Severe pain in LEFT shoulder ??????????

[DSteinitz]

Hello Again......

  Well another serious attack last night which almost sent me again too the ER room. It lasted 5 hours and was terrible. I am waiting for my first appt. with the surgeon on Monday. I want this gallbladder out!
  Has anyone experienced LEFT shoulder pain like a knife stabbing my shoulder blade???? I read about RIGHT shoulder referred pain but not LEFT.
Please help identify this symptom if you can. Want to make sure it is gallbladder.
Thanks!
Don

[anna1234]

Yes! Yes!!!
I was so happy to hear your story, not because of your suffering, but glad to know someone has something similar...(i.e.: I'm not as nuts as I feared)
MY LEFT SHOULDER HURTS after eating solid food.  It hurts if I have over six ounces of liquid to drink.
I had a Nissen in 1995 and thinking back on things, I've probably had this odd pain (we are talking debilitating, stop everything you're doing and gasp pain) .. though it's been diagnosed by several doctors (each with his own ax to grind)
as several different ailments.
I've been told it was tendonitis and bursitis and sent to physical therapy and been put on massive dosages of Motrin for the pain (all of course to no avail), had it diagnosed and operated on twice in one year, and have been told it's all in my head, and would I like to see the nice psychiatrist now?
I've been sent to a pain clinic to "meditate it away" (another variation on the nice psychiatrist theme?)

FINALLY, though I got my request answered and got a referral to Johns Hopkins Gastroenterology.
There I was told that in about 5% of Nissen operations, things don't go so smoothly... that I had reflux (still?!?) and that maybe I have a trapped or damaged nerve or possibly scar tissue and that my stomach isn't stretching to accomodate a meal.
I hope they can help me because my life is falling apart.
I'm currently on Elavil, Vicodin, and Neurontin for pain and have recently been able to eat SMALL meals with tolerable pain.
The Dr. did add Bentyl to this mix, so now I'm taking 4 meds that make you sleepy and give you constipation. So I'm now on Miralax as well. I'm hoping that this doctor can do everything that needs doing at Johns Hopkins. I will have to wait a few days before I hear his take on the ph test he did on me.

Last September I started seeing a good gastro Dr. who did all manner of tests on my gallbladder and pancreas only to find nothing wrong. He put me on the Elavil at 10mg and I'm now on 75 mg and I still have the pain.

I had diaphragmic spasms after my Nissen... maybe it was esophageal spasms... nobody ever explained it to me... I just found relief with Levsin (anti-spasmodic) but that doesn't help me now.
It was interesting to read here in this forum that the diaphragm's nerves are in the left shoulder. I never heard that before!  I'm so glad to have found this forum!
But... hearing that a Nissen doesn't last but 7-10 years is mighty depressing.  Then what? Does anybody know?
I hope you are able to get help with your pain.  I know last fall I was almost praying that I had gallstones and then got so depressed when all was normal.

I'll stop back to check on your outcome and tell you what happens with me.
...and I'll be praying for you.
God Bless

[NNB]

I had a total gastrectomy 3-months ago and since I have had severe pain in my upper arm and neck area. the pain seems to worsen at night when I am sleeping. The doctors dont beleive it has anything to do with surgery but this has been going on since then. According to the info posted that the nerve endings of diaphram are somehow connected to the shoulders.

[DSteinitz]

The pain in my left shoulder feels like it also going into my neck. I do have gallbladder problems and will have it removed on May 20th 2002. I hope that pain goes away after the surgery is complete. I don't know if my diaphram is the cause since I have just had about every test imaginable. Just finished an upper GI last week, and is negective.
I will post so more information as to my progress after the surgery next week. By the way I also feel the typical pain below my right rib area and hurts everyday. Wondering if that is causing my chronic shoulder pain???
Don

[emotions327]

it sounds wierd but pain in your LEFT shoulder is directly related to your diaphram. Did this happen after u ate a big meal or do u have a bad stomachache or consipated. Its wierd but the nerve endings for your diaphram are located in your left shoulder. I found this out after i had my nissan fundoplication, a stomach surgery for reflux. I had an epidural in and i though i moved the wrong way or did somethinh to a nerve so i called the doctor in and he told me its from my diaphram, they had filled my stomach with air so they could sere it better during the surgery and the air was causing pressure on my diaphram thus hurting my shoulder. I also get this all the time if i eat too much