Left shoulder pain + sinus issues with lapband

The lapband definitely affects the Vagus nerves that run through the diaphragm and wander through the digestive system. I'm not a doctor or a specialist, but I've been through it. 

And I HAD to research this because no one could help me when I was experiencing it.  Referred left shoulder pain is very common with banded patients. But you may also experience sinus issues, sneezing, coughing, hiccuping. Here is some information that I gathered for anyone who may be having these types of issues.  Although they are fairly common, a lot of doctors only have anecdotal evidence so they tend to not mention it to their patients.         Please know that this is intended to be helpful, not a scare tactic.  

 

 
 

The vagus nerve is either one of two cranial nerves which are extremely long, extending from the brain stem all the way to the viscera. The vagus nerves carry a wide assortment of signals to and from the brain, and they are responsible for a number of instinctive responses in the body. You may also hear the vagus nerve called Cranial Nerve X, as it is the 10th cranial nerve, or the Wandering Nerve. A great deal of research has been carried out on the vagus nerve, as it is a rather fascinating cranial nerve.

Vagus is Latin for “wandering," and it is an accurate description of this nerve, which emerges at the back of the skull and meanders in a leisurely way through the abdomen, with a number of branching nerves coming into contact with the heart, lungs, voicebox, stomach, and ears, among other body parts. The vagus nerve carries incoming information from the nervous system to the brain, providing information about what the body is doing, and it also transmits outgoing information which governs a range of reflex responses.

The vagus nerve helps to regulate the heart beat, control muscle movement, keep a person breathing, and to transmit a variety of chemicals through the body. It is also responsible for keeping the digestive tract in working order, contracting the muscles of the stomach and intestines to help process food, and sending back information about what is being digested and what the body is getting out of it.

 

When the vagus nerve is stimulated, the response is often a reduction in heart-rate or breathing. In some cases, excessive stimulation can cause someone to have what is known as a vaso-vagal response, appearing to fall into a faint or coma because his or her heart rate and blood pressure drop so much. Selective stimulation of this nerve is also used in some medical treatment; vagus stimulation appears to benefit people who suffer from depression, for example, and it is also sometimes used to treat epilepsy.

Most of the time, you don't notice the actions of the right and left vagus nerves, but you probably would notice if this nerve ceased to function as a result of disease or trauma, because the vagus nerve is one of the many vital nerves which keeps your body in working order. Without the functions of the vagus nerve, you would find it difficult to speak, breathe, or eat, and your heartbeat would become extremely irregular.




Article Details

• Written By: S.E. Smith
• Edited By: Bronwyn Harris
• Last Modified Date: 14 February 2012
• Copyright Protected:
  2003-2012 Conjecture Corporation

Statement from a woman who was diagnosed with Vagus nerve irritation-damage:

I just had an egg size lipoma removed from the base of my neck and for the first time in ten years I do not cough all night and wake up gagging so hard that sometimes I vomit. I used to think it was caused by sinus drainage or allergies. This has changed my life!! I told my surgeon I am going to give her a big hug at my follow up appointment.


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The left vagus nerve enters the thorax between left common carotid artery and left subclavian artery and descends on the aortic arch. It gives rise to the left recurrent laryngeal nerve, which hooks around the aortic arch to the left of the ligamentum arteriosum and ascends between the trachea and esophagus. The left vagus further gives off thoracic cardiac branches, breaks up into pulmonary plexus, continues into the esophageal plexus, and enters the abdomen as the anterior vagal trunk in the esophageal hiatus of the diaphragm.




The diaphragm is directly above the stomach and curves around it. The stomach (and band and tubing) can touch the diaphragm (and the Vagus nerves) directly.




Helpful information:

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2676840/

(This article is specifically about lapbanding and chronic cough issues.)


From lapbandtalk forum:

Sinus Drainage after Lapband Surgery?

I have had the same problem since being banded. Not throwing up, but coming close. And lots and lots of mucus. My primary care physician has me on nasonex, which has helped some.

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There is a lot of info in this article that is helpful:
http://www.medicinenet.com/gastroesophageal_reflux_disease_g erd/page4.htm


 

Fluid in the sinuses and middle ears

The throat communicates with the nasal passages. In small children, two patches of lymph tissue, called the adenoids, are located where the upper part of the throat joins the nasal passages. The passages from the sinuses and the tubes from the middle ears (Eustachian tubes) open into the rear of the nasal passages near the adenoids. Refluxed liquid that enters the upper throat can inflame the adenoids and cause them to swell. The swollen adenoids then can block the passages from the sinuses and the Eustachian tubes. When the sinuses and middle ears are closed off from the nasal passages by the swelling of the adenoids, fluid accumulates within them. This accumulation of fluid can lead to discomfort in the sinuses and ears. Since the adenoids are prominent in young children, and not in adults, this fluid accumulation in the ears and sinuses is seen in children and not adults.

 

(If you have reflux or trouble swallowing, it can affect the sinuses.) 



If you're experiencing left shoulder pain, consult your doctor and rule out any cardiac issues first. If the pain has come on after lapbanding, you might want to discuss the possibility of Vagus nerve irritation or damage with your doctor. Permanent damage to the diaphragm or Vagus nerve is definitely NOT a good thing to have. Especially if you read the articles and realize just how helpful those nerves are in a healthy functioning body.






See how everything is kind of "squished" together and not neatly compartmentalized? If you have a foreign body on your stomach, it's also going to affect the surrounding organs.
A hiatal hernia can cause the stomach to push through the opening in the diaphragm (where the esophagus comes through) and press against the heart and lungs.











 

Here are some of the ways bands can slip, causing discomfort, pain, and strange symptoms:

 

Nikki C, there is information I found specifically for you regarding the sinus type issues you're experiencing.   I hope you'll read through the articles and they help you at least somewhat.

~Nicci

Thanks Nicci!  I am just seeing this thread now!  Thanks for posting everything and follow my posts.  I'm having a MUCH better week this week! I hope it stays that way!

Hi Nikki,

I'm glad you're feeling better this week! Hope the pain and discomfort is gone for good.

I know there's a LOAD of stuff in this thread, but I figured I'd just put it all into one big ole thread rather than repeat myself yet again.  

Take care,
Nicci

Bump

Tomorrow makes a month I've been banded and for the past week I haven't stopped sneezing, coughing and the left shoulder won't let up. Having to blow my nose constantly. The first three weeks the sharp stabbing and burning pain wouldn't go away and now this. I don't want to live like this.

If your are only a month out, have you had a fill yet?  I was 6 weeks out before the first fill.  The left shoulder pain at this point may still just be the gas working it's way out of your body yet.  The sneezing, coughing and noise blowing didn't start for me until later.  They were my stop eating signals.

Sorry you are going thru this.

Have you called your doctor?  This is not normal.  Please call.  

no I do not have a fill, and I saw my doc two weeks post op and when I told him about my burning and stabbing pain he said that was nerve damage and gave more Percocets. I have an appointment for a fill in two weeks which Im not sure if I will do it considering how bad Im feeling. I will keep the appointment but to discuss my condition and options.

 

I am so very sorry you're experiencing this Barbara. Are the painkillers even helpful? Nothing helped the referred left shoulder pain I had...except band removal. I feel terrible that yet another person is going through this. Please consider joining us in the failed bands group in my signature line. No one will imply that you are responsible for the band's failure...unlike on this forum.