upper back pain T-4 anyone?

[AlisaM 0]

I had surgery august 2007. i have lost 70 pounds with the band and a lot of exercise.

6 months after surgery, i noticed that my back hurt every afternoon. i put up with it for a year then started working on fixing it in 2009.

after much ado, they think it is the lap band surgery that caused scarring that goes directly to the T-4 thru 6.

has anyone else had this issue? any suggestions or solutions?

[3636millie2 0]

Yes, I had this and yes, it was from the band. Please look up my posts for other problems with the band. Well, I just solved it all. Had the sleeve done on 12/19/09. Even though I am 2 weeks post-op, I feel better now than I have in the past year. The band was a miserable experience for me. And for all the nay sayers who think it was because I did not take care of the band, BULL CHET. I followed all the rules to a "T".

Anyway, I digress. Please do not suffer with this pain. I had a complete unfill for about 2 months before revision and the back pain still did not go away. It was from all the scaring from the band. My revision was longer than expected due to all the scaring and adhesions. This is in spite of the lysis of adhesion surgery I underwent in Feb of 09. You may have what is called band intolerance. You do not have to live in misery. Just saying...............

[willowcat 93]

chiropractor? I was having pain about a month after surgery in the area between my shoulder blades. When I talked to my chiropractor he said that the nerves to the stomach originate from that area of the spine. He worked on me and the pains went away. I know a lot of people are skeptical about chiropractors (and there are definitely some bad ones out there), but he helped me. Sorry for your problems. Thank you for the info. I hope all goes well for you sooner rather than later. Good luck.

[Sweet Pete 0]

That is good to know Willowcat! I was banded 12/22/09 and my upper back between the shoulder blades is killing me! I keep thinking maybe it's the way I have been sleeping or something.

Can I ask, what type of things did your chiro do for you? I love my chiro, he's great but I'd like to stear him in the right direction. Thanks!

OP, I'm sorry your back hurts so bad. I truly and literally feel your pain. It seems that I'm not hurting when I'm hunched over and I don't want to do that! I keep trying to suffer through the pain but I really don't want to live this way either.

I hope you find a solution soon.

[onetosucceed 0]

I am a nurse, a master's prepared nurse, working on my doctorate, what evidence did they provide??? The anatomy is not even close, you would have to go through the liver, stomach and everything else. Is it all scar tissue??? You would be having many more issues that just back pain if that were true, right??? I would really look for a second and third opinion..............

DC

[Stevie1 0]

odd you should ask because I have had extreme upper right side of my neck pain and my neck . This has caused severe headaches that I can't shake an it was starting to scare me. Will talk to surgeon later this week. Thanks for making me feel like I'm not crazy. What are they doing about it other that hot cold therapy?

[minimeme 1]

In 1994 I fell 30 feet and hurt my back. I went to all the doctors, did all the therapy and no relief. Then on a fluke, I was shopping in B&N and came across a book called Back Care Basics. I purchased it and started doing the stretches (it is basically light yoga). I got better. After all the months suffering, all the time stuck in doctors offices feeling helpless, such a simple thing worked for me.

Have you tried some yoga or stretching?

[willowcat 93]

That is good to know Willowcat! I was banded 12/22/09 and my upper back between the shoulder blades is killing me! I keep thinking maybe it's the way I have been sleeping or something.

Can I ask, what type of things did your chiro do for you? I love my chiro, he's great but I'd like to stear him in the right direction. Thanks!.

Sweet Pete, You haven't been banded for very long--your pain may still be related to gas from the surgery. If I were you, I'd wait at least a month before seeing your chiropractor. Mine does a lot of twisting and pushing. I would want to make sure that everything was healing properly first. I did tell him about my band and explained the proceedure to him. I can't tell you just what he did. All I know is I felt better the next day and really haven't had that pain between my shoulder blades like that again. Good luck.

[maestrita 43]

The anatomy is close, actually. The back part of the band is right in front of that area of the spine. Those other organs are in front of your stomach. It might be hard to picture unless you've experience the particular pain Alisa described. I, too, have pain in that region since my surgery, and it is a common complaint amongst bandsters. Still, I'd think that problems to the degree described here might involve some other issues.

The formation of adhesions is a less common affliction, and it's possible that other trauma to the spine, possibly a pre-existing situation, might be exacerbated by the band. I'd not jump into any type of further action without getting a second opinion, and personally, I'd demand imaging studies or an exploratory surgery long before I'd consider moving forward with a permanent intervention. I wish the best to you. Let us know what you learn through the process.

[Sweet Pete 0]

Sweet Pete, You haven't been banded for very long--your pain may still be related to gas from the surgery. If I were you, I'd wait at least a month before seeing your chiropractor. Mine does a lot of twisting and pushing. I would want to make sure that everything was healing properly first. I did tell him about my band and explained the proceedure to him. I can't tell you just what he did. All I know is I felt better the next day and really haven't had that pain between my shoulder blades like that again. Good luck.

Thanks!

You're right, it very well could be the gas from surgery. I just worry because that's the area where I have a small fracture (due to carrying all the weight in the front) and now it's hurting in that area where it never had before. I only had lower back pain in the past. So it just concerns me. But naturally I don't want to a chiro who's going to try to pop my back or bend me all over the place and damage my band or whatever.

Thanks again, I'll wait.

[AlisaM 0]

Yes, I had this and yes, it was from the band. Please look up my posts for other problems with the band. Well, I just solved it all. Had the sleeve done on 12/19/09. Even though I am 2 weeks post-op, I feel better now than I have in the past year. The band was a miserable experience for me. And for all the nay sayers who think it was because I did not take care of the band, BULL CHET. I followed all the rules to a "T".

Anyway, I digress. Please do not suffer with this pain. I had a complete unfill for about 2 months before revision and the back pain still did not go away. It was from all the scaring from the band. My revision was longer than expected due to all the scaring and adhesions. This is in spite of the lysis of adhesion surgery I underwent in Feb of 09. You may have what is called band intolerance. You do not have to live in misery. Just saying...............

how do i find the link to your previous posts? I did have an un-fill for 6 weeks a year ago and was pain free except for the weekend before the refill.

[AlisaM 0]

The anatomy is close, actually. The back part of the band is right in front of that area of the spine. Those other organs are in front of your stomach. It might be hard to picture unless you've experience the particular pain Alisa described. I, too, have pain in that region since my surgery, and it is a common complaint amongst bandsters. Still, I'd think that problems to the degree described here might involve some other issues.

The formation of adhesions is a less common affliction, and it's possible that other trauma to the spine, possibly a pre-existing situation, might be exacerbated by the band. I'd not jump into any type of further action without getting a second opinion, and personally, I'd demand imaging studies or an exploratory surgery long before I'd consider moving forward with a permanent intervention. I wish the best to you. Let us know what you learn through the process.

I have seen 2 different chiropractors and 2 back doctors. I have had an Xray, MRI and scan. I have done a full series of physical therapy as well. I see the chiropractors massage therapist every week. she is the one that told me about the scarring from the lap-band around to the T-6. The X-ray and MRI did not show anything. i have not gotten the results from the scan yet.

Thanks for your help.

[BetsyB 9]

I'm a former ortho/neuro RN who also has back issues, and can't for the LIFE of me figure out the rationale for the correlation between the surgical procedure for banding and thoracic spine issues. It makes NO sense, whatsoever.

Did you reach this conclusion on your own, or has your doctor provided an explanation? If the latter, I'd be VERY interested to know what you were told.

ETA: Reading further, I see that a chiropractor's massage therapist gave you this 'diagnosis.'

I am sure your pain is very real, and certainly am not minimizing its severity. But to take the word of someone who is utterly uneducated in this arena is not safe.

Edited January 4, 2010 by BetsyB

[SAGEBRUSH 0]

I had surgery august 2007. i have lost 70 pounds with the band and a lot of exercise. :blushing:

6 months after surgery, i noticed that my back hurt every afternoon. i put up with it for a year then started working on fixing it in 2009.

after much ado, they think it is the LAP-BAND® surgery that caused scarring that goes directly to the T-4 thru 6.

has anyone else had this issue? any suggestions or solutions?

Have your doctor check your gall bladder.. I too have been putting up with back pain for about a year.. finally had enough when I could no longer turn over in bed without screaming out in pain. (Mostly affects me when I am lying down, or hit a speed bump) They did an ultrasound and found I have lots of gall stones.. I am scheduled for surgery to remove my gall bladder.. After having any type of weight reduction surgery, or just plain losing weight, your chances of having issues with your gall bladder goes waaay up... Most of the time, the pain in in the shoulder blade area, mine tricked them, mine is by my kidney area...

[AlisaM 0]

Have your doctor check your gall bladder.. I too have been putting up with back pain for about a year.. finally had enough when I could no longer turn over in bed without screaming out in pain. (Mostly affects me when I am lying down, or hit a speed bump) They did an ultrasound and found I have lots of gall stones.. I am scheduled for surgery to remove my gall bladder.. After having any type of weight reduction surgery, or just plain losing weight, your chances of having issues with your gall bladder goes waaay up... Most of the time, the pain in in the shoulder blade area, mine tricked them, mine is by my kidney area...

I had my gallbladder taken out a couple of months after adding the lap-band.

The first back doctor did a cortizone shot between the shoulder blades. It made things much worse. he had no idea what it could be.

I did have some issues with my ribs from an earlier injury. The second chiropractor feels that the surgery to that area stirred up the pain.

I am on my fourth opinion now and getting nowhere fast. Anyone heard of the Egosque method? Egoscue Inc. BE PAIN FREE

Thanks,

AlisaM