Re: Re: back pain -- was scd & other pain?

[Guest guest]

Dave

One possibility for you to consider and research to see if it applies to your situation is that upper GI disorders can often cause referred pain to the back and neck and right shoulder and especially between the shoulder blades.

I speak from personal experience. I also have disc degeneration in my neck (cervical), thoracic and lumbar. But I also experience chronic pain between my shoulder blades that is being triggered by my upper GI disorders. I have been diagnosed with Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, which includes biliary dyskinesia. Slow-downs in the common bile duct and the pancreatic duct causes pain between the shoulder blades, and often include the neck and right shoulder area.

For months I suffered from severe back pain between my shoulder blades, just before my diagnosis of Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. It got worse after every meal... None of my doctors could find anything to explain the pain, so I heard all the possible causes. Finally when I found my current gastroenterologist who got me diagnosed and gave me an ERCP and fixed a few problems with my common bile duct and Sphincter of Oddi, the between-the-shoulder-blade pain disappeared.

I remember how suprised my gastroenterologist was when I told him my between the shoulder blade pain had disappeared at a follow-up appointment to the ERCP. Since then he's mentioned to me that he now realizes this particular pain is often connected to the upper GI and thanked me for making him understand this so he can help other patients get diagnosed faster.

I still get occasional flares of the between the shoulder blade pain, and they are always connected to how my upper GI is performing. And of course I also have to be careful of how I move and sit to protect my other areas of spinal damage -- but that's a whole other story.

I can't say for sure that your back pain is caused by your digestion, but at least it might be something to ask your doctors. It seems logical that your upper GI isn't working normally now, either because of the UC or a medication you're taking.

I wish SCD had also "fixed" my spinal problems, or my neuromuscular problems. But at least my digestion is under good management, and I'm very thankful for that. Helps me cope with the other issues better.

Kim M.

SCD 5 years

>>>>>>>>>>>

......I am finally starting to notice a decrease in the pain between my shoulder blades (which used to plague me on a daily basis). I would estimate that so far I have experienced about a 30% decrease in overall back pain.