Sharp pain in armpit

Hi there! New to this site and PM/heart issues. I am a 34yo female in Southern California with SVT and Wolfe-Parkinson-White Syndrome. Went into the ER on Nov 26 for what I thought was lung issues and was quickly told it was my heart. I had a myocardial ablation scheduled for Nov 30th for the SVT but it was quickly bumped to Wednesday the 28th as concern grew at a rapid speed. The Ablation was 3 1/2 hrs long and caused more reason for concern. Tests on the 29th resulted in the decision for a PM to be implanted on the 30th in the afternoon... by 8am Friday morning, my heart was struggling to beat any faster than 30bpm and with a Mobitz type 1 rhythm, I had an emergency PM placement starting at 8:30am. 

That night, I had complications with my IV and the nurse twisted my left arm looking for a new vein to place it into. I retracted my arm and the pain went from a 6 to a 10 in a split second. It took several days for the shoulder/collarbone/armpit pain (feels like a torn muscle but it is not) to go down. 

Fastforward to today, while assisting my family with groceries righthandedly, there is a sharp pain in my armpit (the muscle on the front outter part of the arm crease of the armpit) like someone is stabbing it and twisting the knife. Anybody else feel this?!? I haven’t seen it specifically addressed yet but do see all the messages and comments about general arm/shoulder pain. Just curious if this is different or included in those references.

I am 11 days post op, at home and functioning very well one-handedly (thankfully it is my dominant hand). Doctor says I am looking at at least a month before any range-of-motion returns in my left arm due to the excessive strain the first night post-op. There is still extreme tenderness of the site, incision, entire shoulder and occasion muscle cramps in my left bicep that I can relieve by flexing my hand in and out of a fist.

Also noticing if I don’t put my arm in the sling for the majority of the day, that sharp pain in the armpit gets stronger while I have the sling off. Same with putting any weight on the right shoulder (like a purse or shopping bag).

Thank you all for this community to turn to for support and advice. I have enjoyed and benefited from the numerous posts across all the forums!! Sorry this was so long!!!!

3 Comments

Sharp arm pain

by MissyG - 2018-12-12 01:04:43

I am almost 6 week post op this Friday. 1-2 weeks post op I also experienced some tenderness in my forearm and bicep as well. My EP said that is normal and  recommended some exercises of rotating my wrist and stretching my hand. Are you still wearing the sling? I noticed that around my 3rd week without wearing the sling so much the tenderness subsided. Hopefully as time of healing the pain and tenderness gets easier. 

To MissyG

by 2young4this - 2018-12-12 12:04:26

Yes, I am still wearing the sling. (Just edited the original post to include that before reading your response.) Some of the others on this site have strongly advocated for minimal use of the sling in order to avoid a frozen shoulder, but I find more issues if I don’t wear it. That’s sharp pain between the incision and armpit gets stronger if I go too long without wearing the sling. Same thing occurs if I put weight on my right shoulder (like a purse or shopping bag of 3-8lbs). It wouldn’t surprise me if this pain is par for course... perhaps I should ask what has helped y’all relieve this pain (without meds)? Flexing of the wrist and such are all I have tried thus far, so thanks!!

To ar_vin & an Update

by 2young4this - 2018-12-13 14:56:47

Thank you. The usual caveat was also included in the discharge orders, though the recommendation of how long to wear the sling was not. Yesterday I bit the bullet and didn’t wear the sling except for a few hours of an outing. I pretty much babied it regardless but also realized I have a little more range of motion than originally expressed. 

Driving is the biggest challenge in coping with the seatbelt strap over the incision and getting the throbbing/stabbing pain in the armpit. But, it feels good to have to stretch it in small increments as tolerated. I have found that sleeping against a pillow reduces the pain at night. I lay on my right sight but if I try to lay on my belly, I place a very soft (not firm) pillow between my left shoulder and the bed. It takes the struggle of repositioning away and reduced the stabbing pain in my sleep. 

Hope this helps someone else. And thank you to the others who have shared so much already. The mental relief in knowing I am not alone helps tremendously. 

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