I really think my left needs it more than the right tho both need it badly.

[powderman]

GB. I know about the shoulders for sure. I started taking glucosamine chrondroiton severa years ago. I couldn't have made it this far without it. My muscles even hurt when I cough or sneeze. No surgery in sight that I can see though. As for the mouth, I've used a mix of listerene and hydrogen peroxide for many years now 2-3X a day to rinse my mouth. I use about 10% or so peroxide with the listerene. I use the generic from the $ general store. Any time I start to feel a little discomfort I increas the frequency of its use. POWDERMAN. 

[Graybeard]

After the surgical removal of the tooth peroxide was a VERY SPECIFIC no-no as was any type mouthwash for an unspecified time frame but very clearly NOT YET allowed. Rinsing with salt water only. Brushing was a no-no for first few days as well but now again allowed.

I too normally use it but am not sure the area has healed enough yet. I was told by two different dental surgeons I do not want to disturb the blood clot until the area has completely healed and therefore peroxide is a major no-no.

[no guns here]

GB,

Whoa now hoss... I think we are talking about two different surgeries.  While my surgery was on the shoulder, it wasn't on the rotator cuff.  I had some arthritis cleaned up, some micro-fracture on a bone or two to try to promote the formation of some scar tissue to replace missing cartiledge and then some screws put in to hold some existing cartiledge in place.  Not sure how that compares to rotator cuff and I'm pretty sure I don't want to find out.

I'm not real young, 42 but I guess that ain't old either.  Anyway, my shoulder, neck and arm muscles were still in pretty good shape with good strength BEFORE I went in.  I could still bench in the upper 200's, maybe 300 if I had a really good day.  I was doing shoulder shrugs with dumbbells with 140 per hand.  Curls were still in the 55/arm range for reps.  That's not for bragging, just for explanation.  Good strength before means less loss and easier to get back what was lost.

I can now raise my arm to the front about 3/4 of the way up.  If I put my hand on a wall and walk my fingers up the wall like a spider, I can get about 90% extension.  I can raise my arm to the side about 60%, doing the wall crawl I stop at about the 75% point.  I can lift lite things... but NOT even a cast iron frying pan with my right hand without pain.  I can PULL a heavy door open but can not PUSH it open.  Sitting at a desk and using the computer causes quite a bit of discomfort after just 3-4 minutes at a time.  But that's getting better.  Even something like wringing out a washcloth is painful if I try to torque with my arm and not with my hands only.  Any kind of pressure UP or BACK on my shoulder joint hurts.  Getting out of bed or a chair is quite painful if I forget and try to push my body up with my arms.

So, yes, I'm making progress.  The doc is pretty happy so far.  I'm glad to be making progress.

Shooting, now that's something I'm going to have to work on.  I tried to hold a .357 up at shoulder level and it was almost impossible right handed.  I'll wait a week and try again.  If I move back to the US this summer, I may have to hunt with my AR and my 6.8 G2 carbine.  I'm pretty sure I won't be ready for .30-'06 or .45-70.  Maybe my G2 as a pistol...


Glad to hear your doing better.


NGH

[Graybeard]

Ah no wonder you are getting better faster then. I was under the impression you had rotator cuff surgery for some reason. That's what I'm told I need on both shoulders.

I think my problems really began from my weight lifting days but I guess I can't be sure of it. I do know or at least "think I know" that is what's going on with my left arm.

Long ago perhaps in the early '80s I guess it was I was lifting regularly and fairly heavily. I had my curl bar set up (forget the weight just now) a bit on the heavy side for me. I want to say it was around 90 pounds but it's been too long to remember what I was using. I had gotten to where I was doing three sets of either 15 or 20 reps and doing both front and reverse curls. I had finished one or the other and was two sets into the other and still OK. On the third set I felt that burn in my fore arm I knew meant STOP NOW but dang it I was only a few more from finishing so finish I did. BAD DUMB MOVE. I dunno what I pulled but it ended my lifting career that day. I've never been able to do much since with that arm and the pain I was experiencing last year when I went to the doctors was right in the area I hurt years ago.

The doctor said I needed rotator surgery and that the pain down in the arm and elbow area was still from the rotator. I never really believed or agreed with him but then I'm no surgeon and he is. I just practically stopped using the arm and got some serious pain meds to get me thru the immediate pain and in time it got to where I can live with it tho the pain never goes away.

I do of course have arthritis badly but the doctors say rotator cuff surgery is what I need most at this time.

[no guns here]

Have you tried any cortisone shots in your arm???

I avoided them for years (11) for my feet.  I was told that they hurt like having a baby.  I have plantar fasciaitis (sp?).  Finally did it, wasn't bad at all.  Gave me enough relief that I could start running again last year.  The running got every thing loosened up and now I have little to no pain at all.  I can run, sit, stand and walk almost completely pain free for the first time since the fall of 1997.

Had the same shot in my elbow area for some tendonititis which had been aching years.  Mostly cleared that up too.  It only flares up once in a while now and not nearly so intensely as before.

They shot up my shoulder last September or so and it really helped the pain while I was waiting on every thing for my surgery.


Worth a try if you haven't done it.

NGH

[slim rem 7]

 had the same surgery on my right shoulder.. i was amazed at the simple necessary things that became complicated.. mabe you know what im talking about.. embarrassing slim