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Pain below shoulder blades following gallbladder removal

Posted by jasminemb @jasminemb, Apr 13, 2021

Hello. I have pain in my back, think of where a bra sits on the back. I associated the pain with my gallbladder. I had my gallbladder removed 10 days ago, but I still have this aching. At times it’s dull and at other times it’s more pronounced. Some days I don’t really get it. My husband suggested maybe it’s nerve pain, that some nerves became damaged due to the inflammation of the gallbladder. I also tend to get really bad knots in my neck/shoulders/shoulder blade area. I’m just wondering if anyone has dealt with this aching. Whether or not my husband’s theory could be correct or if it could have to do with the knots. The doctors keep saying it’s trapped gas, but this is the same pain I’ve been dealing with for over a year, ever since the gallbladder issues started.

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Mentor
Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | Apr 13, 2021

Hello @jasminemb and welcome to Mayo Clinic Connect. I am sorry to hear of your pain below the shoulder blades. From what you said in your post, it sounds like you had this both before and after your surgery. Is that correct?

We have a number of discussions ongoing about problems after gallbladder surgery. I would encourage you to read these posts and connect with anyone who has had similar problems as yours. Here is a link to one of those discussions on pain after gallbladder surgery.
https://connect.mayoclinic.org/discussion/post-cholesectomy-gallbladder-removal-chronic-back-pain/?pg=2#comment-233883
If you are comfortable sharing more, would you explain the kind of surgery you had? Was it invasive or was it a Laparoscopic procedure (minimally invasive)?

REPLY
dianab08 | @dianab08 | Oct 28 1:50pm

Hello @jasminemb, I've been searching for the answer to this same symptom for over 4 years. Every time I explain the pain between my shoulder blades/mid back to a GI doctor-they haven't a clue. Have you gotten any answers that have proven helpful?

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Mentor
Teresa, Volunteer Mentor | @hopeful33250 | Oct 29 5:08pm
In reply to @dianab08 "Hello @jasminemb, I've been searching for the answer to this same symptom for over 4 years...." + (show)
@dianab08

Hello @jasminemb, I've been searching for the answer to this same symptom for over 4 years. Every time I explain the pain between my shoulder blades/mid back to a GI doctor-they haven't a clue. Have you gotten any answers that have proven helpful?

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Hello @dianab08 and welcome to Mayo Connect. I did a bit of research on your question through Google Scholar and found a number of links that discuss this type of pain in post-gallbladder surgery patients. Here is a link to those discussions.
https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C23&q=post+gallbladder+surgery+pain+between+shoulder+blades&btnG=
I would encourage you to read these discussions to see if you can gain some understanding about this. Is there anything that helps alleviate this pain?

From your post, it appears that your surgery was over four years ago. Was it an open surgery or laproscopic?

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