Strange symptoms - does this sound right to anyone?

[katblack]

I too had tons of problems swallowing at times, lots of times my neck would "go out" requiring trips to the chiropractor to get it unstuck. it would lock in odd positions.
I would get frequent heartburn. I would urinate constantly. Like the more squished my body became, the more I had to pee. I was never in a place where I didn't know where the bathroom was...lol

All these people with the same kinds of problems, I'd hazard to guess there's a connection between the scoli and these issues.

[sweetness514]

That's weird about the throat, I do have problems swallowing as well, but since I have problems with my neck my PT told me it's normal. I also get these weird movements where my jaw moves on it's own, LOL. It's nuts. I do feel that my neck is more tense since I had the surgery though, and get tension headaches.

As for breathing problems, it's something that I wonder about sometimes. I do cough from time to time(when I'm more tired), and did before surgery a LOT. Some symptoms could be related to scoliosis, I guess I will never know. If you ask a chiro, for sure they will tell you that ALL the problems we can have(like stomach problems as well) are sure to come from scoliosis, but I'm not 100% convinced.

[lelc2002@yahoo]

sweetness,
I cough A LOT!!! My older son is always asking me to please stop coughing...I tell him I wish I could but it seems to stem from being on my feet for a while & then I get heartburn/acid & cough. I rarely go out to dinner because I'm afraid since I never no if I'll start coughing & my stomach will feel tight & uncomfortable. At lunch time I'm a bit better/less in the stomach.I guess.... this kind of stuff makes me much more depressed than the back pain...I so hope I'll have some relief w/ the surgery(fingers crossed!!!) lynne

[Gail]

I'm glad this old thread has resurfaced...somehow I missed it earlier.

I have always had a problem swallowing pills...especially if they are not coated or if they are oblong instead of round. They get "hung" somewhere down in my throat and I have to drink a lot of liquid to get rid of that sensation. I also get choked on food from time to time. The first time I ate food after my surgery, I said my stomach has moved. It felt like it was in the center of my belly. Before surgery my stomach always felt like it was on my lower left side. I had a Thoracolumbar curvature of 47 degrees. Fused from T-9 to L-5. After reading these post...perhaps there is a connection. Intersting!

Kindest Regards,
Gail

[fitiani33]

The trouble swallowing that is one thing i don't have....thightness in my chest..yes more often than i would like. I went to the doctor convinced i was going to have i mild heartatack. He said because i was a rather healthy 27 year old it was not very likely but to satisfy me he would to some blood work. And to no surprise i was fine. I have terrible muscle pain, weakness and tingling in my feet and face. I also have headaches, dizziness and ringing in my ears. I see neurologists often and one neuro suspected MS but no testing was done....one reason was i was afraid of the spinal tap after i had just saw my scoliosis curve for the first time in ten years and the other reason is another neuro said no he did not believe my brain MRI fit MS or me in general. I have had REAL bad muscle spasms that put me out for days at a time a then the regular here and there ones. I only have a 40 deg. lumbar curve and not sure of thor. but i have ALOT of pain every single day. For ten years now. Was told to do surgery at 16yrs. old and said no..wish i would have. Doing it June 5th. Good Luck All!
Stephanie

[makaylasmom]

How interesting! I have had problems swallowing foods too! It always feels like it get stuck tedder-tottering in my throat and I always get worried it will choke me. It is especially embarrasing if out in public when it happens. My reg. docter thought it was a social anxiety I was having- but then it started happening at home too! I get heartburn as well. I can't wait to see if that problem goes away after surgery.... I truly believe that scoliosis causes alot of other problems as well- especially with moving organs and such. Interesting!

[Pips]

I am now post surgery, but they have only fixed up to T9 (so far) and I am still getting heartburn and swallowing problems. In fact, whilst in hospital I had an attack so bad that after antacid drugs didn't work, they gave me a ECG (which thankfully came back normal). I am hoping it will stop if they do the rest of my spine (possibly end of this year).

The only thing that has changed since surgery is that now I can actually bring on my heartburn (as if you would want to) by lying on my back and attempting to raise my head from the pillow - thus putting strain on my top curve.

In the hospital they said that during surgery they had found my stomach was squashed between my diaphragm and my spine and this was definitely linked both to the heartburn and the difficulty swallowing. I think this is fairly common and although I know lots of people without scoliosis get heartburn, if you can identify a 'mechanical' trigger (like moving in a certain way) then I think it is almost certainly down to your spine.

[lelc2002@yahoo]

wow!! To everyone that responded: It all makes me feel like my swallowing problem/digestive issues are probably all connected to some degree to the scoliosis. My main swallowing problem is with meats like steak etc. so I stay away from them in the evening...That was one main reason that I got the scoliosis checked again this past Dec. because I was scared out of my mind about actually feeling the meat slide down my throat... Then the heartburn whenever I bend down for a bit or I am just on my feet a while...
ps. Dr Boachie has an article on severe lumbar curves which does explain that some cases were so bad that they could'nt eat a full meal because the stomach got full so fast due to being squished & after surgery, the patient had much more room in the abdominal cavity --Ly

[Cakedec]

Another swallowing problem with scoliosis

I have also had a swallowing problem for a few years where food like meats or thick breads get stuck in my esophagus and won't go down. It feels like a spasm and drinking doesn't help. What does help is to stand up for a few minutes and walk around. That seems to loosen it up. I can still breathe while it is happening. My family says that my face turns bright red so they know when it is happening; sometimes I cough a lot with it.

I have a double curve, 65 & 75, and often wondered if this could be causing it. Several here also mentioned neck problems and I also have 2 kinks in my neck so maybe they are causing a constriction. I have never felt that it was bad enough to look into medically; there is some heartburn at night depending on what I ate occasionally, but as I am looking into scoliosis surgery will probably wait to see if it changes after that.

Have noticed that prevention is a good thing; eating slowly, taking small bites, chewing slowly, etc. Hard to remember sometimes when you're real hungry or in a hurry! Also avoiding the acidy stuff before bedtime is good.

Deb

[sweetness514]

I always have to cut certain pills or vitamins in half, and if they're not coated they still get stuck at times, what a pain. And I ALWAYS take them with some food. I prefer the caplets. But my PT said it has to do with the neck, who knows. I do believe that heartburn(as common as it is) is not helped with scoliosis. I had a severe case of it for over a year before surgery, and after for a while b/c I wore a brace(soft one). But with time and a major change in my diet, it got better. Surgery must have helped.

[theinternetblog]

hiatus hernia & acid reflux

Hi everyone

really sorry to hear about the difficulties you all endure and hope it gets better. If anyone's interested, please visit our blog at :

http://hiatushernia.blogspot.com/

Best wishes all.

[lelc2002@yahoo]

digestive issues....& scoliosis.......

I read thru this thread again & I am kind of glad it resurfaced...
For any of you scoliosis folks out there who are having these kinds of symptoms...I can say from my own experience, these problems with acid reflux, swallowing dry foods, serious coughing, indigestion, have totally disappeared since my surgery!!!!!!!! My surgeon felt that the swallowing issue was not related to my scoliosis( thorocolumbar of 95) but I can tell you that it has completely gone away since surgery.....I feel like a new woman!!!!! I have not had so much as a small cough since the surgery!!!! So I totally believe that the huge curve was affecting the positioning of my intestines, stomach & diapragm big time causing me serious problems... Ly

http://lynnebackattack.blogspot.com
surg-Aug 1st2006/Dr. Boachie/Kim @ HSS in NYC
thorocolumbar curve of 95 reduced in the 50's
kyphosis 85....no hump now..

[gayle]

i guess thats why i get indigestion at night.i thought what in the world is wrong with me! i know that my left rib is almost touching my hip,in between there i hurt sometimes like im being squished.im glad i found this thread and hopefully it is related to scoliosis so it will go away after surgery..lol

[bbest]

Whenever I would tell friends and family about my organs being squished or how scoliosis could actually interfere with heart/lung function, they looked at me like I was nuts. They thought scoliosis was no big deal. In fact, if you look it up in most medical manuals, it will say that it doesn't even cause pain.

[sweetness514]

I think it can cause pain for some but for others it doesn't, wich is so strange but that's what happens with other health issues like MS for example. I didn't have pain from my 60 degree curve until I stopped working b/c of another medical issue and my muscles became weak. The acid reflux I experienced a lot before surgery, and after it's come and gone, so as much as I know that it didn't help, I can't associate all the symptoms to scoliosis.

I do find it weird that even in new books about back pain they mostly say that scoliosis doesn't cause pain.