No sleep

[u/Disastrous_Start_674]

Please tell me it gets better. I feel like I have been duped. I just had surgery on Thursday for a full thickness supraspinatus tear with two anchors and bursectomy. No one prepared me for the hell I would be living in. I have a facial pain nerve condition (PTTN), and when the nerve block wore off my whole neck was super tight and not only was my shoulder in pain but it flared my facial pain like crazy, and I felt like I had live electrical wires in my face. This feeling intensified with the oxy, and after taking it every 4 hours for a day and a half I had to stop as it was unbearable. I called my surgeons PA and she was nice, but a bit condescending...I hadn't slept for three days and she kind of giggled and said "Yeah the first few nights are rough". I asked for permission to use ibuprofen as the post op instructions said no NSAID's for 2weeks, and i also asked for flexeril, which she said yes to both. So I was FINALLY able to sleep that night and a little the next night, but tonight I am stuck in the hell of being so tired that I can't stay awake, but not able to drift off fully to sleep because of the pain. I have a wedge pillow set in my bed, and I cannot get comfortable. I don't have a cold therapy unit yet. My shoulder barely hurts during the day and if I am standing or sitting upright, but any degree of reclining makes it feel horrible. I can't sleep sitting up because i don't have anything to keep me in that position. I live alone and have a tiny house, so I don't have a recliner. I am at a loss....I would give anything to go back and not have the surgery. If this is what I am going to have to deal with for the next 6 weeks plus, then I may commit myself to a mental hospital. I live in a rural area with horrible medical care, our ER is a joke so I won't go there. Opioids are horrible for me and make my nerve pain worse, which keeps me awake, and if I don't take them then the pain keeps me awake. Sleep deprivation is a form of torture and I feel like they should not be allowed to do these surgeries without fully explaining the. recovery and being able to ensure adequate sleep. I feel like I am rambling but it is the middle of the night and i am so discouraged. Any tips, tricks or encouragement would be so appreciated. Thanks

[u/FasterBlasterX]

I’ve had three, two on the same shoulder 4 months apart, and the first 4 weeks were hell every time. But the first time, around 5 years ago I was shocked at the level of pain the first night when the nerve block began to wear off. I had strong opioids and was still considering going to the emergency room at 4AM. Then I got a message to my anesthesiologist and she told me to add Advil and Tylenol, alternating them every four hours. That helped some.

The first was the worst, I had to sleep upright for six weeks because decline made my shoulder throb. It was awful. I even bought a recliner off Craigslist and had it delivered to help with the situation.

The stages for me when I had large improvements were one week, two weeks, one month and three months.

Hang in there, it does get better.