back pain

[Black-cap]

I have suffered with ibs c and m for years. I also have periodic pain in my upper back under my shoulder blade. I had my gallbladder removed 15 years ago hoping this would help but I still suffer. I am always full of wind with constant loud gurgling in my abdomen. I was wondering if the two could be related in any way. Does anyone else have this problem? A recent colonoscopy just showed diverticulitis. Thank you.

[Linpin63]

Hi Black-cap, so sorry you have found no relief. I also have bouts of upper right abdominal pain into my back and GP went down route of gallbladder, after 2 US scans, nothing found. They wanted to take my gallbladder out, but after reading up about it, I said no. Many IBS sufferers have gallbladder taken out, with out relief. I am 💯 convinced they are related. It it so frustrating that no one seems to understand the impact symptoms have. Take care

[Black-cap in reply to Linpin63]

Thanks Linpin63. I am now regretting having my gallbladder taken out as I often wonder if that has caused further problems. At the time I just went along with what the doctor said and didn’t question it. Maybe it’s a valuable lesson to investigate further and not just do what is the norm. Obviously as long as it’s not a life threatening problem!

[Linpin63 in reply to Black-cap]

I know exactly what you mean, we all go along with 'professional' advice, but I was lucky to have found some research or I was all ready to go ahead. The GP said, I would be OK without it, which is true. I suffer from C and D and the pain is sometimes debilitating, yet no one understands, except those who suffer. Stay 💪.

[Sparrow58]

I have also had my gallbladder removed about 20 yrs ago and get IBS M although after the op. I had IBS D for weeks. I get an achy feeling across my shoulders, it is not really painful just this dull ache with a tightening feeling, to be honest it is hard to describe. It is not there all the time. I have full movement in my shoulders. It has got worse for the last 2 years plus, My GP does not know why. She sent me to have a camera down my throat into my stomach. they did find I had an inflamed food pipe and now on Lansoprazole for 6 weeks. But the shoulder ache is still there and has not changed, so the mystery remains. It is so annoying

[Black-cap in reply to Sparrow58]

Sorry you are still suffering. I have been on Lansaprozole since I had my op! I keep trying to come off it as I have also read some controversial reports on taking it long term but as soon as I try I get a lot of acid reflux. We can’t win can we.

[Iesgobdafydd]

I've had frequent recurring pain in my upper back on one side, a bit lower down than my shoulder blade, from pressure from distorted connective tissue. I can get pains from it in many places all round my body, but when I was trying to figure out what was wrong with me, that's the place I got them most consistently and often. It tends to get worse if I'm standing for a while, which usually means I'm standing while cooking, so it may be some combination of the standing with using my arms for stirring and chopping things. I thought for a long time the pain was from gas, because it seemed to coincide with discomfort in my gut, and belching could temporarily relieve it. I now believe TMJD to be the underlying cause of my IBS, and also the cause of the back pain, but of course your issues may have a completely different cause.

[Black-cap in reply to Iesgobdafydd]

Thank you. That is very interesting. I will look into that. Have you found anything that helps at all?

[Iesgobdafydd in reply to Black-cap]

Yes and no. I have a treatment I've worked out experimentally which is aimed more at a long-term cure than immediate relief, but which tends to provide some degree of short-term temporary improvement as well. It involves lying down, relaxing, using inner body awareness to find where the discomfort & pressure is, and then finding the muscle or muscles I need to work in order to relieve the pressure there, which typically means the pressure moves somewhere new, rinse and repeat. I've been doing this so long now a lot of it's automatic, but when I was working it out I remember trying to do two types of action - one that felt like squeezing or bearing down on a particular place inside myself, one that felt like squeezing muscles in two different places, like pulling on two ends of a piece of string to undo the knot in the middle. Sometimes a constant muscular pressure for some seconds seems to work best, sometimes a pulsing pressure seems to work better. Ultimately, the signal that it's working is the pressure reducing, but I find I also get other physical sensations and audio feedback that are helpful from what's happening inside me, and occasionally there are smells or even tastes.

I've been doing this for some years now, it's cleared up my IBS and some other symptoms, and the configuration of my messed-up connective tissue is certainly shifting - I have visible lumps from it, particularly in my ankles, which have very slowly gone down a lot and changed shape. The fatigue and pains I get now however aren't significantly better than when I started, possibly actually worse, but I'm still optimistic they'll be cured eventually.