At age 48, I had my gall bladder out last July after two attacks, one year apart from one another. I never felt any pain from my gallbladder, just that searing pain across the roof of my stomach and through to my back. Pain I couldn’t wish away or roll over from. The Emergency Room docs found gallstones on the second trip, attributing “Muscular/Skeletal Problems” to the first attack. I went ahead with the surgery several weeks later after hearing about the gallbladder being a “Redundant Organ Incidental To the Liver” nonsense. I never started feeling better. I lost 20 pounds fretting before and after the surgery, and didn’t feel much like eating anyway. I’d go from starving to nauseous in two seconds. I kept a positive attitude and started exercising a bit, going for walks and such, trying to help the healing process along, figuring it’d be over soon. Hah! Then the panic attacks started which I’d never had before. They suck. Along with that came hypoglycemic attacks which we’ve all experienced before, but mine made my muscles hurt for days. Like I had the flu. Plus, they’d happen sometimes an hour after eating. I don’t go ANYWHERE now without an apple or two in my pocket. I gained all the weight I’d lost back PLUS 20 pounds for good measure while eating MUCH BETTER and LESS than I had before the surgery. Even before the surgery, I was addressing my diet, eating more fruit and vegs and cutting out the junk. A little too little too late I suppose for my gallbladder. My energy level has nose dived, the stomach bloating is horrific. Like somethings inside pushing out. I’ve been overweight before but this feels different than that. My stomach and intestines make noise like there’s a “Godzilla” movie playing in my colon. Where I didn’t have gallbladder pain before, I sure have it now. Last year at this time, I was blissfully unaware of my liver, its location and it’s functions. I could teach a class now. Acid reflux. Fog. High blood pressure. Heart racing up then back down. Cramping in my stomach and intestines. Diarrhea. Some days are fair, other days like the last two or three are like I’m being burned alive on the inside. I’ve taken Probiotics (still am), mint, Prilosec which is a joke and even on really bad stretches have dug into my Oxycodone prescription to help with my “Post Surgery Pain”, which now that I think about it is what I’m still having, just to have a day off from the pain. My CT scan results came back normal today, so I don’t have anything life threatening. I have something that’s life compromising. Trouble is, I’m becoming aware that these symptoms mimic symptoms that could be the result of a deadly illness and as I’m pushing 50, I’m starting to wonder to what lengths I’ll have to go to to ensure I don’t have anything life threatening in the future without seeming like a complete paranoiac. A CAT scan every year instead of a routine physical? My GP still doesn’t know what’s going on. I don’t want to go out to eat or do much of anything right now. I’m slowly learning through these kinds of forums that there’s no set formula for diets, meds, exercises and the like that will serve as a cure all for all of these symptoms. While I used to have a “Good Week” once in a while, lulling me into a false sense of “finally that’s behind me”, I now have a good day or two every couple of weeks and am thankful for those, realizing it won’t last and just get what I can done NOW while I’m not on the john or on the couch sleeping it off the best I can. Frankly, I felt better when I smoked and ate poorly tha I do now. Ironic. I’m going to try several of the ideas posted here and steer toward a Holistic approach for symptom control and keep the GP on the peripheral, not dismiss him entirely. I believe I’m going to be living with this for a very long time. I’d better make friends with it and learn how to deal with it any way I can.