CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,829 
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Post by CeeScraps on Dec 21, 2017 17:01:13 GMT
Ladies......
My dh is having surgery to remove bone spurs on his shoulder. I asked the nurse about using an ice machine. She says frozen corn/peas will work! I was ok with that UNTIL....this morning I was with a friend who has injured her shoulder, no surgery, but hasn't worked since September. She wishes she knew about the ice machine to help her sleep.
So, do any of you have experience with this type of surgery? I've looked to rent/borrow a machine. There is no place to rent one. I gave in and posted on Facebook to see if I get any nibbles from friends.
If you've had experience please share and tell me what I should do? Do I deal with corn/peas? Do I purchase an ice machine? DH thinks I'm over concerned.....I don't know what to think.
Thanks!
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Post by littlemama on Dec 21, 2017 17:20:35 GMT
We have always used frozen peas for ice, 20 minutes on, 20 minutes off. You can't just put ice on and go to sleep!
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Post by shamrock on Dec 21, 2017 17:31:01 GMT
My dad has had 2 knee replacements and rotator cuff repair surgery. He hasn't used an ice machine for any of them. They were told to mix water & rubbing alcohol. Freeze that in a double bagged zip lock gallon+ size bag.
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Deleted
Posts: 0
May 19, 2024 16:25:22 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 21, 2017 18:01:44 GMT
I think there was a recall on them.
You can buy some really nice ice packs that are flexible. I would use those because constant cold really isn't a great idea
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PrettyInPeank
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,691
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Post by PrettyInPeank on Dec 21, 2017 18:06:14 GMT
My husband had shoulder surgery last year, and was sent home with an ice machine. It was excellent. It kept the temperature perfect for hours. The thing with straight ice or peas is it's easy to make it too cold, so you take it off, and rinse and repeat. The ice machine you set and forget, and wear while sleeping. So it keeps the injury cool continuously.
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Post by padresfan619 on Dec 21, 2017 18:08:31 GMT
I had shoulder surgery a while ago and was sent home with a contraption that wrapped around the injured area and it was attached to hoses. The hoses then were attached to a cooler that held ice and water, the hoses pumped ice cold water into the wrap. We just rented it through the surgery center and brought it back at my follow up appointment.
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Post by jamieson on Dec 21, 2017 18:09:38 GMT
The Harvard Shoulder Service here at MGH gives you one to take home after surgery. Of course your insurance pays for it. They're great, facilitate healing, and you can buy pads for other body parts if you ever need them. I'll look up the brand when I get home and post it. It's not something that would be safe to use while sleeping, however. Frozen veggies don't maintain their cold long enough to help.
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Post by ladytrisha on Dec 21, 2017 18:10:03 GMT
our HMO didn't cover the cost of the machine (didn't even offer us where to find one) after my husband's knee replacement. Our neighbor had one and had surgery right before my husband. Our neighbor had a faster recovery and was in less pain than my husband and I steadily grew more irritated on why they hadn't even bothered to tell us about the machine.
If you can get one, I'd do it. I wish we had for my husband. We went thru bags of ice and peas - it is NOT the same.
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Post by LuvAgoodPaddle on Dec 21, 2017 18:18:08 GMT
My husband didn't have shoulder surgery, but had knee surgery in the spring and used an ice machine. A friend had one and offered to let us use it after she had the same surgery (we all play tennis). It helped him a ton with swelling and pain. He doesn't tolerate pain meds at all, so this worked great for him to help with pain. He only took strong tylenol and then used the machine for 20 minutes at a time throughout the day. I think he used it for 20 min every hour, but it could have been every few hours. The best part of the ice machine is that it stays really cold the whole time and pushed the cold water through the whole wrap that went completely around his knee. So you get 100% coverage and 100% coldness the whole time you use it. It's not an extreme cold like you get with a direct ice pack, but more like a soothing constant cold.
The ice machine was totally portable (like a little ice chest). My husband works from home, so that wasn't an issue but my friend was able to take hers to work and use it during the work day to help with pain and swelling while at her desk. It's a pretty convenient little machine if you can borrow or rent one.
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,829
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Post by CeeScraps on Dec 21, 2017 18:19:29 GMT
Thanks ladies! I caved and posted on Facebook, which I don't like doing, HOWEVER, this time it paid off. I have a friend that has one. He is going to let us borrow it. I'm so relieved. I hope my dh doesn't need it, but now we will have one in case!
whew...........
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Post by LuvAgoodPaddle on Dec 21, 2017 18:25:12 GMT
That's great news you found one to borrow!!! Depending on how it works, one tip is to keep water bottles frozen in the freezer. We just added these to the machine and then filled the rest of it with water. The frozen bottles helped to keep the water in the machine cooler longer. I think we fit 3 or 4 bottles into it and then I would swap them out for other frozen ones when the first ones started thawing.
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Post by cindyupnorth on Dec 21, 2017 18:30:48 GMT
I would think with just bone spurs they are just doing a scope and pain should be minimal. Hence probably why they just offered up the frozen peas. The gel cold packs work the best for getting the area cold, but can only be kept on for 20-30 mins, then off. Many people just love those polar pack ice machines though. Insurance no longer covers them, and most hospitals have done away with them, because of the cost. If you would look to buy one on amazon they are over 100$.
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,829
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Post by CeeScraps on Dec 21, 2017 21:37:47 GMT
That's great news you found one to borrow!!! Depending on how it works, one tip is to keep water bottles frozen in the freezer. We just added these to the machine and then filled the rest of it with water. The frozen bottles helped to keep the water in the machine cooler longer. I think we fit 3 or 4 bottles into it and then I would swap them out for other frozen ones when the first ones started thawing. What size bottles did you use? Thanks! |
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CeeScraps
Pearl Clutcher
~~occupied entertaining my brain~~
Posts: 3,829
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Post by CeeScraps on Dec 21, 2017 21:39:32 GMT
I would think with just bone spurs they are just doing a scope and pain should be minimal. Hence probably why they just offered up the frozen peas. The gel cold packs work the best for getting the area cold, but can only be kept on for 20-30 mins, then off. Many people just love those polar pack ice machines though. Insurance no longer covers them, and most hospitals have done away with them, because of the cost. If you would look to buy one on amazon they are over 100$. I did look to purchase one, then figured I'd deal with the veggies. This was until I talked to my friend this morning. Then, I got concerned again and figured I'd give renting a look, which led to FB because I couldn't find anywhere to rent from. Thanks so much! |
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PrettyInPeank
Pearl Clutcher
Posts: 4,691
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Post by PrettyInPeank on Dec 21, 2017 22:03:38 GMT
That's great news you found one to borrow!!! Depending on how it works, one tip is to keep water bottles frozen in the freezer. We just added these to the machine and then filled the rest of it with water. The frozen bottles helped to keep the water in the machine cooler longer. I think we fit 3 or 4 bottles into it and then I would swap them out for other frozen ones when the first ones started thawing. That's brilliant! |
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Post by LuvAgoodPaddle on Dec 21, 2017 23:22:24 GMT
That's great news you found one to borrow!!! Depending on how it works, one tip is to keep water bottles frozen in the freezer. We just added these to the machine and then filled the rest of it with water. The frozen bottles helped to keep the water in the machine cooler longer. I think we fit 3 or 4 bottles into it and then I would swap them out for other frozen ones when the first ones started thawing. What size bottles did you use? Thanks! Just the normal 16.9 oz water bottles. I poured a bit out so they wouldn't explode, then froze 8 or 9 of them. That way we always had fully frozen ones on hand. My friend that we borrowed it from gave us this tip. Her machine was tall and square so we put one bottle in each corner, filled to line with water and then the lid had a pump that came down right in the middle of the bottles. Just pay attention to the fill line so that you don't overflow it. The one we used, you could disconnect the wrap from the pump. So for the first few days when he was just sitting there recovering, we just left the wrap on, disconnected, I refilled it as needed and then reconnected it when he was ready to use it again. It was nice not having to wrap and unwrap it when it was still sore right after surgery. It just wrapped right over the top of his bandages. He used it all day and at bedtime for 3 or 4 days and then used it when necessary for a few weeks longer. He had hardly any swelling the whole time and when it would get a bit achy, he would use it instead of taking pain meds. |
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