Right chest and shoulder blade pain

[RNYKIRSTTY 0]

Hi all,

I’m 4 months post op from gastric bypass surgery. All has been going well until recently. I’ve been getting awful pain in the right of my chest (like under my breast) and also over onto the shoulder blade. It feels like it gets worse after eating. It will be so uncomfortable, achey and even start tingling sensations.

I’ve had a barium swallow test, which showed no issue, an ECG to check my heart and also a gallbladder scan. All tests came back normal. Does anybody else have any ideas for me?

Thanks in advance,

Kirsty

[catwoman7 11,179]

when I had that issue they checked for gallbladder issues - as well as pancreas and liver. Other than some mildly elevated liver values (which are very common after bariatric surgery - they eventually do normalize), everything looked OK. My PCP at the time thought I might be getting an ulcer. so she had me take a PPI and something like Gaviscan to keep my stomach coated (Carafate is another drug they often use for coating). But then I switched PCP's, and the new one had me tested for an ulcer. Nope. So she figured it was probably GERD. At any rate, it went away after awhile and never came back, so who knows what it was (other than not my gallbladder, liver, pancreas, or an ulcer!)

[RNYKIRSTTY 0]

Thanks for your reply! It’s annoying isn’t it not knowing the reason! I’m glad your pain has been relieved.

My surgeon mentioned it may be an esophagal motility issue but haven’t explored that yet so who knows. Seeing him on Saturday anyway. I hope this goes like yours

[2Bsmaller18 436]

I am preop so I can only tell you my experiences not based on surgery. I had terrible pain under my right shoulder blade due to gallbladder issues and had surgery to remove it. The ultrasound of the gallbladder was fine (no stones) but I had a HIDA test done which showed my gallbladder was barely functioning so off the surgery I went. I don't have the terrible pain anymore but get achy pain in the same area due to reflux.

[froufrou 678]

Sounds very much like gallbladder issues.

[RNYKIRSTTY 0]

Thank you both for your replies. I’m worried now thinking they missed something with my gallbladder. I had the ultrasound 31st December (so not that long ago) and the pain was just as bad then. They said there were no issues with it. I’ve had blood tests too. I’m also not getting any pain in my upper abdomen. Honestly I’m just annoyed that I can’t get any answers

[froufrou 678]

When I had gallbladder pains, it was under my right rib and went through to my shoulder - it would happen after eating, especially a fatty meal. Is that what you are having? I think some people can have a grumbling gallbladder and possibly might not show up on scans... it might be worth going back and asking for another look. The trouble is with rapid weight loss is that you chuck out a lot of cholesterol in to your system and that can clog up your gall bladder. I had to have mine removed back in 1994 after I lost 70 lbs.

Don't suffer in silence though - push to have someone take another look.

[RNYKIRSTTY 0]

The pain does occur more after eating or drinking, but it’s much higher up. It’s like behind my right breast and right shoulder blade. It’ll tingle, ache and generally just hurt like crazy.

Im seeing my surgeon on Saturday so hopefully he can sort me out. I’ll mention my gallbladder again just in case too! Thank you again. X

[froufrou 678]

No problem - I hope it goes well! (Another thing it could be is gas pains... they can be REALLY painful. Just another thought).