Gallbladder experiences? Anyone?

[jobhunter]

Warning: Gross stuff ahead. If you don't want to hear about constipation, trapped gas, pain and suffering , this is not your thread.

So I've been having some tummy issues since the end of March. I have been having a pinching, twisting feeling in my lower left. I then had a horrible bout of diarrhea that hurt on the left while it was going on. I thought I had an ovarian cyst pushing on something so the gynecologist had me do a trans-vaginal ultrasound and it was fine. Nothing on the left side. Gyno said it was probably diverticulitis, sent me to my gastro.

Gastro ordered abdominal CT with contrast and bloodwork. It showed diverticulosis and a lot of poop, but no other issues. He told me to get Magnesium Citrate (aggghhh) and take it. i did and it cleared me out. That was this past weekend, mostly Sunday.

Monday I started feeling like I had a big balloon under my ribs. It was a 10 on the discomfort scale, not pain exactly but MISERABLE. I was in a meeting and had to drape my arm over the back of the chair to take pressure off my guts, stretching my abdomen out as much as possible. UGH. I took ultra-strength Phazyme and charco-caps all day with zero relief. I ended up in the ER.

The ER did another abdominal CT (four days after the last one) and said I had thickening in my gallbladder wall and fluid around it. They did an abdominal ultrasound and it said I had sludge. They said, go see this surgeon for a consult on Tuesday and then have it out on Thursday.

Soooo, that was all really fast for me with a normal CT on Thursday and you need surgery on Monday. I also don't know if this will solve my problem since I don't have stones. Esp. since this started on the lower left and I still don't know what caused that (diverticulosis alone won't unless it's inflamed or infected, and mine wasn't).

Can you please share your symptoms with me and your experience with the surgery? I do not want unnecessary surgery. And, this may sound petty, I have a non-refundable vacation to the beach in 3 weeks and I want to be able to get in the Gulf.

Since Monday I have only been able to eat very small amounts and am avoiding anything I think might make it angry but although I haven't had the level of that sensation back since Monday, my upper abdomen feels a little hard and it feels like a smaller balloon is in there, and a band around my rib cage. The discomfprt has been in the center or on the left, not the right. No shoulder blade issues either. I do have a hiatal hernia.

Thanks for reading this far.

 

[Daniela Rose]

Been there, done that. Here's my story

I had always had bad heartburn, stomach pains, etc. After having my first child in 2013 it became unbearable at times. Worse than labor. After second kid even worse. Fast forward to dec 2015. Went to a gastroenterologist, did an endoscopy. Found a hiatal hernia. Ok fine. Also did a sonogram. Thought I had a polyp in my gall bladder. 1st gastro dropped the ball, switched to second gastro. Second gastro dropped the ball.

Went to third gastro in sept 2016 and he was the only one smart enough to suggest a hida scan. Well turned out my gall bladder wasn't functioning and was triggering gall bladder attacks. Met with surgeon and had it out in October. Haven't had that pain since.

The surgery was prett easy. Done laparoscopically. Went through my belly button and have three small dot scars. Couldn't lift my young children for awhile which was hard.

Ask me anything

 

[jobhunter]

Been there, done that. Here's my story

I had always had bad heartburn, stomach pains, etc. After having my first child in 2013 it became unbearable at times. Worse than labor. After second kid even worse. Fast forward to dec 2015. Went to a gastroenterologist, did an endoscopy. Found a hiatal hernia. Ok fine. Also did a sonogram. Thought I had a polyp in my gall bladder. 1st gastro dropped the ball, switched to second gastro. Second gastro dropped the ball.

Went to third gastro in sept 2016 and he was the only one smart enough to suggest a hida scan. Well turned out my gall bladder wasn't functioning and was triggering gall bladder attacks. Met with surgeon and had it out in October. Haven't had that pain since.

The surgery was prett easy. Done laparoscopically. Went through my belly button and have three small dot scars. Couldn't lift my young children for awhile which was hard.

Ask me anything

Thank you, Daniela Rose!! Did my symptoms sound familiar? I know you had pain but was it like what i described? How long did it take for your incisions to heal completely? How long did you have to be off work? THANK YOU!

 

[jobhunter]

I forgot to mention, I can't stand to wear a bra. It causes so much pain right around the bottom band. I am wearing bandaids to cover up the...essentials and letting things be free.

 

[MaryLovesPoohBear]

I felt fine on a Thursday. That Friday felt like I was catching the stomach flu. Saturday, my pain was a 10 of 10. But it was actually pain, not just discomfort. I was admitted and put on morphine. Surgery was Sunday, early am. That was in November of 2014.

And 4 weeks later, I was at Disney. Not totally healed, but well enough to do all for parks. (keep in mind I have lupus, so I normally use a scooter) I would have been able to do a beach trip.

Looking back, I had been suffering for a while before, but didn't realize what it was. Gassy, constipated, upset stomach and the like. And yes, a bra during the attack was very uncomfortable. I did have stones, lots of them. "Packed full, and infected."

Total recovery took about 8 weeks. And 12 weeks later I ended up back in surgery but for something totally different. The second surgeon felt I was healed enough to go under again.

 

[Daniela Rose]

Thank you, Daniela Rose!! Did my symptoms sound familiar? I know you had pain but was it like what i described? How long did it take for your incisions to heal completely? How long did you have to be off work? THANK YOU!

Well I'm a sahm so my kids wouldn't give me any time off lol. The first couple of days were bad, mostly due to the air they pump you with. The shoulder pain from the air rising was the worst. The incisions healed pretty fast.

The bra thing sounds familiar. That's where the pain was. I would take my bra off to get a little relief. I'd recommend getting a hida scan which tests the functionality of your gall bladder. You'll be radioactive so you'll have to stay away from your kids, if you have any young ones.

 

[DLgal]

Just so you know, there can be a long healing from a laparoscopically removed gallbladder. My largest incision at the center top part of my abdomen developed a hematoma that had to be reopened and drained, then I had to pack the wound for 4 weeks. No swimming or bathing that whole time.

BUT, I also went 4 weeks between my gallbladder attack and my surgery due to scheduling and insurance issues. I was fine but could only eat very low fat foods the whole time (less than 5g fat per meal). I lost about 10 pounds but didn't have another attack.

And yeah, it sounds like gallbladder problems. The pain is not always on the right side.

 

[gotomu212]

My husband had his out 6 years ago. They got it out right before it exploded. He didn't have any of your symptoms but one day he had some stomach pain, the next day he had really bad pain, the third night he literally thought he was dying and had to crawl across the floor to call 911. They took it out without a problem three little holes, but had it actually ruptured it could have been deadly.

You might want to get a second opinion, but the situation can escalate very quickly and it can be really dangerous if left untreated.

 

[jobhunter]

Thank you all so much for your comments. I am going to call the doctor tomorrow since he still hasn't called me back and ask for a HIDA test and possible an endoscopy.

For those of you who did not have it out right away, did you feel full and pressure and gassy (even if it didn't pass) in between the painful attacks? If I push on the abdomen area under the sternum, I burp. It seems like others had attacks and then periods of normalcy, but I have been distended and uncomfortable since Monday, even avoiding fatty foods and with small meals.

 

[DLgal]

Thank you all so much for your comments. I am going to call the doctor tomorrow since he still hasn't called me back and ask for a HIDA test and possible an endoscopy.

For those of you who did not have it out right away, did you feel full and pressure and gassy (even if it didn't pass) in between the painful attacks? If I push on the abdomen area under the sternum, I burp. It seems like others had attacks and then periods of normalcy, but I have been distended and uncomfortable since Monday, even avoiding fatty foods and with small meals.

I did not have excessive gas at all. Just a burning pain under my right rib.

Just curious, did they check for an ulcer at the ER? Did they check for blood in the stool? That is the first thing they ruled out when I arrived at the ER with my pain (although I was brought there by my surgeon neighbor who knew it was gallbladder).

The burping and excessive gas sounds like an ulcer.

 

[aejammers]

I am also thinking an ulcer. I had the "balloon" feeling. Some nausea off and on. Sometimes starving and sometimes not wanting to eat a thing. Not pain exactly, but a really weird feeling in my upper abdomen. Burping would make things feel better for a short time. I also had a sharp pain right between my shoulder blades. Saw my primary doc who said it sounded like an ulcer and sent me to a gastro. He said all my symptoms were classic ulcer symptoms. Mine was probably due to NSAID overuse due to my chronic headaches. Once I stopped the motrin and kept up the prilosec, the symptoms dissipated.

Hope you feel better.

 

[jobhunter]

NO, no one checked me for an ulcer! And I have had tiny ones before in my ileum (found on colonoscopy) which the gastro said were probably due to NSAIDS. I have been taking Advil a little more frequently lately (not crazy, but 2 tablets a couple times a week) for sinus headaches. It has been a week since I had any. However, I am on the max dose of Prevacid daily. I thought with an ulcer you should feel better after eating though, not worse.

 

[#1hoosierfan]

Mine was mainly nausea. I couldn't eat very much at a time and no greasy/fatty foods. I had a hida scan and my gallbladder was not functioning. There were no stones.

Had the gallbladder removed by laparoscopy, and the worst part was the shoulder pain from the gas used in surgery. It was also uncomfortable to a few of the incisions when I tried to sleep on my side.

 

[DLgal]

NO, no one checked me for an ulcer! And I have had tiny ones before in my ileum (found on colonoscopy) which the gastro said were probably due to NSAIDS. I have been taking Advil a little more frequently lately (not crazy, but 2 tablets a couple times a week) for sinus headaches. It has been a week since I had any. However, I am on the max dose of Prevacid daily. I thought with an ulcer you should feel better after eating though, not worse.

Well, rule that out before doing surgery. Without gallstones or an obvious infection, there is no urgent need to remove a gallbladder. Mine was actually infected AND I had stones...Still waited 4 weeks for surgery. My doctor said they only do urgent gallbladder removal in the presence of infection (elevated temperature and white cell count), similar to appendix, and I didn't have a fever and my white cell count was only slightly elevated.

I would be leery of the fast timeline here.

 

[JaneBanks]

I felt like a brand new person after I had my gallbladder removed. I suffered two long years of on and off attacks, each getting worse as they went on. Also, even eating plain food triggered an attack. My advice, get the surgery and avoid the misery. Gallbladder attacks are no fun. Most of the women in my family have had to get them removed so I didn't have a chance really! lol

 

[kimblebee]

With mine, it felt like my ribs were in a vice and it was being tightened. The first time it happened I legit thought I was dying because it came on so quickly and strongly.

I had the endoscopy and they said it was definitely gall bladder. I Think i had surgery a few weeks later. Since then, no pain. I haven't altered my diet at all, but I know what to avoid.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

Warning: Gross stuff ahead. If you don't want to hear about constipation, trapped gas, pain and suffering , this is not your thread.

So I've been having some tummy issues since the end of March. I have been having a pinching, twisting feeling in my lower left. I then had a horrible bout of diarrhea that hurt on the left while it was going on. I thought I had an ovarian cyst pushing on something so the gynecologist had me do a trans-vaginal ultrasound and it was fine. Nothing on the left side. Gyno said it was probably diverticulitis, sent me to my gastro.

Gastro ordered abdominal CT with contrast and bloodwork. It showed diverticulosis and a lot of poop, but no other issues. He told me to get Magnesium Citrate (aggghhh) and take it. i did and it cleared me out. That was this past weekend, mostly Sunday.

Monday I started feeling like I had a big balloon under my ribs. It was a 10 on the discomfort scale, not pain exactly but MISERABLE. I was in a meeting and had to drape my arm over the back of the chair to take pressure off my guts, stretching my abdomen out as much as possible. UGH. I took ultra-strength Phazyme and charco-caps all day with zero relief. I ended up in the ER.

The ER did another abdominal CT (four days after the last one) and said I had thickening in my gallbladder wall and fluid around it. They did an abdominal ultrasound and it said I had sludge. They said, go see this surgeon for a consult on Tuesday and then have it out on Thursday.

Soooo, that was all really fast for me with a normal CT on Thursday and you need surgery on Monday. I also don't know if this will solve my problem since I don't have stones. Esp. since this started on the lower left and I still don't know what caused that (diverticulosis alone won't unless it's inflamed or infected, and mine wasn't).

Can you please share your symptoms with me and your experience with the surgery? I do not want unnecessary surgery. And, this may sound petty, I have a non-refundable vacation to the beach in 3 weeks and I want to be able to get in the Gulf.

Since Monday I have only been able to eat very small amounts and am avoiding anything I think might make it angry but although I haven't had the level of that sensation back since Monday, my upper abdomen feels a little hard and it feels like a smaller balloon is in there, and a band around my rib cage. The discomfprt has been in the center or on the left, not the right. No shoulder blade issues either. I do have a hiatal hernia.

Thanks for reading this far.

Since you have a vacay planned put your surgery on the schedule which works for you unless you are in agony.

I had the sludge/grains of sand diagnosis & had my GB out in 2000. Those of us that were lucky enough to have that diagnosis get the lecture that our situation is worse because sludge can travel down your bile duct more easily as opposed to large stones and clog it which puts you in a higher risk for liver damage.

Have you had a lipid blood panel recently? If not, get one just as a reference point. When your GB is not working right it may affect the liver.

I never had "attacks", just a dull pain under my right ribcage ALL the time until I had it out.

If you are having pain on the left side it may be your hiatal hernia, which I also have now.

 

[Christine]

OP, I have not had gallbladder issues, but know plenty of people who have. Your symptoms do not sound typical. I think "sludge" is normal enough sighting as you age. I think the balloon, pressure feeling is something else as well as not being able to wear a bra.

 

[mill4023]

I had mine out in January. My symptoms started about 6 months earlier. Pain in the upper right side of my abdomen, which felt like cramps. I typically had those symptoms early in the morning after a large or greasy meal for dinner. At first, they weren't bad. Just felt like stomach issues. Then it started getting worse and the pain would radiate into my back and shoulder blades. It usually lasted for a few hours, then went away. At one point, I was at the store with my daughter and started getting that pain again. But this time, it got really bad and it started to feel like my chest was getting tight and I started getting light headed. I was afraid I was having a heart attack. I ended up laying down on the floor of the store and having my daughter get help. They called 911 and I went to the ER in an ambulance. By the time I got to the ER, the pain was gone. They ran some tests to rule out any heart issues, then I followed up with my doctor and had an ultrasound which revealed sludge and stones. Had my surgery scheduled shortly after that.
Recovery was pretty quick and easy and I didn't have any complications. I was pretty much back to normal within a week.
So it's been 3 months now and I've been feeling pretty good. I do get occasional mild nausea(seems to be worse if I haven't eaten) and diarrhea.
But overall, I feel much better than I had been before the surgery.

 

[10MoreMinutes]

I had similar symptoms - a "full" feeling in my upper abdomen that was really uncomfortable and that progressed to pretty serious pain. After a day or so, I also progressed to vomiting anything I tried to eat or drink, including water. Turns out I had gall stones, and one of them slipped out and got stuck blocking my bile duct. I didn't want to have surgery (I was in my last semester of college) so I went on an incredibly restricted diet (no fried foods, no alcohol, very few leafy vegetables, nothing high in fat content) that helped keep the bouts of abdominal pain in check for a while. I also, like @mill4023 , had bouts where my chest would start hurting and I would get light-headed enough that I had to sit with my head between my knees so I wouldn't pass out.

I finally had my gallbladder laproscopically removed about 8 months after my symptoms first started. I was back at work four days after surgery and went to a hard rock concert-where I was in the mosh pit-two weeks later with no problems. I never even filled the prescription they gave me for painkillers. Now, 8 year later, I still watch my intake of fried foods and leafy vegetables (because those things still tend to have me running to the bathroom with diarrhea) but I haven't had any other issues since. I will say, though, not everyone is that lucky. My mother had the same surgery and it took her 5-6 weeks to be totally pain-free and back to normal.