Talk to me about your gallbladder! LOL

[phorsenuf]

I'v been having what I think are gallbladder attacks (I see the Dr. tomorrow).
I have this dull aching pain just below my right ribs a little to the back. Sometimes it hurts more than other times but its always "there". Yesterday I had a crushing pain in my back so bad that I almost called an ambulance. It started under my breastbone (like heartburn) and then I could feel it go straight into my back. I felt like I was in a vice. It lasted about 3-5 minutes. I told DH if it happened again, he was taking me to the hospital.
Eating I'm getting to dread because of what it does to my insides.
I had an ultrasound a year ago and they found nothing. Could stones have developed this quickly?
What were your attacks like?
Thanks!

 

[browneyes]

When my gallbladder attacks me, it feels kinda like a Charley Horse does in your leg. A sudden and instand cramp-like feeling, and the pain lasts for several minutes. Lots of pressure on my ribs. My breastbone and back don't hurt all that much, but it makes my ribs sore. I had an ultra sound on mine a year or so ago and they didn't find anything with mine either (and they didn't warn me of the after effects of that scan ).

Good luck at the dr.

 

[Blondie]

I have the exact same symptoms and also had a clean scan.

My doctor thinks I have stones small as a grain of sand, and that they pass without further complications.

I was hoping they'd find stones so that I could have the darned thing removed and be done with it all!

I guess I'll have to wait for a really big attack and then be scanned in the ER.

 

[The Mystery Machine]

My gallbladder is gone!

I had stones like the small grains of sand, alot of them. I had the dull ache under the rib cage and pain in my shoulder and back. I also had a constant feeling of feeling sick. Finally, I got the nerve up to go for it.

However you do not have to have stones to have an attack. Your gallbladder can become inflamed causing you distress. You need to be checked while you are having problems.

It also could be your intestines. I know I still have an ache sometimes and my gallbladder is gone.

 

[cabmom]

I had the exact pains you are describing. It happened to me twice, I was throwing up as well. Went to the hospital in middle of the night, had ultrasound and they found stones.
I had surgery in the following 2 wks. I lost about 25 lbs because I was afraid to eat anything.
Get it removed if you can!

 

[HeatherAnne]

Hi,

I had SEVERE pain under my right rib area ever since I could remember - even as a child. Every doctor I went to told me it was "stress" , "nerves" or handed me a bottle of Mylanta. I did years of tests only to find NOTHING! I had many clean scans and doctors suggested I may have grains of sand. The pain was becoming more frequent and worse! I could hardly eat anything without getting these attacks.

I finally found a WONDERFUL doctor who did a nuclear radioactive xray test on my gallbladder - only to find out that my gallbladder was barely working. It was removed within two weeks. It was extremely inflamed and there was NO sign of any stones or grains of sand. Apparently I was born with an "abnormal" gallbladder that basically never worked - therefore causing the constant stomach pain and attacks. I was only 29 years old when it was removed. Good luck! Hope this helps!

HeatherAnne

 

[WeirdEyes]

I have the same exact symptoms, AND my gallbladder is gone. I had the light down my throat and it was normal. Gastroenterologist thinks my GERD is causing my stomach and esophogus to spasm. So, now I take meds to keep it from spasming. It works pretty good most days, but yesterday it didn't. My doc says that the next time I have a severe attack, he wants me to the lab ASAP to get a panel done on my pancreas. He said it could also be pacretitis (sp?). Good luck!

 

[piglet too]

When they removed my gallbladder, I had a pencil-shaped stone in the duct, so they never would have found it on an ultrasound. I do not know what it is called, but they did some sort of reactivity test where a "normal" gallbladder reacts at least at 80%, mine was under 15%! Good luck with your appointment!!

 

[BrinxFam]

While I don't think I have ever had gallbladder problems, within in the last month I watched my dad go through a severe attack and ultimately surgery. He had pain in his side and back so badly that he couldn't even walk and felt very sick. They actually discharged him from the ER because on of the tests they did showed nothing but re-admitted him less than 5 minutes afterward. It wasn't until he had the nuclear test that someone mentioned earlier that they found his gallbladder was diseased. He has had problems like this for years and this was the first time they did the right test. His surgeon told him the nuclear test is the only real way to see if it needs to come out. Within hours of his surgery he was back to normal. In fact, he was eating a cheeseburger and fries on the way home from the hospital the day of his surgery!

Good luck on finding the cause of your pain and hope you feel much better soon!

 

[mickeyboat]

WierdEyes - don't fool around with pancreatitis. While it can be just a minor annoyance, it can develop into something life threatening.

My FIL always had stomach trouble, reflux, you name it. He was scoped more times than I care to remember. One night, he woke up with tremendous abdominal pain. He went to the hospital in an ambulance.

They ruled out heart problems, and admitted him for more tests. During the first day there, he started retaining fluids. He had gained 8 lbs. by 1PM and by 2PM he was having trouble breathing. He was intubated and admitted to the ICU - and didn't leave there for three months. Then three more months between rehab and the hospital with another brief stay in the ICU. At one point we were told there was nothing more they could do for him and we should let him go.

The doctors suspected a gallstone blocked the duct between the pancreas and gall bladder and caused an extreme case of pancreatitis. The pancreas basically died in huge sections. A surgeon we consider a miracle, performed 6 or 7 hail mary surgeries to remove the dead sections of his pancreas, they installed a "zipper" in his belly so he would not have to be cut open again every time. He saved his life.

7 years later he is doing well. He will never be able to work at his former profession (carpenter) but he is able to watch his grandchildren grow up. He is lucky to be alive. We kept a journal while he was in the ICU which is very scary to look at now.

I hope all of your gallbladder problems are easily treated. Don't let the pain get out of hand, though. Work closely with your doctors to get answers.

Denae

 

[MScott1851]

You don't have to have stones to have discomfort. My gallbladder HATES me. And usually flares up when I am on vacation (lots of extra rich food). It's only done it severely twice, and I am hoping and praying for it to do it again soon, so I can get that sucker OUT of me. I literally thought I was dying last November while in Florida, but like most nurses, I didn't want to go to the ER and have them find out that maybe I was just full of poop or had heartburn. Of course, looking back it was all too clear that it was my gallbladder. Changing my diet seems to hold it at bay.

We see lots of patients that don't have stones, just inflammation. A hyda-scan checks for contractility and output, I believe, and is a little more diagnostic than a CT or ultrasound.

 

[piglet too]

Originally posted by MScott1851
A hyda-scan checks for contractility and output, I believe, and is a little more diagnostic than a CT or ultrasound.

I think that is what I had, when mine was under 15% as opposed to over 80% as is the norm.

 

[WeirdEyes]

Denae, WOW! Thanks for the info. I'll definitely take this more seriously. Next attack, I will definitely get to the lab or doc for blood test. Thanks again!

 

[Snowysmom]

My DS had similar pain and the tests did not show stones. One test showed that his gall bladder was emptying a little slower than normal. The doctors were hesitant about surgery because of his age (12) but he had surgery and the duct leading out of the gall bladder was narrower and longer than normal and the bile was backing up into the gall bladder. His gall bladder was really swollen. Since he has had it out, he had been fine. Just because there are no stones does not mean there is not a problem. On the other hand my gall bladder is gone because of stones. Your symptoms could definately be gall bladder related.

 

[Kitty 34]

I had a couple of gall bladder attacks a few days after the birth of my 2nd son. I swear it was worth then the labor I had just gone thru!!! But after those 2 attacks I never had them again.......knock on wood!:


Hope you're feeling better real soon.

 

[Hillbeans]

Originally posted by HeatherAnne
Hi,

I had SEVERE pain under my right rib area ever since I could remember - even as a child. Every doctor I went to told me it was "stress" , "nerves" or handed me a bottle of Mylanta. I did years of tests only to find NOTHING! I had many clean scans and doctors suggested I may have grains of sand. The pain was becoming more frequent and worse! I could hardly eat anything without getting these attacks.

I finally found a WONDERFUL doctor who did a nuclear radioactive xray test on my gallbladder - only to find out that my gallbladder was barely working. It was removed within two weeks. It was extremely inflamed and there was NO sign of any stones or grains of sand. Apparently I was born with an "abnormal" gallbladder that basically never worked - therefore causing the constant stomach pain and attacks. I was only 29 years old when it was removed. Good luck! Hope this helps!

HeatherAnne

Heatheranne, i'm so grateful to hear you had yours removed. My mom had the EXACT same thing as you...it was non-functioning and inflamed on and off for years. It was unfortunately never removed and she developed a huge tumor in it last summer and passed away at 66. I feel that surgery for a non-functioning but infected or stone producing gallbladder is so important because the gallstones don't allow the infection to clear. I don't know the how's and why's of cancer, however I know hers became cancerous and it was terribly infected and inoperable. This type of cancer is very rare, however the 4,000 people worldwide that get it a year, more than half had gallstones and other gallbladder issues previously.

 

[snowiit]

Originally posted by HeatherAnne
Hi,


I finally found a WONDERFUL doctor who did a nuclear radioactive xray test on my gallbladder - only to find out that my gallbladder was barely working. It was removed within two weeks. It was extremely inflamed and there was NO sign of any stones or grains of sand. Apparently I was born with an "abnormal" gallbladder that basically never worked - therefore causing the constant stomach pain and attacks. I was only 29 years old when it was removed. Good luck! Hope this helps!

HeatherAnne

The same thing happened to my daughter... the nuclear test she had done twice. First time the doctor said it was low, but wanted another to compare it to.... after the second the nurse said... are you schedule to talk to a surgeon? DON'T cancel the appt. That my daughters gall bladder hadn't worked at all that time. She ended up having it out ... she was 18!
I started having gall bladder attacks when I was pregnant with her...I was going to a QUACK (long story!) who, as I was in the office having a gall bladder attack (feeling like a vice grip around my ribs and breastbone) told me that "being pregnant isn't like a trip to Hawaii!" Can you imagine? I had mine out when she was 8 months old. I had many stones and had had an ultrasound before my last attack that put me in the hospital.. it didn't show anything either!

Nancy

 

[Alice28]

I had my gall bladder removed in Sept of 2002. I never had had an attack until a few days before I got it out. I ate a bunch of super greasy potato chips on a Tuesday afternoon (obviously I already had stones, but this is what I suspect popped one out). Tuesday night thru Saturday I just felt "strange." Sick, but not violently ill; I felt short of breath and my stomach felt like I ate something rotten yet did not have any intestinal problems. Unless I was laying down I felt like there was a lot of pressure on my chest and it was hard to catch my breath. Friday and Saturday my urine, which is normally almost clear, was turning dark orange. I went to the E/R and they were baffled by my symptoms as I did not have any sharp pains anywhere, no fever, no vomiting. The doctor came in and starting pressing on my abdomen and I almost jumped off the table when he got to my gall bladder. They did an Ultrasound and sure enough I had several stones in the gall bladder and one stuck in a duct to my liver, which was causing the shortness of breath and the dark urine. I was put in twilight sleep to get the stone in the duct out (they stuck a tube down my throat and manipulated some scope to get it out) and the next day I had the scope surgery to get the G.B. out. It was a very simple surgery- only 4 small incisions, only one of which is really visible now (the one out my belly button) and it took about 2.5 weeks to feel well after the surgery. I got to go home from the hospital about 2-3 hours after I came out of surgery and I slept for about a day and then slowly started walking and doing normal things.

Good luck!!!!!

 

[cadburysmom]

Yep, had mine taken out too. It took two years and two ultrasounds for the doctors to figure out what was causing my "discomfort". "Discomfort" my rear end, it was the worst pain I've ever felt! And that's including 10 hours of hard labor with my first child!