Pre and Post Surgical Help for Rotator Cuff Injury

[amyayers2]

Hello all! It's been some time since I've been on the forum. I'm currently on day7 of my Whole30 and am facing an upcoming dilemma. In 5 days, I am having an out-patient surgical procedure on my left shoulder to help with an injury and pain that I've been dealing with for almost 4 months now. I'm hoping to find some recommendations from the community on what I can do to prepare my body before the procedure, and best strategies for post-surgical recovery. I will not be able to eat or drink after midnight the night before, will be under a general anesthesia for the procedure, and given pain medication post-surgery. Recovery will be 2-3 months with some limitations on what I can do with my left arm. I welcome (and am thankful) for any help/suggestions offered. <3

[Karen_Suep]

Prep freezer meals in small containers so you can easily reheat them. Have a good meal before fasting and maybe have an easy meal for when you wake up. And take it easy

[jmcbn]

Bone broth & fermented foods.

The anaethesia & any pain meds could be hard on your stomach so be sure to have plenty of bone broth on hand for it's healing properties, and fermented foods for the production of friendly gut bacteria. In the early days I'd stick to comforting foods like mashed root veg, chicken soup, scrambled eggs etc & then see how you go from there.

You're already doing the best that you can for pre surgery preparation.

Good luck & Happy healing - rotator cuff injurys are not pleasant!!

[praxisproject]

Pain meds can often include codeine and similar ingredients, which can really block you up, so you may need some softer/fattier foods to help move things along (magnesium & liquids help too). Fermented foods are good but some people find they can be a bit bloaty if they're blocked up, so go easy if you are, once the meds are gone things will get back to normal quickly.

 

Bone broth, gelatin, collagen, liver are all good for repairs, as are Vitamin C, B vitamins and antioxidants.

Eat as much as you feel up to, healing can require more input as your body is doing a lot of work, salads may not feel satisfying.

Depending on local supply, you may be able to find some compliant baby food in pouch or jar form for the hospital, the advantage of these is they don't usually need a fridge. I found mashed veggies and fruits locally. Read the ingredients, you might have better luck with organic brands.

 

When you're back home, try prep techniques that don't require much chopping or prep if you want to limit your arm usage.

See what pre-prepped veggies you have available locally, including frozen. If you like mash, you can bake things in the skin, scoop out and then stick blend them later, rather than dice and mash. Slow cookers are great. Don't be afraid to ask friends for help peeling or something if you're not up to it You can freeze things like roast potatoes. They're not the same, but pulling some out of a bag to reheat is really easy

 

Get lots of sleep and rest, it gives your body more energy for repairs.

[amyayers2]

Thank you all. I am very appreciative of the feedback. <3

 

I've already got my first batch of bone broth cooling now, and plan on starting to drink 1-2 mugs a day today so I can get a few days worth into my system before Wednesday (and bones are ready to go to get another batch going). All great suggestions to go along with this as well! I don't have a ton in the house right now since my family and I are heading out of town Thursday morning for a family wedding. Convenient timing on all of it. Anyway, I have plans tomorrow or Tuesday to go shopping and pick up some portable supplies (fermented foods, Epic bars, portable foods & snacks, pre-sliced veggies - cutting them myself lately has begun to put a lot of strain and some pain on my left arm/shoulder, fruit, baby food pouches - GREAT idea on those) to get me through the first few days and have some things on hand when I get back home next Sunday. I feel fortunate living so close to Boston that I have ample choices in various stores and markets that I know I'll have a lot of good things to choose from.

 

And rest. Lots of that planned since I already told my husband that I have no plans to set an alarm clock for the next few days (he'll just have to get himself up in the morning for work). Thanks all. I'll be sure to check in the next few days to let you know how prep is going and how I'm feeling afterwards (I was told that I would be in a fair amount of pain).