Bad pain in left shoulder blade when breath in deep, around ovulation and period only. Really worried...

[sara75]

Am really scared cos googled left shoulder pain when breath in deep and it comes up with lung cancer, tumors, heart problems amongst other deadly conditions. Am going to the doctors on Mon but am really scared.

Over the last few months it's happened but was very mild and not when I breath in deep, then last month pain a bit stronger, then this month the pain is strong but this is the first month it's hurt when I breath in deep which is the thing that is scaring me.

Im not coughing or out of breath, and I can manage to get a deep breath by putting chin down to chest. This is the 2nd day of it as it started yesterday with my period, and I had it with the last 2 ovulations aswell, like I say to lesser degree.

Any advice would be appreciated.

Sara xx

(diagnosed with endo in p.o.d. apr 2013 via lap, currenlty awaiting date for 2nd lap).

[sara75]

Forgot to say, could it just be referred pain from the endo? Would that cause pain the the left shoulder, and when you breath in deep? x

[Immunewolf21]

Hi ya I know that when we grow in the womb the phrenic nerve is attached to where the reproductive organs will be and sometimes you can get refferred pain there they call it shoulder tip pain. endo can grow on the nerve but is uncommon. Hope this helps xx vicky

[sara75 in reply to Immunewolf21]

Hi Vickytoria and thanks. It isn't actually the shoulder TIP that hurts though, it's the shoulder blade - if you take your right hand and reach over your left shoulder with your palm flat (so your elbow is in front of your face) thats the area that hurts - its basically the top left of your back.

Also the same pain when I turn my head to the left so I can't look over my left shoulder. And I can manage to breath in deep when I lie down.

Could it still be referred pain, or is it just if it is the tip? xx

[Impatient]

If you have trapped gas just under the diaphragm after an op - the gas pain is felt in the right shoulder blade.

So if you have active endo in that region it could also cause pain to be felt in the shoulder blade too.

If the pain is following your cycle and much worse when your are on a period or ovulating than at other times - it really is hinting that it could be endo being active which is causing referred pain.

All the nasties you discovered on google will not be hanging around calmly waiting for a period. So put your mind at ease. They will be consistent and persistent pains. Not made worse or better by a period.

If it is troubling you please see your GP and keep a pain diary so you can show what days you are in pain - strength of the pain- versus the days of ovulation and starting a period.

Proving there is a pattern to this should get you referred to a surgeon who can investigate and if necessary surgically remove the endo if it there.

[sara75 in reply to Impatient]

Hi Impatient and thanks! The thing is, my pain is the LEFT shoulder blade - I did read that if its in the diaphragm that 92% of the time pain is referred to the right shouler blade, 5% the left like mine, and 3% to both - it did make me think mine was highly unlikely to be diaphragm/lung but maybe im one of the 5%!! And like you say, anything nasty wouldn't be cyclical - it just worries me about the breathing in deep pain, but I'm seeing the doc tomorrow about it. Thanks again Impatient. Sara xx

[batty]

I have endometriosis in my lung and the symptoms are breathlessness, coughing up blood and pain in my shoulder. When I told my consultant about the shoulder pain he said it's common to have referred pain there if the endometriosis is on the diaphragm or in the lung. I've had surgery to remove it, though it's grown back again, and manage the pain with psin relief and reflexology. There is a pressure point on your hand at the base of your thumb/start of your palm that if you rub and massage helps to ease the pain. I hope that helps. Make sure you push to get it investigated and ensure that you get a diagnosis. My gp at the time sent me for an xray which showed nothing so tried to fob me off. It was only because my consultant recognised it when I mentioned it to him that they investigated further.

[sara75 in reply to batty]

Hi Batty thanks for replying! My gp isn't too good either so Im going to see the other one there, luckily though I get my hospital gynae app next Wed to get referred for another Lap and the gynae is very good so Im sure she'll listen. When I get a moment I'll try try rubbing the pressure point to see if it helps me so thanks for that! I'm sorry yours has grown back again Batty and hope the pain management is giving you some relief. Sara xx

[shukudai]

Hi I get chest and upper back pain around my period and ovulation times. The different is I get mainly on my right hand side. My pain is on the upper side of chest and just behind of it which is on the edge of my right shoulder blade and on the bad day the pain goes down to my right arm.

My GP thinks I may have endo in my chest area as the pain comes mainly around my period and ovulation. My consultant checked my diaphragm during the lap last October (he said diaphragm is routinely checked in his procedure) but he didn't find anything. He also said the fact he didn't find anything at the lap doesn't mean I don't have endo there. All he could tell me is he couldn't see any on that time. He found lots of adhesion and some endo in my pelvic area.

So he wants me to go on Decapeptyl to induce fake menopause for 3 months to see if I still get pain during these times. I also have referral to the Respiratory department from GP but the appointment is in April so I have to wait.

If you can, you could go on a BC pill or get your consultant to give you a fake menopause injection to stop ovulation and period and see if you still get your shoulder pain. If your pain goes it could be related to your endo but if you still get pain you could ask GP to refer to the Chest department.

I just had my first Decapeptyl injection so it is too early to say. I think I just getting over with the flare and I started my period and suffering with period pain so I have to see the next week if I get chest pain during the ovulation.

I hope you find a way to find out.

Take care

xxx

[sara75 in reply to shukudai]

Hello Shukudai, I do hope once the flare up goes, you'll find it helps. I can't have ANY hormones at all for health reasons including the pill or device thingy (!) in the womb which is v mild, so for me its removing the endo everytime it gets too bad - my last one was last apr and im waiting to get referred for another. Don't fancy a lap every year til the menopause but if I want any quality of life and pain relief, I've got no choice. I should also be doing pain management like Batty has mentioned and I am seriously going to - have you tried any of this?

When you say in your chest, do you mean the lung or do you mean elsewhere in the chest? I've read 9/10 any diaghragm/lung endo will cause referred pain in right shoulder and 5% in right (3% in both) which made me think it probably won't be endo related with me, but then it appears to be cycle related!?! Horrible condition! Sara xx

[shukudai in reply to sara75]

Hi sara,

I am sorry that you can't have any hormones treatment. I can't have any Pills so the injections was the last resort. At the moment I am not doing very well on mental wise but I will give it a go a bit longer. I have HRT so that is the problem, maybe.

My chest pain is upper side of my right chest. If you cover right breast with your left hand touching the nipple by the little finger, my hurting point is where the index finger is. It is difficult to explain but I hope you could roughfuly understand where it is. It is quite high up and it hurts behind there too towards the upper back so it could be through my right lung?

I get pain on the lower bit where the lowest rib are but it is not as painful as my chest/back pain.

I had really bad chest pain in December during my period. I really couldn't breath in or out easily and really scared me. It calmed down later so I didn't go to the doctor until I got better. My GP told me to have X-ray ASAP next time I get that symptom.

I had left chest pain before this regular right chest pain started but it wasn't as regular as this. I have an abnormal ECG and the cardio department discharged me 3 years ago that my heart is healthy enough that time. I had already had breathlessness then but nothing was investigated then so I thought that was nothing to do with endo as I didn't know endo could go into the chest that time.

Lung endo is rare and left lung endo is even rarer but there is some people who gets it. Don't give up pushing until you get investigation.

Is Batty talking about acupressure points? If so I do that for all sorts of thing, period pain, migraine, there are point for chest area in the hand. If you Google acupressure you can find them It does work sometime for me but my finger gets tired before I get better most of the time recently... But I recommend you to do that no chemical used and no side effect.

Good luck.

xxx

[claire56]

Hi there honey. Please read about me think you may have same problem as me.

[sara75]

Hi ladies, I'm breathing a lot better today - it's still there but I can breath in deeper before it hurts and when it does hurt, it's not as sharp. The whole area of the left shoulder blade feels more achey today like when you've had really bad cramp in your leg and then it aches for ages after|? Still seeing the doc about it tomorrow and next Wed I've got my hospital gynae appointment to be referred for another lap so will tell them there aswell. Thanks for everyone's support! Sara xx

[dakotaj in reply to sara75]

Updates? Did pain leave? What did doctor say?

[Cindyloo in reply to sara75]

Hi Sara,

What was the outcome of this pain you experienced?. I'm having something that sounds very similar. what was your outcome?

Thanks, Cindy

[sara75 in reply to Cindyloo]

I sorry for the late reply, I havent been on this board for a while now due to circumstances but the pain I was having just stopped. Think I got it one more time after I posted on this thread and hasn't appened since. The doctor didn't have a clue what it could be, but I have since had tests and both my heart and lungs are fine and nothing unusual on x-rays, so I'm at a loss as to what caused it.x

[PainfulMe]

I'd first like to say that I am not attempting to diminish your pain or issue at all - and by no means am I recommending that you do not get it checked out.

I used to have a very similar problem. Every month around my period I would get horrible pain under my right shoulder blade..It would get so bad that my arm would go numb, and even breathing made it worse... there was no relief... The stress of the pain made the pain worse, and so the cycle continued endlessly.

In time, and through counselling for other issues - I came to realize that my pain in my shoulder was a stress trigger... And when I started doing some stress relieving techniques and focusing on releasing whatever was trapped there... The problem went away.

Now, that doesn't work for absolutely any other type of pain that I have, or diminish the amount of pain that I experience via endo every day...but... I thought perhaps it would be helpful to read - I don't know if you have access to acupuncture, meditation, yoga, etc... but these things may also be of assistance.