What is this pain? Pancreas? Liver?

[IAmAnAlcoholic]

The last few days or so I've had a pain in my upper left abdomen, around my shoulder back. I thought it was muscle strain initially but it moves. It's around the area of my left shoulder. Sometimes behind, sometimes under. When I wake up in the morning it is more in my side (I sleep on my side). Googling it really isn't helping. I can't get to see my GP at the moment. What could this be? It's going to be something bad isn't it?

@IAmAnAlcoholic liver capsular pain (ie with alcoholic liver disease/scarring) is typically felt in the right shoulder and right abdomen. Pancreatitis does tend to felt on the left side but would usually be accompanied by other symptoms including fever, vomiting etc.

It really could be anything but unless you are acutely unwell, turning yellow or in so much pain you couldn’t be on MN, it is more likely to be something not catastrophic.

If you’ve had it a few days and it’s not got significantly worse, it’s likely to be muscular or even diverticulitis.

I know you’re understandably anxious but really none of us can say what it is or is not with any certainty. Have you tried simple measures like analgesia, hot/cold pack, indigestion tablets and did they help?

Thank you @Cunningfungus , I guess it is the guilt affecting my thinking. I have no other symptoms and recent blood tests have come back clear.

Can also be a sign of an eptopic pregnacy which would be a medical emergency.

Those days are long gone but I appreciate you posting.

Stomach or bowel or quite possibly bit of fluid around the lungs. When my liver was quite inflamed from drinking and when I had pancreas issues (I have a long term condition that affects the pancreas), it’s always been on the right just under the rib cage.

That said, if you’re worried and stop drinking, any inflammation - including in the stomach or bowel - should go. Even when my liver results were quite abnormal, they were normal within 4 weeks of me stopping drinking.