Left Shoulder Pain After Lap Band Surgery

[annieaple 0]

Yes! I was banded on 7/21.. and I had a lot of shoulder pain the first week. It's been off and on so far this week. If I hold the phone or something for more than 10 minutes with that arm it starts hurting. Getting up and walking around makes it feel better...

[DebLPN 0]

Denise~~

Saw my surgeon about that left arm pain. Mine too was not in my chest or so much the shoulder, but in my bicep and down my arm. He said sometimes teh phrenic nerve in the diaphram can be aggravated by the surgery, but it causes shoulder pain,,not radiating down the arm and numbness,,like I'm having. He said mine sounded more like something cervical related. I AM going to Water aerobics 3 times a week and never had any pain beefore that,,hmmm,,maybe I pinched something. Anyway,,now I have NO pain, but stil some numbness. As long as it doesnt bother my hand or fingers,,I can live with it.

banded 1/29/07

Dr Ken Cleveland-CMMC-Jackson, MS

[JJB 2]

I wish I would have seen this earlier. I have been having this shoulder pain for almost 2 years. It is horrible. My Dr is actually checking with my insurance to see if they can replace my band. I really feel the problem is the way it is placed in there. It feels like it keeps making pockets of air and that is what hurts me. Yes I would still get the band again. And I am happy that I have it. But I dont want to have to take pain killers all the time to be able to get through the day. I would love for my Dr to tell me that this sometime happens. Instead they act like I am an the first person to have this. I feel better now just knowing that there is not something major wrong with me. Good luck to all of you.

[PaulaD 0]

Thank you for all the responses to the left shoulder pain. I, too, noticed that it happens more after a fill and when I drive my car! To all you newbies who are questioning this, please do not worry. I would do it all over again in a heartbeat. I was banded on May 17th of this year and have lost 52lbs. :whoo:

[Fort Bend Band 0]

I had a friend that just got the band and the shoulder pain went away in 4 days. It took a couple of months for it to go away with me. I know someone else that had the band over a year ago and still randomly, at times, will have a day of shoulder pain. It just goes to show that it really is different for everyone but I still have never heard of someone suffering so bad that they regreted the band. Shoulder pain sufferers hang in there! This too shall pass!

[momlambert 77]

I actually like my left shoulder pain--it's my "soft stop" when I'm eating. Once I have the pain I know I better wait until it stops or stop eating altogether or it will get way worse and then I'll PB. My husband can always tell that I'm through when I unconsciously put my right hand up to my shoulder blade and start rubbing it. I don't get the "stuck pill" feeling until it's way too late to avoid a PB. So...I LIKE it!

[DebLPN 0]

Welllllllllllll I havent posted in ages, BUT,,I had shoulder pain,,never could figure out what it was,,my surgeon poo-poohed the idea it was gallbladder related, blah blah blah,,,,I had a horrific gallbladder attack this past Monday, went to the ER, was admitted and had my gallbladder removed the next morning. I've got an 8 x 10 color glossy of it in a basin and it looks awful! haha

I had my monthly visit with my surgeon the week before the attack,,and told him my upper right back was hurting(this was months after my original complaints) and he palpated my abdomen and once again said, NO,its not your gallbladder. Pffft

He already thinks I'm a smartass,,,but I really want to tell him hey,,,I've lived in this body for 53 years,,i THINK I'm pretty tuned into knowing when something is wrong. I'm a nurse,,I'm educated about anatomy and physiology and by God,,listen to me for a change and stop acting like you're the ultimate authority on MY BODY!!!!!!!!! Now,,,,,I feel better! hahahaha

Ohyeah,,I had started a new job that I'm loving not quite 2 weeks before my surgery,,and once angain,,,didn't have insurance,,so its another whopper of a medical bill in my lap. ohwell,,such is life :-)

[Coco 0]

Hi All,

I've been banded since 3rd Jan 07, and 10 days after the op I went back to find out why I had this left shoulder pain and also pain in my left side. I had 2mls in my 8ml band from the surgery and the nurse took out 1ml and the pain disappeared. I still have the left shoulder pain from time to time usually for a short time after a fill or after a meal.

The reason we get left shoulder pain is the pouch swells and leans on a nerve which is connected to our shoulder and thats why we feel the pain there.

Before using pain killers I would reccommend going on liquids for 48 hours that kinda washes out the pouch and gives it time for the swelling to reduce.

Any pain in your body is your body's way of telling you something is wrong. Don't put up with pain, have it checked out. If you have been suffering a long time with this pain you may need a slight defill. Sometimes all it takes is -.5ml or less.

[mtndew_42 0]

I also had left shoulder pain after surgery and I still have some. They say it will eventually go away. I can say mine has diminished alot since right after surgery but it is still there. I was told it was from the gas used during surgery.

[momlambert 77]

I also had left shoulder pain after surgery and I still have some. They say it will eventually go away. I can say mine has diminished alot since right after surgery but it is still there. I was told it was from the gas used during surgery.

yes, I think that's true but there are some of us who seem to have it hang on way after the gas subsides (like 7 months now for me). But mine only comes when I'm starting to eat too much. I think there is a nerve there that is somehow near or trapped into the band and it screams when irritated by food. My theory.

[Coco 0]

I also had left shoulder pain after surgery and I still have some. They say it will eventually go away. I can say mine has diminished alot since right after surgery but it is still there. I was told it was from the gas used during surgery.

Hi mtndew

The pain associated with gas from the op will go on day three. FACT. After my op I suffered with the gas pains but they were different from the left shoulder pain. Gas Pain is everywhere in your upper back across both shoulders and the best way to relieve it is to walk around. On day three it goes away. The left shoulder pain is a pain like someone is poking their finger in the middle of the front of your left shoulder. That pain is associated with the band, either you have eaten too much and swelled the pouch temporiarily or you may be over filled either way its important to take note of how you're feeling what you ate before the pain and how long it lasted. Its also a good idea to write these things down so you can compare notes from day to day. Its amazing the things we tend to forget about particularly if like me you've always put every ache and pain down to being overweight. Also, sometimes we don't notice the pain going away, we just notice it arriving and hanging around a bit. Tune in to your bodies, its worth it.

[Tonks 0]

My doctor told me bofre the surgery about the shoulder pain. for me it was not that bad, I had it for almost four weeks, but was not that bad.

[gardenqueen 0]

I've had a constant, aching shoulder that sometimes turns into tingling in my left hand/fingers. I can't figure out any causes or relations to eating or exercising though. It gets worse at night. My nurse practioner said it was caused by repositioning during surgery, and that it is nerve damage. Well, I'd really like to know what the hell they did while I was under because my shoulder was fine before - in good shape even, I'm pretty muscular. So you think it is the band sitting/pressing on a nerve? How do you cure that?

[mtndew_42 0]

My left shoulder pain is finally gone. What I am dealing with now is sharp stabbing pain near my port. I have been told it the nerves and muscles need to repair from surgery. So I am giving it more time to see if that is the case. I cannot wait until I am feeling back to normal.:clap2:

[KINGFISH1 0]

I had my band removed nearly 2 weeks ago and am still suffering from the dreaded shoulder tip pain. I understood that it had something to do with the gas that is used to inflate the abdominal cavity for laparoscopic operations, and that bubbles of gas find their way up to the highest point. When I had my band fitted in 2005 it took months for the shoulder tip pain to disappear.

I will keep you posted when I am over the shoulder tip pain.

Marion