WOW, The pain!

[Gribur]

Is this normal, I am hunched over trying to move around. My upper back, shoulders and between my ribs all ache sooo bad. It even hurts to take a deep breathe. It seems to have started this morning and is probably the worst aching muscle pain since the surgery 3 weeks ago. I talked to my wife and we think maybe bruising coming out, but it just seems like a long time after for that to occur. i am hoping somebody will chime in and maybe have an explanation to help me out. Really feels like i was placed in a sac and people had fun kicking it.

 

[Lynlw]

Is this normal, I am hunched over trying to move around. My upper back, shoulders and between my ribs all ache sooo bad. It even hurts to take a deep breathe. It seems to have started this morning and is probably the worst aching muscle pain since the surgery 3 weeks ago. I talked to my wife and we think maybe bruising coming out, but it just seems like a long time after for that to occur. i am hoping somebody will chime in and maybe have an explanation to help me out. Really feels like i was placed in a sac and people had fun kicking it.

Its possible the muscle pain can be from overdoing it. but I would definately put a call into the surgeon any time the pain is getting worse instead of better since it could be a sympton of something like pericardial or plueral fluid, which one of themain complaints are pain from taking deep breaths etc

 

[Julian]

When in doubt have it checked out but delayed pain is pretty common. I didn't experience pain too much but some experienced horrible pain! I'm sure someone will come around to share their experiences. Keep your head up, things will get better!

 

[njean]

Its possible the muscle pain can be from overdoing it. but I would definately put a call into the surgeon any time the pain is getting worse instead of better since it could be a sympton of something like pericardial or plueral fluid, which one of themain complaints are pain from taking deep breaths etc

I thought of this possibility too, Lynlw. I developed pericardial fluid around the heart a few weeks after my first surgery. The pain I had on my back and below my ribs was horrific....I thought I was having a heart attack. I had to be hospitalized for a few days but made a good recovery.

If your pain continues, get in touch with your surgeon and/or cardiologist. Good luck to you and I hope you get well soon!

Note: The doctors said I had pericarditis.

 

[Gribur]

I just wanted to through in that my wife has been giving me heck over the last few days for my incredibly poor posture, hunchback of Notre dame style. I am thinking to help compensate for incision pain. Not so much pain in the chest, mostly back.

 

[Jkm7]

I agree with the others to suggest you get checked. It will give you and your wife peace of mind. It may not be anything but it might be.

Please let us know how you are doing.

 

[Greg a]

While pericardial fluids is a possible reason and should be checked out, are you having swelling anywhere else such as ankles or wrists....are you on any lasix or other pee inspiring drugs maybe the dose needs to be increased.

Another reason ribs and back hurt is that Dr Gao had to use rib spreaders to widen his field of vision and looking at this picture you will see how unnatural that is so it takes time for the body to rebound to its normal alignment

[]IMG

 

[escargome]

Larry,
While I would agree that if the pain is such that it is unbearable, then contact your doctors. However, I would also remind you that in order for your procedure to be done in the best possible manner, the doctor twisted your body like at pretzel. . So once your doc's have eliminated any heart problem (pericarditis, etc) try to walk straighter and often. Maybe a heating pad to your back or a nice massage from your honey...

 

[Lynlw]

I was wonderring if you've called and gotten checked out. As others said, it could be anything from normal aches and pains to a problem, its not something wwe could even really guess at,you need to get checked by your doc and most likely have an echo or other test.

Altho "Usually" if pain is new several weeks post op or gets alot worse like yours seems to have, it probably wouldnt be just the normal pain from having your chest open etc. but everyone is different
Also it is often said IF you over do, this close to surgery, your body will not be happy and let you know it, so it could just be from going to the wedding less than 3 weeks post op, if you stayed too long.

Your wife is right, it is really important to work on good posture post OHS, even tho it can be sore to stand upright, its one of the things you have to work on, or you can make other things like your back muscles hurt. Are you working on everything you should have been told to do when you started your recovery, getting all your walks in, working on your breathing exercises thru out the day or anything else they told you to do? They might not seem like they help, but the breathing really helps getting your lungs to expand, loosen up tight muscles etc. and really help with recovery.

ps. Im not sure it is the best ting to put a graphic OR icture in the middle of a thread since you can't really warn people who might not want to see pictures lie that before or even after their surgery, so they cant reading the thread.

 

[TheGymGuy]

I have a video of my surgery and my chest was open at least 2-3 times wider that the picture Greg A posted. Still, Gribur, how are ya doing now?

 

[Mentu]

Larry, I just saw your note. If you have not already, do have a doctor check you. Sudden onset of pain could indicate a problem that needs to be dealt with at once. As the others have mentioned, fluid around the heart or lungs or fluid in one or both lungs can cause the kind of pain you report. Take care.

Larry

 

[Bina]

I also did the hunchback thing, but really didn't have any new or severe pain in my back, just a generally nasty ache all around the
rib cage. Have a doc check it out to be sure. Best wishes.

 

[Fundy]

I experienced similar extreme pain 5 weeks after surgery. It just seemed to suddenly happen when I woke up and got increasingly worse within 8 hours, after the first five weeks were relatively easy. Its now more than 8 months after surgery and I still get similar pain but no where near as bad. Until the last month or so, the pain seemed to cycle every 4 or five days and last about a day or so. Sometimes the pain would begin in lower back, some time in the lower chest. Almost always armpit muscles were extremely tight and painful.

Back when it first happened though it lasted ten days and was really severe pain each morning for 3 or 4 hours. I couldn't lie down at all. Bad enough that I think I'd rather be dead type of thing. Dilaudid, tylenol, and ibuprofen didn't seem to lessen pain even a bit. Someone here mentioned they had something similar and 800mg of ibuprofen seemed to knock the pain down for her.

I still have no idea why the pain was happening, x-ray and ct scan revealed nothing notable.

 

[CATDOG]

Gribur
It sounds like my surgery was about the same time as yours. I've been struggling with back pain since post op day 1. Sometimes it is my upper back, sometimes my lower back. Mine feels like muscle spasms, since they get considerably worse if I am cold. If this severe pain is a new symptom, then calling your doc is certainly appropriate.

I have been using a heating pad intermittently, Motrin, raising one foot on a stool and leaning forward to stretch out some, and trying to press/relax my shoulders back flat on a wall to correct the hunched posture. Mine is not as bad as it was in the beginning, but does get worse if I over-do-it or sleep badly (still frequent).

Good luck, CatDog

 

[Allisoninoz]

Hi. Hope you're doing better now, but my back/neck pain was excruciating for weeks ... far worse than chest/sternum pain. I had regular physio and massage and just moved as much as I could. Even a simple things such as wiping the kitchen bench a week before I should have brought on pain the next day. And seeing that pic of what they do to our bodies ... well, no wonder, we're in bloody pain!!!

 

[Garrett]

Gribur, I didn't have very much pain until a week ago, right now my upper back and chest is hurting a lot. I had a aortic valve replacement with a partial sternotomy about five weeks ago. I am going to give my cardiologist a call tomorrow.

 

[SCCWS]

Gribur, I didn't have very much pain until a week ago, right now my upper back and chest is hurting a lot. I had a aortic valve replacement with a partial sternotomy about five weeks ago. I am going to give my cardiologist a call tomorrow.

I don't go in for the surgery until 9/5 but I think I can speak on backs. I had a vertebrae knocked out playing sports when I was 30. I went almost 5 years before it fully healed. I am 63 and I have had no problems in years but I still see a chiropractor every 2 months.
Having read a lot of post surgery posts, I think there are several areas where recovery from the surgery could cause back problems. Sleeping in chairs would certainly aggrevate backs. Spending much more time lying in bed is another way to tighten up back muscles. Limited stretching is another problem. So I think the need to protect a weakened sternum may radically change many daily activities which could end up straining back muscles. This thread has been a great reminder to me. I certainly will watch out as best I can to try and limit the chance that my back problems do not return.

 

[Garrett]

I am finding walking helps with my pain, but my chest pain has been especially excruciating these past couple of days, I am going to look into massage or something

 

[CATDOG]

Garrett,
Is there any chance you are starting to over-do on the chest & sternum stressful activities? Now that my back pain is much improved, and the lungs "sound better", and I am getting out for errands more frequently (with car doors and store doors to pull open and closed, groceries to load into the cart, etc.) I find that it is very easy to over-do. By evening I am sore all over again, and I wake up still sore from the day before. After I move around a bit, it eases up, but then I go out and do it all over again.

I have improved over the last week. As it happens, I am taking prednisone for another condition, and I think it may have also helped some of the surgery related issues as well. If I had not improved, I was also considering massage for my back pain. If you go that route, I hope it works for you. My friends that see chiropractors and go for back massages say that you have find the right person for you as they all have different techniques. Good luck.

 

[Garrett]

My external precautions ended on the 31st of July, so I have been moving around more. I definitely tweeked something the other night and now I feel like I am back at square one with the pain. I am having trouble getting into the lying flat position, it really sucks because I wasn't in this much pain when I left the hospital. I am going to see my cardiologist next week. Meanwhile, I am trying out Po Sum On Oil and an Arnica based roll on mingled with hot packs.