Me and my chronically unstable shoulder

May 14 th I am eight weeks post Latarjet surgery now and the recovery process seems to be going well. Everything so far has progressed according to plan. I continued to do passive shoulder movement exercises with therapists and at home until the 5 th week which is when we started assisted movements. After the sixth week, physical therapy progressed to more active movements and there were no movement restrictions anymore. We pushed the limit day by day; the main guidance was pain and when I felt that we reached the maximum of what was possible. It is really important to never do things that are painful. Always stop when it starts to hurt. So, I am now eight weeks in and I am able to use my right arm almost normally in my daily activities. Step by step I started brushing my teeth again with the right hand, cleaning dishes, etc. All movements are allowed as long as I don’t feel pain and as long as I am not carrying heavy things. Also, external rotation in high abduction i...

March 29th After two weeks of mainly resting without many news to report, today was finally getting me excited! Two things were scheduled for today: 1.        Removing the Stitches 2.        First session of physiotherapy I went to the GP in the morning to get my stitches removed. They briefly checked the wound, found everything looks alright and went ahead. The removal itself was very quick and the only thing I felt was a tugging sensation when they were pulling out the thread.   While the procedure was rather unexciting, being finally able to shower without water proof bandage is just another small win that I celebrate! Besides, the incision looks great already after only two weeks. It's approximately 5 cm long and very thin.  I went to physiotherapy in the afternoon and I was really looking forward to that. My therapist knew the Latarjet procedure and had treated a few patients in the ...

March 22nd -- March 29th I continued to sleep well without pain and got more comfortable removing the arm from the sling for a bit.  On March 22 nd I took my first shower alone! I felt comfortable enough to let my arm hang for the duration of taking a shower. I got some waterproof plasters from a drug store to make sure that the wound would stay dry. After the shower I felt reborn and it was great to see that I was making progress.  I continued to remove the arm for 1-2 hours every day while laying on the sofa and I kept on moving my elbow as well. I am scheduled to get stitches removed on Thursday, March 29 th which is exactly two weeks after surgery. I will also start physiotherapy on the same day and I am really looking forward to that!  So far, I am extremely happy with how things have turned out and I’m still surprised that I was never really in pain.

March 17th -- March 22nd Even though it was a great feeling to be out of the hospital and being back home again, I think staying in the hospital for two nights was the right choice. Thanks to the nerve block I was practically in no real pain and now, three days after surgery I was fine with taking the pills they gave me. The painkillers lasted until March 20 th and I didn’t need to take additional medication afterwards. This really surprised me! I was prepared for days of pain after surgery when effectively I had never really been in pain, thanks to the nerve block in the hospital and the painkillers. I stopped taking painkillers after 5 days and was free of pain from there on. The first night at home was quite alright as well. I was not in pain and my bed has an adjustable back rest, so I was able to turn it into a recliner with an elevated back part. That makes sleeping a lot more comfortable. I was able to sleep for ~6 hours on average with was enough to feel well in the morn...

March 16th-March 17th After the first rough night, the next morning started with switching to pills as the primary means of dealing with pain. I was fine with that and didn’t need additional nerve blocks during the day. A nurse helped me to wash in the morning and get out of the surgery outfit. I brought some large tank tops which I would recommend to other patients. During the first few days you will have issues with getting dressed and tank tops simplify that task a lot! My surgeon stepped by shortly after to check on me and answered all my outstanding questions. I felt taken care of well and was reassured that everything went according to plan. After breakfast the nurses recommended to get out of bed a bit and walk around in the station. So, I did walk around the station for a bit but spent most of the morning in bed watching Netflix. Later in the morning the nurses changed the bandage and checked how much blood had gone to through the surgical drain. Since there was not a...

 March 15th, 2018 After getting some hours of not so restful sleep, we turned up at the clinic at around 07:00 AM to check-in. I was walked to my station and room and handed over the surgery clothes. I was told to be ready by 10:00 AM just in case surgery could already start earlier. They offered to give me a pill which would help me to relax and I thankfully took it at around 09:20 after changing into surgery clothes. Pro Tip: Always, always, always change into surgery clothes before taking that pill! I once didn’t and guess what? When they came to take me to surgery I was still in my normal clothes and couldn’t care less to get changed because I was so relaxed and didn’t understand why everyone else seemed to have a problem with my clothes. The "I don't give a *****" pill At around 10:20 I was picked up and brought to the pre-surgery area to get me ready for anesthesia. After hooking me up to an IV bag, they started to place a nerve catheter in my neck to...