Bad shoulder pain after AVR

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DanielB

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 13, 2010
Messages
254
Location
San Diego, CA, USA
All,

I am now a couple days short of two weeks since my AVR surgery (10/17) and have had one issue since returing home I was wondering if anyone else had experienced. That is, sharp, imntense pain in my right shoulder. Not as bad as my sternum can get, but pretty bad for sure. I did not experience this until I got home from the hospital, but it has come and gone regularly and is now the leading cause of discomfort for me, especially when I try to sleep. So far, heating pads and cold packs help some. Only a big dose of my pain med stops it all together when it is bad.

I did a search of the forum and came up with a few responses, but wanted to see if anyone lately has had the same problem and what may be done for it. Your thoughts?

Thanks,

Dan
 
Hi Dan, Glad to hear things are going well beside the bad shoulder pain. Unfortunatly neck,should back pain is one of the things people often complain about , and many say it is worse than the incison after OHS. It is usually because of the way they have you open on the table for those hours during surgery. Beside heating/cold one thing that seems to help the most is to have someone massage the area. Not even a 'real" massage, but just having a family member massage the area a couple times a day, or using one of those small back massage things seems to help most people. Also trying to have goood posture, even if it hurts and If they gave you any stretching exercisises be sure to do them, but dont over do of course.
 
I overall didn't have much discomfort after OHS. What I can tell you as that I did get strange aches and pains from 2 weeks up to a month or more after the surgery. You would think all the "getting used to" would occur within the first two weeks but much like being in a car accident sometimes strange pains occur for months after the event. After after a certain point you don't know if it was the car accident or not but pretty sure it was the car accident. Hope my example makes sense.
 
Glad to hear your recovery is going well, other than the shoulder pain,
I also had bad shoulder/collarbone pain for a couple months after surgery. It is normal for pains to creep up a little later as the anesthetic and more potent pain killers are weened out of your system. Julian's annalegy is spot on, I believe our arms are stapped back during surgery so it's no wonder we are sore for some time afterward. Heat and massage will help or maybe some linament.
Good luck with your recovery
 
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Hi DanielB
I had AVR on 12/8/2011, and from time I woke up in ICU, I had 'cronic' pain in shoulders and shoulder blades! No joking, it was so painful that during the second night in ICU I crawled out of bed (with attachments) to sit in the chair!
I battled nursing staff for the next 8 days for help, and pleaded with doctors, but to no avail!
It is now 10weeks after op, and only now can I get to sleep. I would definitely get someone to 'gently' massage your shoulder, and whilst watching tv, get a 'heat-pack on your shoulder.
I think my age factor (71) went against me when they spreadeagled me on the table for the op!
None of this is meant to be 'negative' just used as a learning curve.
Good luck in your recovery.
Brian
 
Do you mean pain in your shoulder blade area? I had some really sharp pain with my right shoulder blade. I was finally cleared by my cardio for a gentle chiropractor adjustment after... I think it might have been about three months. That finally fixed it for me.

But weeks after the surgery I also developed inflammation in my cartilage called costochondritis and I still have some twinges with it, eight years later. Watch your posture, and especially don't slump over your computer keyboard. Best wishes from another valver in San Diego County.
 
My shoulder pain is right in the middle mof the joint, worse at night after it sits still for a while. It's gotten so bad at night I'm losing sleep, so I'm seeing my doctor this afternoon to see what's going on.

Dan
 
Dan, because of the devices used to close my sternum, I never had pain in the center of my chest. From the moment I first awoke clear headed, however, the significant pain was beneath the center of my left shoulder blade. I took Tylenol and Aspirin for the discomfort and found that a good massage and heat made it feel much better. The good news is that it gradually improved over the weeks after surgery and has never returned. It should get better, Dan.

Larry
 
I had shoulder pain, but it was under the left shoulder blade. It was never bad enough that I couldn't sleep that I recall, but there was definitely some pain for quite some time after surgery. I hope yours clears up too!
 
Here is an interesting factoid that applies to no one but me:biggrin2: after my OHS and my sternum was wired, my back was really giving me trouble BUT then once my sternum was removed the back SEEMED to clear up .......maybe the new aches and pains just transferred my attention away but that is what happened

Gotta wonder if you take a hammer and hit your thumb:eek2: would your back pain go away ?:rolleyes2::confused:
 
Thanks Greg -- I think :)

Saw my doctor today and he had a couple of X-rays done to make sure it wasn't a bone issue (it was not) and he perscribed something for the pain until I can talk to a physical therapist next week. Based on comments I received here, after coming home ffrom the doctor's office, I had my wife really massge my shoulder blade and the right side of my neck and it seems as though the pain my be getting generated from there, so I'm going to chase that for a while to see if that helps.

What I would give for a full night's sleep!

Dan
 
Yes, yes, yes ... I had shoulder pain (mostly right) ... it was bad enough to send me to a chiropractor (something I don't do) ... It will pass ... just another thing they did dot tell me to expect ... sleep, eat and walk ...:thumbup:
 
Thanks Cooker,

The more I try things the more I think the basics are the best - sleep, eat and walk and just work to get past these first few weeks and the pain med phase. I think all will be better once I am a bit more healed and off the pain meds. This was my first major surgery so I am new to trying to manage acute pain that came with it. Getting past the surgery pain and meds -- that's the 'other side' I am now looking forward to.

Thanks again,

Dan

"just keep swimming, just keep swimming" Dora from Finding Nemo
 
Yes DanielB, just keep swimming. Time really does heal some wounds. Just take it slow and steady, in a few months you will one day notice that most pain has disappeared and you kinda feel pretty good..
 
I had surgery a little over a week ago...going smoothly with not much pain but I did have a sharp pain in my right shoulder blade...I noticed it mostly when getting into sleep position. I am lucky I am able to sleep on my side but still as I shift around sometimes I do have tenderness in that same spot...I massage the area, avoid movements that aggravate it but it seems to be settling down..
 
I had surgery in March of this year. By the Friday following my surgery, my left shoulder hurt so immensely bad, they couldn't give me pain meds fast enough to get rid of it. The only thing that really helped was my family taking turns massaging it for a few hours and then sleeping with a heat pad on it. Then the following Monday I woke up with the same feeling in my right shoulder. That turned out to be fluid build up in the incision spot in my right shoulder. My shoulders ached for months after the surgery. I couldn't get comfortable sleeping, I constantly used heat and tylenol to try and keep the pain at bay. When I asked my surgeon about it, he said it's from the position on the table and length of time you are there. It's finally at a point where my shoulders feel better more often than not. I still have flare ups during weather changes but then again, what doesn't hurt when the weather changes?

Good luck, I hope it passes soon for you!
 
thanks all -- My doctor says it's probably from my shoulders being pinned back during surgery too. It does seem to be a general back muscle issue as massage helps somewhat and heat and/or ice gives temporary relief. I do see a physical therapist Tuesday to get it evaluated. Hopefully they can get it settled down enough that I can get a full night's sleep.

Dan
 

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