Left shoulder pain. Considering band removal. If you've done the same, did you get relief?

I agree with the rest and do whatever you have to to get it out. I never had the left shoulder pain until after my band was out but as long as I don't eat too much I don't get it so I guess that's a good thing. But yes it's time to get it out I had to self pay but worth it to get rid of the pain.

Thanks everyone!

Still feeling a little shocked and quite frankly angry at the realization that this is most likely band related. This whole time I thought it was an injury. Even more devastating is now knowing that no pain reliever, cortisone, or PT will help. The pain has been excruciating!!! Today was a really bad day so I'm feeling super emotional.  

I haven't even started to think about insurance for removal and/or revision. I have different insurance now. Additionally, my surgeon is some big wig at the hospital now and stopped seeing patients last year. Now I have to see someone new at the practice. Ugh! I had a cat scan & endoscopy in Sept '13 -  when I was having the abdominal pain and they said the band looked good. Anxious to see how the video esophagram goes. 

I'm not yet in the head space to think about what a battle this is going to be.

If you don't mind saying - how much was self pay? 

It really IS excruciating. I feel for you so much.  If you feel up to it, do some Googling... there's really a lot of information about the band and its effect on the Vagus nerves (part of the Phrenic nerve system, but the band seems to kind of "target" the Vagus nerve a lot.) It can cause extreme referred left shoulder pain, runny nose, hiccuping, sneezing, headache and jaw pain... those nerves control a lot of bodily functions. And the diaphragm is also affected by the band (and the nerves run from the base of the skull, down through the diaphragm, and into the top portion of the stomach.) 

Definitely look into insurance for removal. Get a doctor to help you, if need be. Mine insisted that I was going to die from complications if it wasn't removed. (My stomach was twisted into a Figure 8!)  The tests that my surgeon did showed "everything was fine"... but then, after I was unable to have a bowel movement for more than a week, I sought out a different surgeon. He determined that everything was not, in fact, fine. And I'm glad I had the band removed before it could do even more damage. It can really cause tremendous complications. I hope you'll be able to move forward. Please, if you need support or help in any way, feel free to contact me. I'll help you however I can.

Hopefully someone can answer your question about the self paying. A lot has changed since I had my band. I think a lot of insurance companies are sticklers now... but if you keep calling and if you have the support of a doctor *****commend removal, I think it could be feasible. Good luck! 

I hope you feel better soon. 

I had left shoulder pain for no reason...xrays were negative and PL did not help.   It went away as soon as my band was emptied. I had the band removed just a few days ago and have had no shoulder pain since. 

I had my band for over 5 years.  Then slowly I started to feel crummy.  Exhaustion, leg pains, pain and swelling in my wrists and ankles, heart burn and a hard swelling in my abdomen where the band was.  I couldn't lay in my left side because it felt like I was laying on a broom.  Everything I ate and drank sat in my throat.  All the fluid was removed from the band and nothing changed.  I was sent to a specialist about the huge swelling that developed on my wrist and he was certain that I had RA. (Rheumatoid Arthritis)  I was sent to an endo who agreed, and ran a litany of tests.  EVERYTHING came back normal, except my SED rate was thru the roof.  Surgery was done on the wrist to try to figure out what was causing the huge mass.  (MRI didn't show much)  When they got in, they discovered a ton of synovial goo that was literally eating the tendons in my wrist.  They had to be scraped and the goo removed and sent off to biopsy.  Again, they were certain it was RA destroying my tendons.  Biopsy came back clear.  At that point they started looking at any foreign object in my body that could be triggering the autoimmune response and obviously the band was the number 1 suspect.  After reading through pages and pages of information from the manufacturer, on page 14, in tiny print, it stated:  If you or anyone in your family has an autoimmune disorder, you are not a candidate for the band.  If you develop symptoms of any autoimmune disorder while the band is in place, the band should be removed as soon as possible.  So after discussing it with my surgeon, she agreed the band needed to go.  Within a month of the band being out most of my symptoms were gone and within 3 months I felt like a new person.  Funny how, often times, you don't realize how sick you are until you are better.  One thing it left me with was a severe silicone allergy.  I had to replace all my CPAP masks with cloth masks because suddenly they began causing my face to swell and break out in huge purple hot burning welts wherever it touched my face.  Now I am classified as a Latex/Silicone allergy.  But the band is gone and I felt so much better!  I went 2 years on my own but it didn't work out and I have been Sleeved for 3 and 1/2 weeks now and I so wish I had done this first.  The recovery from the sleeve has been a much easier experience for me and I have already lost 1/2 of my total loss from the band in just these 3 and 1/2 weeks.  Best of luck to you!  I hope you get figured out and find the relief you need!  I'll keep you in my prayers!  

BTW:  And my insurance company paid for my band to be removed, in full.  My surgeon told them it was medically necessary because it was making me very sick.  

I'm so glad to hear you're doing better now. Thank you for sharing your experience, Deb. 

"Funny how, often times, you don't realize how sick you are until you are better."

So true!! I got the band to get healthier and it would appear it was poisoning me!

My surgeon's office was very supportive. They even got a denial over turned w/ my insurance company. I had my band removed yesterday. Feeling kind of crappy today but overall not too bad.

I will report back on my shoulder once some time has passed.

Another interesting item:

I have Scoliosis and had 2 MAJOR spinal fusions when I was a teenager. I chalk all back pain up to that. About 2 yrs after getting the band I developed Sciatica. Having about 1-3 flare ups a year. I just had a really bad one last week. Barely able to function & go to work. I was worried about recovering from abdominal surgery w/ my back in that state. Guess what? It's completely better now!! I haven't taken any pain killers today. Maybe that was band related too because of the vagus nerve? Ugh! 

I just wanted to check in with you, Candle, and see if you're still feeling better. I hope so. 

This used to be such a busy forum. What happened?