How Transparent Labs Supplements Supported My Shoulder Surgery Recovery

After well over a decade of having my training and sports performance hampered by an injured shoulder, I decided to get my shoulder evaluated by an arthroscopic surgeon who specializes in that area of human anatomy. I strode into his office quite nonchalantly, expecting to be prescribed with physical therapy for an aggressive case of shoulder impingement.  Instead, his jaw dropped open in amazement as he reviewed my x-rays, and what proceeded from his mouth was devastating news.

“You have severe osteoarthritis in your left shoulder!” he announced. “I can’t believe I’m seeing this from a young guy like you! You must be in severe pain! You need surgery as soon as possible!”

It’s never a good sign when your condition stuns an experienced surgeon who has spent more than three decades assessing peoples’ shoulders. To be fair, my pain was only severe some of the time, and I had just enough range of motion to get positive results from most of my critical lifts, albeit with severe muscle imbalances on the side of the compromised shoulder. 

My workout quality had been just efficient enough that I’d been willing to put off medical intervention for more than a decade after it could have done me some good. Still, with the grudging acknowledgement that I was getting older and less mobile, and that I could only expect a gradual descent in training efficiency from this point forward, I conceded that it was better to address the matter before it was too late.

Realizing I Needed Nutrient Support

The sad reality to all of this is that I knew that surgery and its immediate aftermath would come with challenges caused by physical limitations and movement restrictions. Realizing that I would be essentially excluded from participating in serious gym activity for at least five months, I was also forced to accept the fact that there would be some serious downsides that accompanied these limitations. Specifically, I could expect to experience a noticeable decrease in muscle mass, an equivalent increase in body fat, and all the complications that accompany them.

Thankfully, I knew precisely where I was going to turn in my search for supplements to counteract the negative consequences of total shoulder replacement surgery. Thanks to my familiarity with Transparent Labs supplements — along with the education that I received from paying attention to Transparent Labs helpful educational resources — I knew that I could entrust them with assisting me during the recovery from my surgery.

Role of Supplements in Recovery

The foremost concern related to my shoulder-replacement surgery had to do with my body’s ability to recover from the trauma caused to my shoulder by the incision of the scalpel, the sawing of my bone, and the separation and reconnection of my muscles and tendons. 

However, the more research I did into the aftermath of major surgeries, I realized the recovery process was far more complex that I first envisioned, and was not exclusively rooted in physical response to going under the knife. Once I realized this, it occurred to me that a more diverse mix of supplements would be critical if I was going to take a three-dimensional approach to recovery.

Whey Protein Isolate

The logic behind including grass-fed whey protein isolate in my post-op supplement stack was due to a straightforward need for a rapid recovery from surgery and a return to relative normalcy. Obviously, whey protein is excellent at building muscle and strength under ordinary circumstances. While that remains true in a post-surgery scenario, the need for the additional benefit of protein as a nutrient that can help repair muscle and tissue that has been damaged by trauma created an elevated need for protein intake.

Post-op patients have long been encouraged to consume protein both before and immediately after surgery due to the macronutrient’s proven track record of amino acids in accelerating the repair of muscle and tissues damaged by surgical interventions, and improving strength and functionality in its aftermath.

In one authoritative trial from 2013 — a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized clinical trial with adults undergoing total knee arthroplasty —  the group of surgical patients receiving an additional 40 grams of essential amino acids both one week before and two weeks after surgery performed far better both two and six weeks after surgery, with larger muscle size, greater strength, and superior mobility. (1)

Beyond that, supplementation with protein has also been shown to improve post-op patient outcomes during the rehabilitation period. Patients undergoing formal physical therapy are advised to consume between 30 to 40 grams of protein four hours prior to a rehabilitation session followed by separate protein-rich meals 45 minutes before therapy and immediately after. (2)

Creatine HMB

Under ordinary circumstances, creatine is an obvious benefit to the growth of muscles, and one of the two most reliable post-workout aids to muscle growth and recovery alongside protein. 

In addition, beta-hydroxy-beta-methylbutyrate — popularly referred to as HMB — preserves muscle tissue through a different physiological mechanism than creatine. In fact, it is commonly administered in medical settings specifically for its ability to prevent muscle wasting.

However, I had an additional reason for desiring to make use of creatine HMB during my post-surgery recovery period. Specifically, the revelation that supplemental creatine is able to boost the level of ATP in the brain, which enhances mood and attenuates depressive symptoms, made the supplement incredibly valuable to me. 

The neurological improvements of creatine have proven to be a game-changer with respect to improving overall brain activity. By creating an ample energy reserve, creatine not only enhances mood and reduces fatigue, but it has also displayed the capability of improving the effectiveness of prescribed antidepressants like SSRIs. (3) 

The deprivation of physical exercise, which had been a steady source of recreational enjoyment and natural dopamine for decades, would be a crushing blow to me. Recognizing this, I knew I would need to avail myself of a natural mood enhancer. That’s why creatine HMB was a vital multipurpose supplement for me to avail myself of.

Bovine Colostrum

As the father of a toddler, I’d grown highly accustomed to experiencing every intrusive illness right alongside my son and simply suffering through it in stride. Yet, I recognized the last thing I needed to be contending with while I was immobile and recovering from surgery was one or more avoidable illnesses. With this being the case, I sought out Transparent Labs grass-fed colostrum in the hope that it would strengthen my immune system.

While testing with bovine colostrum with effect to immunity boosting is in its early stages, several studies have indicated a consistent tendency of bovine colostrum to increase multiple markers of immunity that presumably indicate improved readiness to combat infectious diseases and other contributors to negative health. (4)

Magnesium Bisglycinate

Ahead of my surgery, I knew I would be prescribed an antihistamine to prevent post-surgery nausea, but also to induce drowsiness and make it easier for me to achieve sleep. I was leery about hearing this, because I had been made aware of the recent study results that showed a link between the prolonged use of antihistamines and dementia. (5)

Around the same time, I’d been made aware of the power of the combination of magnesium and glycine — an essential mineral and an amino acid — for producing restful sleep through the use of nutrients as opposed to drugs. I realized magnesium bisglycinate could serve as an alternative means of promoting restfulness without leaving my body at the mercy of a drug that might ultimately prove to be habit-forming and harmful.

Results and Reflections

Certainly the first few days of post-op recovery were challenging, stemming from exhaustion, numbness, soreness, drowsiness, and an inability to sleep in a fully reclined position while my shoulder was hooked up to a portable freezer to control swelling and pain. This is to say nothing of the difficulties linked with the temporary loss of my left arm’s usefulness, and the emotional toll of not being able to physically engage with my son in the way that he was accustomed. 

These anticipated challenges notwithstanding, I began my intake of Transparent Labs supplements on day one, and my progress exceeded all of my wildest expectations.

First, the site of the surgery — where skin, muscle, tissues and bones had been sliced, severed, and replaced — healed far more tidily than I’d envisioned. Moreover, having suffered through the aftermath of surgeries in the past, I was prepared for keloid formation at the site of my incision, since that had been my body’s habit in all prior surgeries. 

During my follow-up visit, when the staples were cut and removed from the incision, I was pleasantly surprised to see zero evidence of keloid formation in my shoulder. This observation was accompanied by the insistence of the physician’s assistant that my shoulder had healed exceptionally well, and that he saw nothing that should prevent me from immediately beginning physical therapy.

Throughout the month leading to the follow-up visit, I had plenty of energy, and achieved very restful sleep without taking an antihistamine. I attribute this to supplementation with magnesium bisglycinate as a nutrient alternative to a drug. Meanwhile, both my energy level and my exceedingly positive mindset in spite of my circumstances are attributable to my creatine supplementation; I never felt any depressive symptoms following my surgery. 

I continued my regimen of taking Transparent Labs supplements as I commenced physical therapy, and my physical therapist remarked that I was coming to him with less stiffness and greater muscle functionality than the majority of the patients he has treated following identical surgeries.

The news only got better; I am now six weeks into physical therapy, and my physical therapist is astonished by how rapidly mobility has returned to my shoulder in all directions. In fact, my ability to externally rotate my shoulder already exceeds what my capabilities were prior to the surgery. 

Moreover, while I have not been able to engage in any of the forms of upper body resistance training that I used to engage in prior to surgery, including weighted pull-ups and dips, or heavy bench presses and rows, I’ve suffered no noticeable losses in muscle mass in three months of inactivity.

Last but certainly not least, the three months since shoulder surgery represents the longest stretch of time that I have dodged sickness of any kind since the birth of my son, who regularly attends daycare and has come home with all of the illnesses that routinely cycle through daycares that service hundreds of families each day. 

There’s no question in my mind that Transparent Labs grass-fed bovine colostrum, which dramatically boosts the immunoglobulin levels of my blood, has strengthened my immune system and kept me guarded against germs at a time when I could ill afford to become afflicted with a secondary health problem.

If there’s one thing I want to be crystal clear about, it’s the fact that the aftermath of a major surgery can leave you feeling physically, mentally, and emotionally vulnerable in ways that you can’t fathom until you experience it firsthand. When your body has been cut open and you set out on the long path to total recovery, the last thing you want to be preoccupied with is the cleanliness of the supplements that you’re putting in your body.

Thankfully, Transparent Labs supplements are certified and tested with regularity, ensuring that the active ingredients are exactly what they claim to be, and in the doses listed on the labels. Moreover, the post-op period is also not the time to compromise on ingredient quality, and Transparent Labs’ devotion to natural ingredients means that I wasn’t potentially exacerbating the effects of prescription pain medication by combining it with something artificial that my body was ill-prepared for.

At Multifaceted Approach to Surgery Recovery

A surgery that takes away the use of one or more appendages can intrude upon your life in more ways than one, and leave you feeling devastated in several ways. Fortunately, I found that by making use of clean, trustworthy supplements from Transparent Labs, I was able to place my body and mind in the optimal state for recovery. 

Certainly, supplements are no substitute for professional medical guidance, and if you are facing a major surgery, you should heed the recommendations of your medical advisor. However, Transparent Labs supplements have proven to be a perfect complement to the medical interventions that have helped me adjust to the presence of a brand new titanium shoulder.

Sources:

1. Dreyer HC, Strycker LA, Senesac HA, Hocker AD, Smolkowski K, Shah SN, Jewett BA. Essential amino acid supplementation in patients following total knee arthroplasty. J Clin Invest. 2013 Nov;123(11):4654-66. doi: 10.1172/JCI70160. Epub 2013 Oct 25. PMID: 24135139; PMCID: PMC3809795.

2. Hirsch KR, Wolfe RR, Ferrando AA. Pre- and Post-Surgical Nutrition for Preservation of Muscle Mass, Strength, and Functionality Following Orthopedic Surgery. Nutrients. 2021 May 15;13(5):1675. doi: 10.3390/nu13051675. PMID: 34063333; PMCID: PMC8156786.

3. Juneja K, Bhuchakra HP, Sadhukhan S, Mehta I, Niharika A, Thareja S, Nimmakayala T, Sahu S. Creatine Supplementation in Depression: A Review of Mechanisms, Efficacy, Clinical Outcomes, and Future Directions. Cureus. 2024 Oct 16;16(10):e71638. doi: 10.7759/cureus.71638. PMID: 39553021; PMCID: PMC11567172.

4. Ghosh S, Iacucci M. Diverse Immune Effects of Bovine Colostrum and Benefits in Human Health and Disease. Nutrients. 2021 Oct 26;13(11):3798. doi: 10.3390/nu13113798. PMID: 34836054; PMCID: PMC8624701.

5. Su CH, Huang KH, Yang Y, Gau SY, Chung NJ, Wu PT, Tsai TH, Lee CY. Cumulative Dose Effects of H1 Antihistamine Use on the Risk of Dementia in Patients With Allergic Rhinitis. J Allergy Clin Immunol Pract. 2024 Aug;12(8):2155-2165. doi: 10.1016/j.jaip.2024.05.027. Epub 2024 Jun 25. PMID: 38935035.