Hi all - new here. Sorry for long post.
I had noticed some shortness of breath upon walking, exercise (bringing laundry basket upstairs, etc) and then had a bad fall last February 2016 falling on my purse in the diaphragm area and also my face fracturing my top 4 front teeth. Since the fall I noticed worsening shortness of breath, heart palps and some trouble swallowing, esp. water and pills?? I did see the Ortho doc and my xray in June showed severe scoliosis now not only affecting my upper body but also pushing my diaphragm up into my lungs so that now my breathing is really bad. I also developed ventricular arrhythmia and fluid around the heart and the swallowing problem. I am not a candidate for surgery - osteoporosis and 78 years old. I believe the fall jarred my spine and caused everything to become worse.
Regarding the swallowing - the hollow of my neck between the collarbone is no longer in the middle of my neck but has been pushed over to the right side so apparently my spine has pushed my esophagus over also. Could this be the reason for my swallowing difficulty?? I do have silent acid reflux but I now have some hoarseness and better and then worse tight feeling w/cough and irritation in the hollow of my neck area. That also seems to be the area of the swallowing difficulty and not sure if under the voice box is the esophagus or what but it is definitely tilted to the side.
I am one ugly girl. Right now I can wear turtlenecks to hide it but what happens in the summer? So, back to the original question does it sound like the scoliosis is to blame for my swallowing problem and if so, how bad can it get because I was told scoliosis can not be stopped. I am going to go back to PT to try to slow the progression but am a bit scared and the ortho doc just kind of brushed me off in July as there is nothing he can do for me. The hollow of my neck has moved over since then and I did not have the swallowing problem when I saw him - just the SOB and heart. He had given me a script for PT but I had to stop in December because I got a horrible respiratory bug and with my limited lung space I had quite the time getting over it. It seems there is nothing he can do for me anyway. He said a brace at my age would only make my muscles lax and I have to try to build up my muscles to hold my spine better but nothing can undo what has been done already.
Thanks for any advice/info you can give me.
I had noticed some shortness of breath upon walking, exercise (bringing laundry basket upstairs, etc) and then had a bad fall last February 2016 falling on my purse in the diaphragm area and also my face fracturing my top 4 front teeth. Since the fall I noticed worsening shortness of breath, heart palps and some trouble swallowing, esp. water and pills?? I did see the Ortho doc and my xray in June showed severe scoliosis now not only affecting my upper body but also pushing my diaphragm up into my lungs so that now my breathing is really bad. I also developed ventricular arrhythmia and fluid around the heart and the swallowing problem. I am not a candidate for surgery - osteoporosis and 78 years old. I believe the fall jarred my spine and caused everything to become worse.
Regarding the swallowing - the hollow of my neck between the collarbone is no longer in the middle of my neck but has been pushed over to the right side so apparently my spine has pushed my esophagus over also. Could this be the reason for my swallowing difficulty?? I do have silent acid reflux but I now have some hoarseness and better and then worse tight feeling w/cough and irritation in the hollow of my neck area. That also seems to be the area of the swallowing difficulty and not sure if under the voice box is the esophagus or what but it is definitely tilted to the side.
I am one ugly girl. Right now I can wear turtlenecks to hide it but what happens in the summer? So, back to the original question does it sound like the scoliosis is to blame for my swallowing problem and if so, how bad can it get because I was told scoliosis can not be stopped. I am going to go back to PT to try to slow the progression but am a bit scared and the ortho doc just kind of brushed me off in July as there is nothing he can do for me. The hollow of my neck has moved over since then and I did not have the swallowing problem when I saw him - just the SOB and heart. He had given me a script for PT but I had to stop in December because I got a horrible respiratory bug and with my limited lung space I had quite the time getting over it. It seems there is nothing he can do for me anyway. He said a brace at my age would only make my muscles lax and I have to try to build up my muscles to hold my spine better but nothing can undo what has been done already.
Thanks for any advice/info you can give me.
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