Hi, newbie here with an arthritic shoulder.

flyboy
flyboy Member Posts: 2
edited 28. Nov 2023, 14:04 in Living with arthritis
Hello, I'm hoping to hear from forum members who have had shoulder joint replacements due to osteoarthritis. I am a 70 year old man and have been told by my hospital consultant that after the replacement I will not have the full range of movement that an undamaged natural joint once gave me. I was also told there would be no guarantee that I would be totally relieved of pain. I cannot take or use anti-inflammatory tablets/gels like Ketoprofen or Ibuprofen due to other medical issues and at the moment am getting pain relief from using a medicinal cannabis based balm. My affected shoulder means that the arm on that side is only about 50% useful at the moment and I am worried about long term muscle wastage. I would like to hear the good and bad from any of you that have had shoulder replacements. Many thanks.

Comments

  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 3,635
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello

    Welcome to this forum. You will find The members here are all friendly, will be able to offer you support, any useful information they may of had themselves. They will advise you on different things, they will be empathetic, and also you will find light relief here. Amongst our forum members there may be someone else who has had a total shoulder replacement.

    I am one of the moderation team. We all have one or more of the Arthritis "hanger ons" or care for family who have the same.

    Versus Arthritis has a very interesting and well written section entitled "Surgery - shoulder and elbow replacement". You can find this at

    https://www.versusarthritis.org/about-arthritis/treatments/surgery/shoulder-and-elbow-replacement/

    Also at the top of this page you will see there are some buttons which will take you to all the subjects Versus Arthritis covers.

    If you feel you would like to talk to someone there is a very useful freephone no. 0800 520 0520, where you will be able to talk to someone one to one. Please remember that we are all volunteers and none of us have any medical background. If it's something medical you should make an appointment to see your doctor.

    I look forward to reading your future posts and hope you find this forum useful
    Best wishes
    ChrisK
  • stickywicket
    stickywicket Member Posts: 27,709
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hi flyboy and welcome from me too. I've had knees and hips replaced but my shoulders are still rubbish :lol:

    I've found you our search engine's answer to 'shoulder replacement'. You'll see that 'crinkly1' recently had one and put up a very detailed thread with the intention of helping others like yourself. You can follow her progress on it.

    I think your surgeon has given excellent advice. You're unlikely to get full movement but the trade off is much less or no pain. You can see, from crinkly's thread though, that an awful lot of hard work has to be done for a long time afterwards by the patient. Crinkly has put in the hard graft and is now reaping the rewards. I hope you do too.
    If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
    Steven Wright
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    Hello, I too thought of crinkly's thread so I've bumped it up on the Living with Arthritis board on here, it might be of relevance; it's pretty detailed so brew a cuppa for sustenance! DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 3,635
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    And here's a link to the thread :D

    https://arthritiscareforum.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=50176

    Brynmor
  • frogmorton
    frogmorton Member Posts: 29,402
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
    I don't know whether this will help at all, but my own daughter at age 19 had to have her shoulder replaced (it had totally collapsed due to treatment for cancer - steroids and chemo). She had next to no use in that arm and was in agony- right arm. Because it was leukaemia she was also not allowed to take non-steroidal anti inflammatories too.

    Due to her young age she will need it replaced several times in her lifetime and we were warned that the aim was more pain relief than mobility.

    The good news is that almost immediately she had perfect range of movement 180 degrees up and down and can even do her bra strap up. Her consultant said her recovery was outstanding. 2 years on NO regrets :D

    Best of luck and do let us know what happens.

    Toni xx
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