I had a picc line in my left arm from June 10th through August 22nd of this year. During that time, I had pain in that arm (inside of the upper arm and armpit following the vein used for the picc), but was assured by my doctor that it was first from the insertion and then from overuse and to rest it. The pain ranged from a dull ache to a sharp pain (particularly in the armpit area) and would occasionally radiate down into my chest.

Since the picc has been removed, the pain has continued to occur, more so when I use the arm but also for no particular reason whatsoever. I'm also having dull aching pain in the left shoulder and left side of my neck.

The arm is not swollen or discolored and there doesn't seem to be any loss of mobility or strength, other than what is limited by the pain. When I press upon the area that hurts, the pain increases and the vein feels hard.

It took 4 tries for them to insert the picc because it kept catching on something and I'm wondering if they didn't manage to do some damage in there. The guidewire even crumpled on one attempt.

I've spoken to my doctor about this and she dismissed it as "phantom pain" and refused to pursue the subject further.

Does anyone have any idea what this could be? Possibly more than one issue?

Thank you in advance.