text: should i undergo rotator cuff surgery? i am a 56 year old man, on disability for back and neck problems. i take care of my 87-year old father.  i have torn the rotator cuffs of both my shoulders and a surgeon says , after an mri, that i need surgeries--two of them, left first, right later.  right now, i am mildly inhibited only. i can still bathe, dress, and do basic household tasks. i even pull the start cord for my dad to mow the lawn.  but i cannot push even pillows or clothing up onto a shelf above my head in the closet. and i have mild difficulty in putting clothes out to dry on a clothesline.  i know that all surgery is risky. i am a recoering alcoholic, too, so i hesitate to go under general  anesthesia. i also hesitate to have to wear slings or cats on my arms for weeks or months, temporarily becoming more "disabled".  what do you think? if you are an m.d., great, please respond. or, if you have had this type of surgery and wish to report your results with it, i'd like to hear from you.  no abuse!! funny you should ask...i just had arthoscopic surgery done last friday...in much the same way that they would do the rotator cuff...mine was dislocated and they fixed the cartilidge to prevent it from happening again...  it's a big decission - but not that the surgery is over, i'm so glad i did it...  i was in much of the same situation as you were...limited mobility....above my head...but, was still healing from the dislocation...  i have minimal pain - and today being 4 days after, haven't takenthe pain meds at all...my mobility is pretty good...i do have a sling, and will have to do some physical therapy in a week or so, but the doc tells me that after that my mobility should be back to almost normal.....  sling is only going to be on for about 10-14 days...  i work as a counselor for people in 12-step programs - i'm assuming that your fear is for the drugs afterwards?  i;m sure if you spoke with the surgeon he could figure something out...don't use it as an excuse.....  anyway...not sure if i helped or not...in my opinion the surgery isn't as bad as i expected it to be....and only 4 days later it is already feeling ok...  i'm only 32 and didn't want to feel disabled the rest of my life - reaching the top shelf...washing my hair, etc...  good luck with your decission....