Well, I haven't had the surgery. My back and knees cause me more problems and loss of sleep, but NO WAY I'm letting the VA cut my anywhere near my spine. Now recently my right shoulder would start burning at night, right at the topmost tip where the arm meets the shoulder. Burning and excruciating. It is probably arthritis related, my grandmother had it and now I'm getting problems and I'm still kind of young.
Anyway, it usually hits me at night, but sometimes it will act up for days. I had to quit using a shotgun for HD, if I wake up in pain, I can't really even lift it let alone shoot it, and I never know when the pain will hit. So now I use an M4. That is good advice there, use a light rifle with light recoil. I'm better with it anyway, I have significant training with one, so no loss and probably a gain there.
At night when it acts up, I use a heating pad sometimes, that seems to help some, and I try to rotate my arm with and without my elbow bent to keep it working. Not using it will make it worse, since I started doing this I haven't had the pain last more than a day or so, usually less. Exercise is key with joint problems, no matter what joint. No exercise = you will get worse. Ask your PT guy about that.
I also try not to lay on that side when I sleep. That makes it worse and extended. When I am sitting up in bed (my wife and I usually watch a movie at night before going to sleep) I sit up such that I put no weight on that shoulder. I don't lean on it.
For pain, naproxen works well for me; finding a good NSAID pain reliever is crucial. The NSAID also works well for swelling, which with joint pain, is usually the cause of the pain --reduce swelling, reduce pain. They are all similar, but some work better than others depending on the pain and the person. Aleve is naproxen, taking two instead of one is similar to the prescription dose (that is 400mg, 2 Aleve is 440mg). Motrin is another, 800mg is the prescription dose. There are a bunch more, but they require a prescription. I think I read something about indomethacin being good for this, like better than the others? All are bad on the stomache over time, but I only take them when I need it, and if I take them over a long period, I'll take them with omeprazole or some antacid medication. If you have heartburn already, or ulcers, use them wisely and talk to your doc, I'm no doc.
I try and do shoulder rotations every morning. If it is a little painful, I work through it. If it is excruciating, I bend my elbow or modify my exercise. I've spent since 2003 in and out of PT, and what I have learned from it is that exercise IS important to maintain mobility (I took it for granted, mobility isn't an issue until you lose it) and that exercising through light pain is good, but exercising through really bad pain isn't. It doesn't make you stronger, it makes you weaker. In a way, I'm basically saying exercise it as much as possible and don't ignore your body, try a few of these tips, and use the NSAIDs when you need it.
Oh yeah, and I have a lot of experience being sleep deprived. Bad pain can prevent you from getting restful sleep or any sleep. Lack of sleep will make the pain worse. Trust me on this. I think sleep might be the most important thing we do for our health, for body and mind. But go five days without sleep and in pain, and you will be in even more pain. It sucks. Big time.
