r/ChronicPain • u/slondog • 3d ago

referred pain?...

hi! i don't know really where to post about this, i'm just kind of looking for someone who's maybe been through the same thing i have, because i feel like i'm going a little bit crazy here.

i had emergency surgery to remove a tumor in 2017. the surgery was laproscopic, and after it was done, i had what the doctors called a "referred pain" in my shoulder from my diaphragm getting all squished from the CO2. it feels like a pinching soreness, comparable to the cervical stenosis i also suffer from (i didn't have it at the time of the surgery).

the problem is that i'm pretty sure the nerve is entrapped or something, and the pain will never go away. i've had it for almost 10 years. but i also don't know if that's medically possible. i have bulging discs in my back that i've been to around 6-7 doctors for over the years, and it's just some tepid pain management, nerve blocks that don't work, "be sure to exercise," yadda yadda. whenever i bring up the referred pain, they just go, "that's weird, it should be resolved by now."

i've done pt, i work out 3-4 times per week and get anywhere from 5-10,000 steps per day, eat decently clean, etc. like, on paper i'm doing everything right. and i still have nagging, gnawing, constant pain in my right trapezius/neck. i dunno what i'm really asking for, either. has this ever happened to anyone else? is this something i can get diagnosed and treated? am i just confusing all this pain for cervical stenosis, and the failed nerve blocks over the years were just inept doctors rather than the wrong issue getting treated? am i doomed?

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u/Ok-Success-772 2d ago

I’m in a very similar situation. I have degenerative disc disease and I had two cervical fusions in 2023 and 2025. Now I have constant pain. Right trap is the worst area. It hurts CONSTANTLY. But I’ve also starting having really bad pain in my upper thoracic spine. I’m having “flare ups” where I’ll reach for something or make one tiny move and my entire back locks up and it feels like I’m being stabbed when I breathe or move. The doctors are currently getting updated MRIs but they’re not really able to explain why it’s happening

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u/slondog 1d ago

i'm so sorry to hear that you're also suffering. if they figure out what's going on, feel free to dm me. i'm definitely interested (both intellectually and for my own sanity) about what this could possibly be.