Pain between shoulder blades

[BeingmummyIsTheBestxo]

Currently sat in A & E after GP sent me via ambulance due to horrendous pain in between shoulder blades and radiating toy chest and abdo. Absolutely excruciating. Had some tea and just waiting for th doctor now. I'm freaking out because they said th ECG said sinus arrhythmia. What is this?? I do have gallbladder issues but this pain is not from that. Does anyone know what it could b? Iv literally been roaring in pain since 12 o'clock.

Just a morning check-in from a random Internet person to see how you're feeling & if you got some sleep 😊

How are you doing this morning OP? Hope it's settled for you. X

It settled around 1am and I got fell off to sleep! Still a bit sore this morning!
Going to do an online request at my GP just now and see if they can help me!

I hope the GP takes you seriously this time and doesn't fob you off with muscle pain! Ridiculous.

I'm seeing the GP today finally, I'm going to be quite firm in requesting a scan. I'd convinced myself it was muscular up until yesterday when it returned immediately after eating some buttery eggs on toast (although nowhere near as bad as it was last week). It's still aching this morning 🙄

OP - you have biliary colic . Ie your gallbladder is squeezing around the stones and you have referred pain. This is the most common presentation of gallstones.
Bloods , observations ie your temperature will be normal . US will just show gallstones.
You need to be referred by GP to the general surgery on call team.

Otherwise go back to ED and tell them that you have severe biliary colic with pain relief not touching it. They should send you up to the surgical admission unit to get checked out.

Assuming you're US cos you said ED rather than A&E, cos unfortunately it doesn't work like that here. You'd likely just get sent away with pain meds & told to see your GP who might (might) take you seriously (helped if you're not a middle aged woman 🙄)

Yes I was diagnosed with gallstones in 2022, however I haven't had an attack for almost two years. Until now .

I was fobbed off with costochondritis for ages, you need to be firm and point to patterns about food. Push for a referral, it took me about 4/5 Gp appointments before they referred me, kept telling me to take naproxen. Hope you can get a referral Op x

I had the excruciating shoulder pain when I had a perforated bowel. Apparently it's the bowel gases leaking out, rising through the abdominal cavity and collecting at the back of the chest cavity.

Have you had any medical procedures in the abdominal area or trauma to the abdomen? Mine was due to perforation during a hysteroscopy. A&E said it was a pulled muscle and sent me home

Oh I see the pain started over a week ago! Not going to be perforated bowel then, you would have either been operated on or be dead by now if it was!

Sounds exactly right and comparable to the attacks I had . Worst pain I have ever had.

Nope. Only my c section which was 2 years ago.

Nightmare, OP :-(

Very best of luck persuading the GP to take this seriously today. Be strong!

BTW mine used to come on within less than a minute and stop just as suddenly. Like you, the pain wasn't only between my shoulder blades - it was like a horrible rolling, cramping pain further down as well - but the pain in my back was the worst.

Interesting to see that cat/cow position. I've never done yoga, but that is the exact position I used to adopt in an attack.

Fingers crossed for you x

My gallbladder came out years ago, I still need to stick to a careful diet. Rich fatty foods will set me off something to do with bile acid doing overtime. It's a bugger ain't it.

I get attacks like this, the first time about 10 years ago I thought I was having a heart attack and went to a&e they checked my heart, gallstone and all clear , I have had numerous attacks over the years sweating, back ache , gnawing just below breast bone, and feeling like a belt is being tightened across my upper abdomen, I would get pillows and lie on tummy and stretch my torso to help then the other day I got it again , fell asleep eventually then woke up and even worse , for the first time I took co codomol and it went with in 30 mins, I have literally tried everything else, all indigestion tablets , heartburn tablets , wind tablets, paracetamol, ibuprofen, making myself sick nothing helped. Next time take co codomol and see if it works for you . I have given up now I have seen every doctor/ specialist and no one knows the reason

@Caerulea
Some A&Es are called EDs in the UK.
No need to cast aspersions on olympicsrock. Pretty sure she/he is a UK doctor. If not, their medical knowledge on the general health threads is impeccable.

@bfsham No aspersions being cast, I promise! Never heard a brit refer to ED is all :)

@BeingmummyIsTheBestxo how are you?

Yeah that's what I though on Thursday,,,,4 hours into my shift an ambulance was called and I was blue lighted to the cath lab. Never again will the phrase "oh it's probably just acid reflux" leave my mouth.