Bye Bye Everyone
 

hi guys

i hope everyone is well and everyone had a great christmas and will have a happy new year.

i have sad news regarding me.

for those of you who dont know, i have very very unstable and weak shoulders. i was born with them. doing judo, squash and swimming hasnt helped me. as per the doc weightlifting was probably the best thing i did and i should never have done any of the other stuff. but at the time i had no clue i have weak shoulders.

the other day (thursday) as i was trying to get off the bed, my right shoulder popped out of the socket. this has happened quite a few times before but i am usually able to pull it back in. however on this day i wasnt and my shoulder was stuck in a very awkward position and it was hurting very badly. that is an understatement.

i was rushed to the hospital by my folks and the docs put me in local anesthesia and told me if they're not able to set it straight under local, ill have to be put in GA and a 5 hour operation will take place. luckily for me they were able to do the job under LA.

well, my arm is right now in a sling and will be for the next 10 days. in may when i come back i will be having the surgery.

i cannot express how upset i am and how heartbroken i am. i can never play squash, tennis, racketball or workout again. i dont know what i will do but i have an appointment with my doc on monday. hopefully there is SOMETHING i can do to keep in shape.

this doesnt really help, but atleast i can look back at this in the future and know that while i was weightlifting i was able to deadlift 365 lbs, squats 315 and bench 225. all at the age of 18 after only 14 months of serious training. i was right, as i read this, this doesnt make me happier..it just makes the pain worse.

this thread will probably have my last few posts because after this thread is over and pushed away into the darkness i wont be posting on this or any other board ever again. i plan on deleting all my links to all weightlifting sites because i need to move on. i was never a great athlete. i am not built to be one. weightlifting was all my body was made of - with all the genetic limitations and obstacles. now even that is taken away from me. i dont know what the future holds for me, but i plan on doing something. i wont allow myself to become a fat fuck again.

i know that while i was here i loved the place and thanks a lot for making this my home. but its time for me to move on.

i am overcome with grief.

thank you

Anuj

I'm very sorry to hear that Anuj. That being said, it sounds like you're giving up too quickly. I assume you still haven't spoken to your actual surgeon yet, which has the final say in that regard.

Back when I was a senior in high school, I tore the cartilage out of my knee. It was locked 90 degrees, and surgury was the only solution. They put the cartilage back in my knee joint and I spent a long and painful recovery on crutches for a couple of months. My surgeon said, "You will never be able to join the Marines now, not in a million years." Well, after I recovered I went against his professional opinion and joined the infantry. 4.5 years later, three 27 mile hikes, a few dozen others, and a War later and I'm still 100%.. Not to mention squatting over 400 lbs ass to calves.

To sum it up: He told me never, I showed him otherwise.

----

"There is only one way to happiness and that is to cease worrying about things which are beyond the power of our will." - Epictetus

^^ Focus on what you DO have control of, and excel on what matters. You never know where you're going to be in a few years.. Perhaps coming back full circle creating another journal..

Good Luck.

thanks for not playing the sympathy card sir. i didnt write this to say "feel sorry for me"...

sir, i am not giving up. quickly or otherwise.

its like a string. if u pull too hard, it will break. u will tie it into a knot. then u will pull it again. again it will snap. then u will tie a third knot. and it will go on and on till in the end all u have is a missing string and a whole bunch of knots. i dont want to develop athritus - which is what will happen if i push this any further. i dont want arthirus at the age of 19 or 20. i want to live a long and happy life.

ur right. which is why i am still ebing reserved. perhaps ill be able to find exercises i CAN do.

i have a feeling ill be able to do SOME of the following:
squats (big maybe)
deadlifts (huge maybe)
pull-ups
barbell curls
v bar rows
leg press
calf raises
leg curls
abs
skull crushers off the floor..

i am not sure, but in the next 2-3 days ill find out. what is more imposrtant is that if i cant lift weights there has to be SOMETHING i can do. i need to find what that is.

u dont know how much ive wept over this. i had so many dreams. u know, it would be simple if i said "i made the following mistakes: blah blah blah". but i didnt. i trained smart right from the fucking beginning. i didnt do the stupid shit ppl my age do. i trained with good form too. yet i go fucked over. u dont know how lost i feel.

i just dont want to do something whcih will affect my family life in the future. i want to become a dad who is capable of doign things like hiking, etc with his son. i dont want to be fucking criple. my dad is too busy making movies and winning awards to be there for me all the time, but i wanted to be able to lift with my son. i know im only 18, but i am different from most 18 year olds. i am a decendant of the freedom fighters of india. i am more progressive in my thought than most people. i was brought up to be progressive. i dont stick to one set of rules. i know im a kid and all, but i had a lot of dreams. u dont see any indians on these weightlifting forums do u? there are only 5 indians including me on all top bodybuilding boards put together. 1 guy is on steroids. 1 is a fat guy who has been trying to lost weigth for 5 years. 1 is only interested in supps. 1 is a 14 yar old newbie doing buddycurls. and then there is me. i WANTED to be someone. i WANTED to show that while i am not professional, i am the ONLY one who can throw heavy iron around. but i wasnt greedy. i didnt do stupid shit. i can afford steroids and take every damn shortcut there is. but i didnt and i wont. ever.

its sad that this had to happen. it would probably hurt a lot less if i could say this is MY fault. but it isnt. i dont deserve this.

and yeah: i WILL pick up SOME sport. i am hoping against hope that i am allowed to swim free-style. if i am restriced from ALL physical activity then my world will seriosuly come crashing down. already its hanging by a sheer thread.

fuck

Pec Tear

I knew I'd be out for at least 2-3 months easy without any type of aggressive chest pressing. After it happened when I created that thread, I felt the same way as you do now. I actually thought that I would NEVER be able to bench press again... At least not with any significant weights. I felt like giving up same as you! So I just tried to remain positive, and just learned to ENJOY my time off without having to worry about meals, supplements, getting to the gym, ect. Instead, I enjoyed the things I've gradually stopped doing.

It'll take time, but rest assured, after you talk to your surgeon, a few things will happen. You'll have a semi-definate time table of when you'll be better, of what you'll be able to get back to in the gym, and peace of mind.

0311 is right.

Anuj, wait until you get more information before you give up hope. You're making a lot of assumptions and I can understand how depressed you must be.

Someone whole shoulder subluxates or dislocates while in bed is definitely a candidate for surgery. I warned you this may happen, but I think I said even then that you may need surgery to fix the problem. The key word being FIX.

The first thing a surgeon will do is examine the joint and determine the exact nature of the problem. As of now you don't know exactly what the problem is and the extent to which it can be repaired. But it may make you feel a lot better to know that the recurrence of shoulder laxity after surgery is very low...only around 3%. Obviously for an athlete or weighlifter that tendency is higher but shoulder sugery is not a ticket to inactivity and arthritis. In all likelihood your shoulder will be better then it is now provided everything is managed properly. Maybe not perfect but a tight shoulder with properly repaired and healed tendons and ligaments is a good thing concidering where you are at now.
I'm not guaranteeing anything but even high level athletes are able to return to their sports after shoulder surgery.

A major part of the rehabilitation will be weight bearing to strengthen the surrounding musculature. The fact is you are getting upset about not being able to use your shoulders the way you want but while certain activities will be prohibited you will HAVE to use your shoulders and make them, slowly but surely, as stong as possible. If you don't then what you will have is shoulders that don't even work for everyday simple things. INACTIVITY is the worse thing people can do following joint surgery not the other way around!

You have a long recovery ahead of you. But you said you wanted to prove someting. So prove it. Obstacle can sometimes be a synonim for oppurtunity. This is a bodybuilding board and I can't think of anything more appropriate than a journal or something form someone healing up from shoulder surgery.

Sorry to hear about your shoulder Anuj, but in addition to everything that was said above you might want to consult with a sports therapist after you have your surgery and are well recovered.

Most of these guys work with athletes who have surgery and have a better understanding of what they should and should not do with their injuries. Most surgeons are of course going to say that you are better off NOT doing something altogether instead of telling you specifically what to avoid.

Best of luck with everything.

You should be immediately set up with a physical therapist. But Sleazy has made a good point. You should ask to be referred to a sport physiotherapist if possible.

+1

Also, don't give up. How may times have you heard stories where doctors gave a statement like "you will never.....", only to find out that they were wrong.

Live life or die trying!

Anuj, I'm sorry to hear about all this dude. I can relate bro, I'm 25 and I have arthritis in my neck, calcium deposits on most of my joints, and a real problem with excepting that I should 'slow down'.

But you can't let shit like this destroy you. Go get the surgery if you have to, but get a second opinion, then a third. I find it hard to believe that you cant fix "genetically weak shoulders" with hard work. It just doesnt make sense, resistance training is known for fixing genetically weak everything.


There is always another opition brother, KEEP YOUR HEAD UP.

I think he has "genetically loose shoulders". Resistance training will strengthen the surrounding musculature and that can sometimes be enought to support the shoulder and help hold it in place. But that's not guranteee by a long stretch. But that is assuming a fairly inactive person. Most people with very loose shoulder joints just simply end up avoding anything that may cause it to subluxate or dislocate.

I sure hope he doesn't need the surgery and there is some simpler solution, but the cold hard reality is that it's probably not the case.