WLS and back pain (x-post)
Have any of you had a start of back pain or an increase of back pain after losing weight?
I'm close to 100lbs lost, and the past few weeks my back hurts. It's not that "grabbing, catching" kind of pain that leaves you stuck in a certain position...but a muscular, intense burning pain in the middle of my back. It's becoming so bad that sitting at work I'm in pain, it hurts when I go to bed and I slept on my heating pad last night to relieve the pain (luckily it goes off in 2 hours and it's on a low setting so no skin damage), and I've cut back what I've done at the gym. I've always been heavy chested, and my chest has shrunk, and it's definitely the slowest shrinking part of my body and I do have loose tummy skin.
At my last appt I complained of back pain, she said it could be due to the skin and my chest.
Is it common and has it happened to you? Will it go away after some PS like breast lift or tt? What did you do about it? I'm considering going to my PCP and asking for some therapy.
Thanks for your help!
I'm close to 100lbs lost, and the past few weeks my back hurts. It's not that "grabbing, catching" kind of pain that leaves you stuck in a certain position...but a muscular, intense burning pain in the middle of my back. It's becoming so bad that sitting at work I'm in pain, it hurts when I go to bed and I slept on my heating pad last night to relieve the pain (luckily it goes off in 2 hours and it's on a low setting so no skin damage), and I've cut back what I've done at the gym. I've always been heavy chested, and my chest has shrunk, and it's definitely the slowest shrinking part of my body and I do have loose tummy skin.
At my last appt I complained of back pain, she said it could be due to the skin and my chest.
Is it common and has it happened to you? Will it go away after some PS like breast lift or tt? What did you do about it? I'm considering going to my PCP and asking for some therapy.
Thanks for your help!
I definitely had a great deal of back pain when I was super morbidly obese. I regularly lost 3-4 months of a year to back pain -- living with it, but it definitely cut into my quality of life.
It got BETTER (but did not go entirely away) when I lost 165 lbs. Last year a doctor found that I had permanently thinned-out one of the disks in my lower back because of the years and years of morbid obesity putting pressure on it and, meaning it would be a problem permanently.
I had a hunch that removing the 9-10 lbs of skin hanging around my belly would improve my back -- and it has absolutely FIXED it. I have not had one day -- not even one hour or one minute -- of back pain since my surgery last July.
If you look at before/afters of people who have had massive skin removal post WLS, you will notice a profound difference in the curve of the spine.
These are NOT my photos -- they are from my surgeon's practice and just for illustration:
See the dramatic inward curve of the lower back? Now, compare:
This person has a MUCH straighter back.
I never post pix of myself, but I can tell you that in my case the difference in curvature was even more pronounced. Having a lower body lift DRAMATICALLY improved -- even cured -- my back pain.
Hope this helps!!!
It got BETTER (but did not go entirely away) when I lost 165 lbs. Last year a doctor found that I had permanently thinned-out one of the disks in my lower back because of the years and years of morbid obesity putting pressure on it and, meaning it would be a problem permanently.
I had a hunch that removing the 9-10 lbs of skin hanging around my belly would improve my back -- and it has absolutely FIXED it. I have not had one day -- not even one hour or one minute -- of back pain since my surgery last July.
If you look at before/afters of people who have had massive skin removal post WLS, you will notice a profound difference in the curve of the spine.
These are NOT my photos -- they are from my surgeon's practice and just for illustration:
See the dramatic inward curve of the lower back? Now, compare:
This person has a MUCH straighter back.
I never post pix of myself, but I can tell you that in my case the difference in curvature was even more pronounced. Having a lower body lift DRAMATICALLY improved -- even cured -- my back pain.
Hope this helps!!!
Thank you!
This was my evening...I really don't think I have DDD, I truly think it's the weight from my tummy and possibly my chest. I didn't have back pain prior to WLS, I mean I had some but usually from lifting or a car accident. I wear a body shaper and think I feel better when I wear it. My posture had increased dramatically a few months ago, but lately due to the pain I'm slumping even more...ugh and I still a ways to go for a tt.
My PCP didn't have any openings, so I went to urgent care. Ended up with a full spine xray...after being turned into a popsicle and glowing, he gave me a shot of steroid and B12 and scripts for flexeril and Norco.
The heating pad helps the most, but unfortunately I can't strap it to my back. The nurse said that the Dr put down DDD, degenerative disc disease. However, I am questioning that because my last bone scan was within normal limits and I'm a tad bit young for DDD. I am following up with my primary, and he'll have the xray readings (I don't think the Dr even looked at them, they were quite busy tonight.)
I basically needed something for pain.
I will follow up with my PCP and ask to go for some physical therapy. I am doing back strengthening exercises at home. My tailbone hurts from sitting and my Mom told me she got me a cushion to sit on. Most of the pain is between my shoulder blades, and I'm blaming the weight from my stomach and breasts at this point.
This was my evening...I really don't think I have DDD, I truly think it's the weight from my tummy and possibly my chest. I didn't have back pain prior to WLS, I mean I had some but usually from lifting or a car accident. I wear a body shaper and think I feel better when I wear it. My posture had increased dramatically a few months ago, but lately due to the pain I'm slumping even more...ugh and I still a ways to go for a tt.
My PCP didn't have any openings, so I went to urgent care. Ended up with a full spine xray...after being turned into a popsicle and glowing, he gave me a shot of steroid and B12 and scripts for flexeril and Norco.
The heating pad helps the most, but unfortunately I can't strap it to my back. The nurse said that the Dr put down DDD, degenerative disc disease. However, I am questioning that because my last bone scan was within normal limits and I'm a tad bit young for DDD. I am following up with my primary, and he'll have the xray readings (I don't think the Dr even looked at them, they were quite busy tonight.)
I basically needed something for pain.
I will follow up with my PCP and ask to go for some physical therapy. I am doing back strengthening exercises at home. My tailbone hurts from sitting and my Mom told me she got me a cushion to sit on. Most of the pain is between my shoulder blades, and I'm blaming the weight from my stomach and breasts at this point.
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