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On 2/28/2020 at 6:33 PM, Francisco 2.0 said:

I honestly do not recall (old age right?) if I discussed my shoulder in this thread, or any other thread in the past year.  If someone recalls it, point me in the direction.  Thx.

Having said that, the past 5 months or so have been pretty brutal.  When I was in high school, I separated my right shoulder.  Lived with it over the years.  It would separate 1 or 2 times a year, but it was momentary and the pain would subside within a day or two.

Fall of 2018 it started separating doing nominal tasks, such as putting on deodorant, washing hair, etc.  I finally consulted a ortho surgeon in May of 2019, who took one X-Ray and asked if I wanted surgery the following week.  Couldn't at the time due to vacation coming up, but he told me I could schedule it any time, I wasn't making things any worse.  Torn rotator cuff was the diagnosis.

I scheduled the surgery for mid-October.  Pre-op the week prior was fun; an EKG was performed, and due to faulty equipment, the anesthesiologist and cardiologist on duty at the hospital thought I may have heart issues.  So, a trip to a different cardiologist was scheduled to verify the findings of the first EKG.  Thankfully, nothing wrong with the heart.

Day of surgery, go in.  Surgery was to take about an hour.  After 2.5 hours, the doctor came out to see the bride.  The shoulder had far more damage than the single X-Ray shown, so he took care of all that.  I had the following wrong:

-Torn labrum

-Detached labrum, from 10:00 to 2:00, looking at my shoulder from the side

-Torn rotator cuff (resembled seaweed, according to doc)

-bone spurs on the humerus

-torn tendon on top of shoulder, tear 1.5 inches long

I was sent home and started therapy chair sessions for 3 hours a day for 3 weeks, followed by a follow up.  At that visit, I was originally to have started PT, but the doctor said due to the amount of damage done, I needed to heal some more.  So, it was another month before PT started.  No lie, this was painful as shit.  Couldn't dress myself, driving was painful, opening doors, anything.  Then PT started, and it was uncomfortable.

After just over a month of PT (early January) I really wasn't progressing range of motion wise, so a follow up dr appointment was scheduled.  After a few moments, he mentioned a second surgery (manipulation) where they put me under, then manipulate my arm-shoulder to tear loose any scar tissue that built up inside the joint.  The manipulation was scheduled Feb 11, and I started therapy 3 hours after it.  

The manipulation went well, according to the doc.  He told my wife the sound from the scar tissue tearing was very audible in the operating room.  Recovery fucking sucked, for the pain meds wore off really quickly.

This was far, far more painful than the initial surgery.  Plus, the poor girl at PT (cute, no pics) was just fucking brutal with the stretches.  At one point, I actually heard tearing.  She assured me it was more scar tissue.  I'm not ashamed to admit I have cried in front of her.

That's where things are at today.  I have a dr visit next week, where they will go over the range of motion, etc.  It's far greater than it was pre-manipulation, so that has been a success to me.  Hoping the dr signs off on the progress and I don't have to go back to PT.

 

Almost afraid to ask but, did they not do an MRI on your shoulder prior to surgery?  I saw x-ray mentioned but not MRI.

I may be wrong, but I don't think x-rays show shit as far as soft tissue injuries go.  I'm not sure if I would want your doctor under any circumstances.

Edited by SHOOTER12
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21 minutes ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Almost afraid to ask but, did they not do an MRI on your shoulder prior to surgery?  I saw x-ray mentioned but not MRI.

I may be wrong, but I don't think x-rays show shit as far as soft tissue injuries go.  I'm not sure if I would want your doctor under any circumstances.

No on the MRI.

The initial X-Ray was so bad the doc immediately asked if I wanted surgery the next week. There was a sizable gap between the humerus and the socket. He told me at the follow up after the surgery that in retrospect, he should have ordered an MRI to get a better idea of what I needed; and had it not been so obvious that I had issues he would have ordered the MRI.

 

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2 minutes ago, Francisco 2.0 said:

No on the MRI.

The initial X-Ray was so bad the doc immediately asked if I wanted surgery the next week. There was a sizable gap between the humerus and the socket. He told me at the follow up after the surgery that in retrospect, he should have ordered an MRI to get a better idea of what I needed; and had it not been so obvious that I had issues he would have ordered the MRI.

No shit. You should find another doctor imo.

 

 

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On 2/28/2020 at 6:33 PM, Francisco 2.0 said:

I honestly do not recall (old age right?) if I discussed my shoulder in this thread, or any other thread in the past year.  If someone recalls it, point me in the direction.  Thx.

Having said that, the past 5 months or so have been pretty brutal.  When I was in high school, I separated my right shoulder.  Lived with it over the years.  It would separate 1 or 2 times a year, but it was momentary and the pain would subside within a day or two.

Fall of 2018 it started separating doing nominal tasks, such as putting on deodorant, washing hair, etc.  I finally consulted a ortho surgeon in May of 2019, who took one X-Ray and asked if I wanted surgery the following week.  Couldn't at the time due to vacation coming up, but he told me I could schedule it any time, I wasn't making things any worse.  Torn rotator cuff was the diagnosis.

I scheduled the surgery for mid-October.  Pre-op the week prior was fun; an EKG was performed, and due to faulty equipment, the anesthesiologist and cardiologist on duty at the hospital thought I may have heart issues.  So, a trip to a different cardiologist was scheduled to verify the findings of the first EKG.  Thankfully, nothing wrong with the heart.

Day of surgery, go in.  Surgery was to take about an hour.  After 2.5 hours, the doctor came out to see the bride.  The shoulder had far more damage than the single X-Ray shown, so he took care of all that.  I had the following wrong:

-Torn labrum

-Detached labrum, from 10:00 to 2:00, looking at my shoulder from the side

-Torn rotator cuff (resembled seaweed, according to doc)

-bone spurs on the humerus

-torn tendon on top of shoulder, tear 1.5 inches long

I was sent home and started therapy chair sessions for 3 hours a day for 3 weeks, followed by a follow up.  At that visit, I was originally to have started PT, but the doctor said due to the amount of damage done, I needed to heal some more.  So, it was another month before PT started.  No lie, this was painful as shit.  Couldn't dress myself, driving was painful, opening doors, anything.  Then PT started, and it was uncomfortable.

After just over a month of PT (early January) I really wasn't progressing range of motion wise, so a follow up dr appointment was scheduled.  After a few moments, he mentioned a second surgery (manipulation) where they put me under, then manipulate my arm-shoulder to tear loose any scar tissue that built up inside the joint.  The manipulation was scheduled Feb 11, and I started therapy 3 hours after it.  

The manipulation went well, according to the doc.  He told my wife the sound from the scar tissue tearing was very audible in the operating room.  Recovery fucking sucked, for the pain meds wore off really quickly.

This was far, far more painful than the initial surgery.  Plus, the poor girl at PT (cute, no pics) was just fucking brutal with the stretches.  At one point, I actually heard tearing.  She assured me it was more scar tissue.  I'm not ashamed to admit I have cried in front of her.

That's where things are at today.  I have a dr visit next week, where they will go over the range of motion, etc.  It's far greater than it was pre-manipulation, so that has been a success to me.  Hoping the dr signs off on the progress and I don't have to go back to PT.

 

My wife had shoulder surgery about 12 years ago. She developed a “frozen” shoulder. Even though her damage and repair wasn’t as significant as yours, the scar tissue was no fun. 

I tore my rotator cuff playing football on Freshman Field (a.k.a. Jester Field) in 1979. I didn’t have surgery, but for years it would dislocate doing everything from diving in the water to rolling over in bed. I could eventually lift weights fine, but I couldn’t throw worth a shit. Then the opposite thing happened when I started playing catch with my son. Starting out easy before throwing harder and further allowed my shoulder to strengthen. I could eventually throw a football 30 yards on a rope, or that’s what it felt like after years of throwing like a pussy.

The only thing is I would still need to warm up before I could make a full throwing motion. One time I was coaching first base for my son’s Little League team, and I had to retrieve a foul ball by the fence behind me. Let’s just say that my cold shoulder throw back to the pitcher was legendary. 

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9 hours ago, SHOOTER12 said:

Almost afraid to ask but, did they not do an MRI on your shoulder prior to surgery?  I saw x-ray mentioned but not MRI.

I may be wrong, but I don't think x-rays show shit as far as soft tissue injuries go.  I'm not sure if I would want your doctor under any circumstances.

Was going to ask the same thing.  Been having issues with my shoulder and had both an xray and MRI done, only found some impingement and ordered PT for it. 

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Just buy some over the counter Naproxen.

This man gets it!

Get it checked by a doctor during your regular visits. They won’t check if they don’t know! A blood test is all that’s needed. Same sample of blood they take for cholesterol levels etc,.

Either your body is over producing uric acid, or it’s to concentrated in the blood stream.

There is a pill for the over production. Good friend is on this path, with dietary changes.

And hydrate daily. Need to dilute (and pass) the the uric acid in the system. This took care of my problem.

When you can feel the symptoms, take Naproxen (for inflammation) and do what you can to keep temps up on affected areas. Wear socks at night if it’s your big toe for example.

The crystals form in the joint when concentrations of uric acid in the blood are elevated and the temperature in the extremities are to low. This is the pain of a thousand burning suns! The swelling is from the white blood cells, flooding to fight the offenders.

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If not an MRI, at least a CT scan. . .I have a pacemaker and an MRI would have ripped it from my chest.

My surgeon at Fondren in Houston for a rebuilt shoulder and to reattach my bicep tendon was 2 summers ago and I'm absolutely so happy with the results. Plus now I don't try to lift the gym.

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27 minutes ago, BearSchlong said:

If not an MRI, at least a CT scan. . .I have a pacemaker and an MRI would have ripped it from my chest.

My surgeon at Fondren in Houston for a rebuilt shoulder and to reattach my bicep tendon was 2 summers ago and I'm absolutely so happy with the results. Plus now I don't try to lift the gym.

Yep I'm now in the no MRI camp due to a pacemaker...yeah, getting old sucks.

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Find a copy of Younger Next Year. It’s a book targeted for men 50+ (they have one for women too) written by a retired NY lawyer and his internist. In a nutshell, cut out white starches entirely, 45 min of cardio five days a week and weights two days a week. It’s a recipe for staying active well into your 80’s. The lawyer is the cheerleader and the internist explains the science.

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Moderation. I haven’t cut out all white starches but I do try to limit them. And i love fries, mashed potatoes and white rice. Yeah, you might be able to eat whatever you want and make it to 80+ but it’s rare. Many doctor friends have told me there’s a reason you don’t see very many 70+ year old fat people walking around. So many people, men and women, seem to just let themselves go when they get into their late 40’s or even sooner. My goal is to be as active as I can for as long as I can. I want to be able to play golf and regularly shoot my age over 18 holes.

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On 3/1/2020 at 10:57 PM, ImissWallyPryor said:

My wife had shoulder surgery about 12 years ago. She developed a “frozen” shoulder. Even though her damage and repair wasn’t as significant as yours, the scar tissue was no fun. 

I tore my rotator cuff playing football on Freshman Field (a.k.a. Jester Field) in 1979. I didn’t have surgery, but for years it would dislocate doing everything from diving in the water to rolling over in bed. I could eventually lift weights fine, but I couldn’t throw worth a shit. Then the opposite thing happened when I started playing catch with my son. Starting out easy before throwing harder and further allowed my shoulder to strengthen. I could eventually throw a football 30 yards on a rope, or that’s what it felt like after years of throwing like a pussy.

The only thing is I would still need to warm up before I could make a full throwing motion. One time I was coaching first base for my son’s Little League team, and I had to retrieve a foul ball by the fence behind me. Let’s just say that my cold shoulder throw back to the pitcher was legendary. 

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I am 46 and I just cant eat fried anything anymore. Felt like an alien is about to erupt from my chest for 8 hours or so After eating a fried shrimp basket and fries.. It's just soups, salads, and sammiches with the occasional cheeseburger to keep my sanity. Its been great for my weight. I am down from 270 to 230 over the course of 6 months.

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5 hours ago, HouTex said:

Find a copy of Younger Next Year. It’s a book targeted for men 50+ (they have one for women too) written by a retired NY lawyer and his internist. In a nutshell, cut out white starches entirely, 45 min of cardio five days a week and weights two days a week. It’s a recipe for staying active well into your 80’s. The lawyer is the cheerleader and the internist explains the science.

I am celebrating my 53rd lap around the sun today.  7 days/week of dedicated exercise is unsustainable for people like me.  I work out 4 days/ week, and each time it is some weights and 30 mins of cardio (elliptical due to a bad ankle).  Coupled with better eating, I'm down 10 lbs this yr.  But if I tried to make it 7 days a week I would probably bail out.  This seems sustainable. 

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After suffering with cheap ass readers the last 10 years, I just got home with my new contacts.  In fact, this is the first thing I've typed without glasses.  52.

 

Happy Birthday Bruin.

Edited by Lat22
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I am celebrating my 53rd lap around the sun today.  7 days/week of dedicated exercise is unsustainable for people like me.  I work out 4 days/ week, and each time it is some weights and 30 mins of cardio (elliptical due to a bad ankle).  Coupled with better eating, I'm down 10 lbs this yr.  But if I tried to make it 7 days a week I would probably bail out.  This seems sustainable. 

That’s pretty close to my schedule. I’m a big spinning guy. I’m 57 and since I turned 42 or so I’ve been working out as much as my schedule allows. I play golf every weekend (carrying my clubs most days) and I weigh about 12 pounds more than I did when I graduated from UT in 1984. I might have gained one inch in the waste. My wife (no pics) is my age and she probably only weighs 5-10 pounds more than when we got married 31 years ago. IMO, there’s no excuse not to stay in shape.
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That’s pretty close to my schedule. I’m a big spinning guy. I’m 57 and since I turned 42 or so I’ve been working out as much as my schedule allows. I play golf every weekend (carrying my clubs most days) and I weigh about 12 pounds more than I did when I graduated from UT in 1984. I might have gained one inch in the waste. My wife (no pics) is my age and she probably only weighs 5-10 pounds more than when we got married 31 years ago. IMO, there’s no excuse not to stay in shape.


Round is a shape.
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12 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

I am celebrating my 53rd lap around the sun today.  7 days/week of dedicated exercise is unsustainable for people like me.  I work out 4 days/ week, and each time it is some weights and 30 mins of cardio (elliptical due to a bad ankle).  Coupled with better eating, I'm down 10 lbs this yr.  But if I tried to make it 7 days a week I would probably bail out.  This seems sustainable. 

Happy Birthday there youngin'. Wishing you many more.

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52 here...after ignoring my seriously high blood pressure for years and getting married back in late December, i finally took it upon myself to see a cardiologist about it this past Monday.  he looked at my digital history of my BP readings and the 3 times they took it at his office and exclaimed "Holy fuck."  that's literally what he said.

the reason...my resting BP is around 220/180, what i learned is medically considered to be "hypertensive crisis"...been living with it like that for years.  and i'm not some overweight fatass...i work out on the reg, cardio, HIIT train...about 1.5 hours per day and stay active when i'm not doing that, don't eat hardly any processed food, etc.  

congenital and age, he said.

fuck all this shit.

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5 minutes ago, Kyrie Eleison said:

52 here...after ignoring my seriously high blood pressure for years and getting married back in late December, i finally took it upon myself to see a cardiologist about it this past Monday.  he looked at my digital history of my BP readings and the 3 times they took it at his office and exclaimed "Holy fuck."  that's literally what he said.

the reason...my resting BP is around 220/180, what i learned is medically considered to be "hypertensive crisis"...been living with it like that for years.  and i'm not some overweight fatass...i work out on the reg, cardio, HIIT train...about 1.5 hours per day and stay active when i'm not doing that, don't eat hardly any processed food, etc.  

congenital and age, he said.

fuck all this shit.

Damn KE that's bad.

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15 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

I am celebrating my 53rd lap around the sun today.  7 days/week of dedicated exercise is unsustainable for people like me.  I work out 4 days/ week, and each time it is some weights and 30 mins of cardio (elliptical due to a bad ankle).  Coupled with better eating, I'm down 10 lbs this yr.  But if I tried to make it 7 days a week I would probably bail out.  This seems sustainable. 

A program I was on advocated for something similar (for exercise-diet was a whole other thing entirely) , although it was not age specific.  It was surprising how little you had to do to actually be in really good shape.  I will write it out below, but before anybody freaks out, the exercises are able to be scaled.  For example, if part of your workout call for 50 push ups, you would not necessarily have to do 50 normal push ups.  Depending on your starting ability and strength you could start doing something as easy as wall push up and progress  to normal push ups.  From a strength perspective, once you are able to do the strength workout below 2 times per week, you will have been able to develop ~90% of your genetic functional strength without having to concentrate or overdo it developing that last 10% for say, a specialty sport or something.

Moving: 3-5 hours per week of moving around slowly: (yard work, walking, housework, shopping, casual recreation(fishing, hiking, hunting, playing with the kids) Everything counts.

Strength: 2 X per week: 12 pull ups, 50 push ups, 50 air squats, 2 min forearm plank hold.  Repeat these with reverse grip on pull ups for the second round. (takes about 30 min with minimal rest in between to catch breath)

Sprint: 1 X every 7 to 10 days: 8-12 all out max effort sprints of 10-15 seconds duration with ample recovery in between sprints.  Could be running, cycling, swimming, elliptical etc.

Once you are able to do the above, you can upgrade to more difficult variations, but there is no need to.  And again, there are easier exercises that you do with the same sets/reps to work up to the above. 

So as you can see you are working out only 3 days per week max and there is no gym membership required.  I did this for about 3 years at age 45-48, and with proper diet was able to go from 200lbs to less than 175lbs...and that last 10 lbs was slow to come off as I was bumping up against ~10-12% body fat, but was simply able to add about an hour more of walking/week to get there.

My regimen was interrupted by injury as I progressed on my squat variations to pistol squats (10 per leg not 50) which injured my groin.  I was able to get back on it once things healed up and things worked just fine.  I have not been able to keep to it regularly after I took up rock climbing, as I have been doing different exercises and  dealing with various injuries, but it is always something I turn back to when I need it and it still works now even at age 53.

I would also say that, since this is an old farts thread, I would take any strength/sprint training very slowly, and spend a good amount of that 3-5 hours per week of moving slowly on mobility exercises.

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16 hours ago, Sbbruin said:

My distance vision remains very good.  But I can't read shit from shinola up close.  I have readers stashed all over the place.

 

Thanks Lat.  Sounds like a lot of 50 somethings around here.

After having the cataracts removed in both eyes and replaced with new standard lenses, my right eye is far sighted to 20/20, the left is still f’d up (retina has to be fixed next month). I also have readers stashed around the house and in both cars. Can’t read shit closer than 30”.

It is nice to drive without prescription glasses, and will get better when my left eye fixed. $15,000 so far in charges to insurance.

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20 minutes ago, Jiggy-Z said:

I would also say that, since this is an old farts thread, I would take any strength/sprint training very slowly, and spend a good amount of that 3-5 hours per week of moving slowly on mobility exercises.

About all I can manage is doing the stationary recumbent bike three or four times a week - 40 minute sessions each. Better than nothing, but then again anything more generates chest pain for me. That can suck major league donkey calls.

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1 hour ago, Kyrie Eleison said:

52 here...after ignoring my seriously high blood pressure for years and getting married back in late December, i finally took it upon myself to see a cardiologist about it this past Monday.  he looked at my digital history of my BP readings and the 3 times they took it at his office and exclaimed "Holy fuck."  that's literally what he said.

the reason...my resting BP is around 220/180, what i learned is medically considered to be "hypertensive crisis"...been living with it like that for years.  and i'm not some overweight fatass...i work out on the reg, cardio, HIIT train...about 1.5 hours per day and stay active when i'm not doing that, don't eat hardly any processed food, etc.  

congenital and age, he said.

fuck all this shit.

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7 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

About all I can manage is doing the stationary recumbent bike three or four times a week - 40 minute sessions each. Better than nothing, but then again anything more generates chest pain for me. That can suck major league donkey calls.

acute angina...

 

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23 minutes ago, Armybrat said:

About all I can manage is doing the stationary recumbent bike three or four times a week - 40 minute sessions each. Better than nothing, but then again anything more generates chest pain for me. That can suck major league donkey calls.

Of course there is a caveat for age and existing health issues.  That being said, I bet you could find some of your old weights laying around and do some work.

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On 3/4/2020 at 9:02 AM, Kyrie Eleison said:

52 here...after ignoring my seriously high blood pressure for years and getting married back in late December, i finally took it upon myself to see a cardiologist about it this past Monday.  he looked at my digital history of my BP readings and the 3 times they took it at his office and exclaimed "Holy fuck."  that's literally what he said.

the reason...my resting BP is around 220/180, what i learned is medically considered to be "hypertensive crisis"...been living with it like that for years.  and i'm not some overweight fatass...i work out on the reg, cardio, HIIT train...about 1.5 hours per day and stay active when i'm not doing that, don't eat hardly any processed food, etc.  

congenital and age, he said.

fuck all this shit.

HTF have you not stroked out or had kidney failure? That's a seriously fucked up BP. Mine got up to 180/110 a couple times when I ran out of meds and I thought my eyes were gonna pop out of my head. I'm on atenolol and verapamil and it stays around 130/80 now.

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HTF have you not stroked out or had kidney failure? That's a seriously fucked up BP. Mine got up to 180/110 a couple times when I ran out of meds and I thought my eyes were gonna pop out of my head. I'm on atenolol and verapamil and it stays around 130/80 now.


Procardia and Lotensin for me....seems to be working.
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Damn, the lighter trick seems pretty good. I have to use the trimmer for that and nose hair. Eyebrows are a whole different story. I get my haircut lady to trim them up once a month, but I have to get the tweezers out for the occasional unruly gray hair or the “how in the hell did that hair get that long” hair that occurs in between haircuts.

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