Left shoulder Pain

Just wanting some advice.....

I got my lap band April 20, 2009. I had bad gas pains (in my left shoulder) for 2 months after my surgery. I sat on a heating pad just about every morning. Well the shoulder pain did basically go away unless I hadn't eaten for awhile and then my left shoulder would hurt sometimes, but not all that often. Well I never have kept my band very tight for fear of something going wrong with it. I basically just went in for my normal check-ups annually after the first 2 years and got a small fill each time. This year's check-up was February 7, 2013 and I got a .4 cc fill. I have like 7.2 cc's in a 10 cc band right now. Now I can eat 1/2 cup to 1 cup of food. I have never had any issues besides the stuck episodes and some sliming if I was stuck very badly. I've had a flouro every year and on February 7th before and after the fill to make sure the fill was fine and everything looked good. It showed that everything was how it was supposed to be. Well since that fill I am experiencing left shoulder pain in the front of my shoulder just below my collarbone. It feels a lot like the pain I had right after surgery if I am remembering correctly. I am not getting any food stuck or acid reflux or any other negative symptoms after this last fill except for this shoulder pain. I hate to get some of this fill taken out since I am doing ok otherwise, but this shoulder pain concerns me; especially with everything I have read about damage caused by the band in some people. I did lose a total of 67 lbs with the band, but regained about 32 lbs (basically went back to old habits) and now have lost 17 of that 32 lbs. I did think the band would help me to get to a normal BMI, which it didn't. I was still considered overweight on the BMI chart. I know the band has helped me with my portions and helped me lose that 67 lbs, but I have considered getting it removed. All the complications I have read about the band lately scares me to keep it in even though I haven't had an significant problems YET. I am kind of waiting for the ball to drop because it just seems like it is inevitable! I guess I am tired of living with some aspects of the band life as well. My food is always cold before I can fini**** and I don't like social settings for fear of getting something stuck and everyone wondering why I am not eating. I hate when I get something stuck and I am so hungry, but cannot eat until that stuck piece of food passes. There are a lot of negatives that become quite a reality once you experience band life for a good period of time. Even without many complications I hate this band at different times in my life. One experience that will stick out in my mind always is when I was at an amusement park with my family at the company lunch and I ate 2 bites and got food stuck and couldn't even finish my meal, so I just had to go hungry until we all ate again. At that moment I hated my band with the passion and would have removed it myself if I could have....lol! Anyways I just wanted to give a little background of my experience and ask what advice any of you could give me. Thanks!

Oh I forgot to mention that I do have an appointment scheduled for March the 26th to get some fluid taken out if needed. Like I said I really don't know what to do. I go back and forth when my shoulder isn't hurting as bad and think well maybe it will go away since it hasn't been like this from the beginning of this journey, but then at the times it is hurting worse I am thinking I need to get some fill removed. It just hurts randomly. Before I eat, after I eat, really no pattern or anything. It is not very consistent from what I have gathered. Thanks again for any advice!

Also I wanted to add that I do not want to come across as bashing the band in any way. This is just what my experience has been and my feelings since getting banded. After you experience something, sometimes your opinions change. At least mine did. I just feel like the band is a blessing and a curse at times.  

I FEEL YOUR PAIN!! LITERALLY!!!!!!!! you can click on my name and see my story  of left shoulder pain with the band. I was banded in 4/09 stayed at 7cc with a 14cc band, restarted my weight loss on 4/13 and am 25 lbs shy of my goal right now. HOWEVER in October I started having Stabbing, burning shoulder pain (Left) and heartburn which I Never had a problem with before. Doctor didn't believe that it was from my band, each time I had a fill he had to take it back out. During this past month it was the worst it's been I really couldn't eat much at all and the pain just continued to get worse. SO finally after a million visits to numerous Doctor's I had the Surgeon take out 4cc I'm at 5cc now and finally after 1.5 weeks The shoulder pain & discomfort  is Finally starting to lessen. I'm praying that it continues to lessen because this will just VALIDATE what I've been telling him months. I didn't find the posts about Left shoulder pain for months because I truly didn't think their was a connection. WOW was  I wrong and I'm SO Grateful for the people here that have shared there stories. THANK YOU !! you know who you are  

Thank you for your response! My pain comes and goes. I never had this pain before this last fill except right after surgery and maybe every once in awhile if I went awhile without eating. My shoulder pain started with the fill and is worse now than right after the fill. I guess I am going to have them take out what they put in since I wasn't having this issue before and go from there. If it continues to hurt then I will go in and have them take out more. Kind of irritates me though because if I can't have my band tight enough to even help me (in the past I have always kept my band loose), I don't even want the thing in there! Best of luck to you!

The let shoulder pain is very common and so many are unaware of it. Hopefully a partial unfill will help but not always. Part of the problem is that scar tissue builds up under the band and is not visible in tests to check the band. It looks perfectly positioned but underneath it is a nightmare of damage. Stay on top of the pain and anything else that is unusual and always report to your surgeon so if you do need to revise you will have validation of problems, it can make the difference between whether insurance will cover or not when you have bariatric coverage. If you don't have coverage then you are pretty much screwed and self pay. I wish you good luck!!

Thank you for the information! Yeah I am a self-pay patient unfortunately, so I wouldn't be revising if I have the band taken out. I would just try it on my own once again. I don't feel like the band has helped me get off a lot of weight anyways, so if I have to do it on my own I will just try my best and live with what I have......try to stay positive :). The good thing is that my doctor doesn't charge very much to take the band out. I am thankful for that!

Hi Lindsey,

I'm very sorry you're experiencing the horrible referred left shoulder pain that is so common with gastric banding.  I'm sorry, but it's most likely not going to get better as long as you have the band.

Here are some things to read through:

http://forums.bettermedicine.com/showthread.php/3495-diaphra m-amp-left-shoulder-pain/page2

http://anatomynotes.blogspot.com/2006/10/referred-pain.html

http://www.mananatomy.com/body-systems/nervous-system/phreni c-nerves

In this link you'll see some people saying that they "dealt with it" or that it's "just gas"... and those statements are ridiculously misleading and ignorant. The referred left shoulder pain that you're experiencing years after banding is NOT the same as the post surgical pain that occurs with laparoscopic surgery. True referred left shoulder pain that is a complication of gastric banding can be ridiculously painful. I've had laparoscopic surgeries in the past that caused mild left shoulder discomfort. The chronic left shoulder pain that accompanied my band experience was about a thousand times worse.

http://www.lapbandtalk.com/topic/136039-left-shoulder-pain-2 -yrs-later/

You may very well hear a lot of very ignorant statements about how it's gas. It's not. It's nerve damage. And the longer the band irritates those nerves, the worse it gets... until you have permanent damage like I do. After band removal, I had a year of hiccuping, sneezing to the point of passing out... and it was not fun. At least once or twice a week I would be completely incapacitated.  There are so many horrible side effects of the phrenic (vagus) nerve damage, I can't even describe them all.

I am truly very sincerely sorry that you're going through this. You're certainly not alone, not that it helps alleviate your pain at all. Take care.

Thank you for replying! Your posts are where I first learned about left shoulder pain when I started researching. My pain doesn't sound as severe as your pain was, but it has gotten worse and more frequent since right after the fill. I am going to have my doctor remove what was put in at this last fill and go from there. If I continue to have pain then I will go back and have more removed. I am a little scared to leave the band in after reading all of these complications. If I can't even keep it a little bit tighten than I used to than what is the point in having it in my body. My pain comes and goes and sometimes is worse than other times. I don't get food stuck or have heartburn....just this shoulder pain. The good thing is that my doctor doesn't charge a lot to take the band out. I have asked him in an email before because reading all the complications made me want to know the what if factor which seems inevitable at some point! 

This doesn't surprise me.   I do talk a LOT about the left shoulder pain.  It really affected my entire life and I hate seeing anyone else experiencing the same.

It sounds like you have a very realistic, healthy attitude about this. I wish you the very best.