I have had horrible pain up under my left rib cage for the past several hours that goes from my upper abdomen/rib cage to my left shoulder. I am an EMT and did have an EKG done on the ambulance this morning to make sure it was not heart related. The pain is excruciating when I try to breath in and I have found no relief except to curl up in a ball with pressure against my abdomen and chest. I have thought in the past when I have had it that it may be pleurisy, but not sure any more. Afraid to go to hospital for fear it will be gone when I get there and they will find nothing. I have had this several times now, lasting from 1-3 hours until now, which this has lasted close to 8 hrs.