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Ongoing Complications (1000+)
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“I had my gall bladder removed full open surgery in Sept 2011, I have been absolutely fine up until a month ago. I could eat what I wanted when I wanted, had no problems whatsover.
But since about the beginning of Sept 2012 I havnt had a solid bowel movement, sometimes it just explodes from me not long after eating, it is often very bright in colour and the smell is foul! (sorry to get graphic), I dont have a high fat diet and I was told post op that some foods might cause this so at times I’ve expected it.
I have a dull ache in my right side just under my right breast where my scar is and sometimes it burns (not connected to eating patterns) in fact it was this pain that caused me to look these symptoms up and brought me here.
From what I’m reading this doesnt sound unusual :(”
“I had my gall bladder removed full open surgery in Sept 2011, I have been absolutely fine up until a month ago. I could eat what I wanted when I wanted, had no problems whatsover.
But since about the beginning of Sept 2012 I havnt had a solid bowel movement, sometimes it just explodes from me not long after eating, it is often very bright in colour and the smell is foul! (sorry to get graphic), I dont have a high fat diet and I was told post op that some foods might cause this so at times I’ve expected it.
I have a dull ache in my right side just under my right breast where my scar is and sometimes it burns (not connected to eating patterns) in fact it was this pain that caused me to look these symptoms up and brought me here.
From what I’m reading this doesnt sound unusual :(”
Sorry this is long. I just turned 22. I have never had weight problems and don’t “fit the mold” for having gallstones. I guess that is why it took a year of throwing up and going to the doctor before they finally did an ultrasound and found that I had gallstones. I did not have pain associated with the stones, just nausea and vomiting. After I had my gallbladder removed, I started experiencing pain in my upper right side…Pain similar to post-op pain. It lasts for several days and then goes away. I went back to my surgeon who said to take aspirin and it would go away. Ha! Nothing helps when I have this pain…And it lasts for several days. I starting going to another doctor who took me seriously. She scheduled several tests and found that my bile duct was enlarged. She thought I might have a sphincter of oddi dysfunction. She referred me to a gastroenterologist who performed an ercp. During the procedure, they found my bile duct to be twisted. They checked for a tumor but did not see anything at that time. They clipped my sphincter of oddi so that there would be a steady flow of bile out of my duct and removed sludge from my duct. Of course, I developed pancreatitus after the procedure. A couple of months without pain followed the ercp. It was great! And then it all came back. Sometimes it is accompanied with nausea and vomiting. The doctor put me on celebrex for a little while. The pain went away for a while, but now it’s back. While it used to occur only once or twice a month, recently, the pain has started once a week (and lasts for three to four days). The doctor put me on nexium. The pain came back. Has anyone experienced anything similar? I am so frustrated. Is there anyone out there with advice or a similar experience? Please let me know.
Sorry this is long. I just turned 22. I have never had weight problems and don’t “fit the mold” for having gallstones. I guess that is why it took a year of throwing up and going to the doctor before they finally did an ultrasound and found that I had gallstones. I did not have pain associated with the stones, just nausea and vomiting. After I had my gallbladder removed, I started experiencing pain in my upper right side…Pain similar to post-op pain. It lasts for several days and then goes away. I went back to my surgeon who said to take aspirin and it would go away. Ha! Nothing helps when I have this pain…And it lasts for several days. I starting going to another doctor who took me seriously. She scheduled several tests and found that my bile duct was enlarged. She thought I might have a sphincter of oddi dysfunction. She referred me to a gastroenterologist who performed an ercp. During the procedure, they found my bile duct to be twisted. They checked for a tumor but did not see anything at that time. They clipped my sphincter of oddi so that there would be a steady flow of bile out of my duct and removed sludge from my duct. Of course, I developed pancreatitus after the procedure. A couple of months without pain followed the ercp. It was great! And then it all came back. Sometimes it is accompanied with nausea and vomiting. The doctor put me on celebrex for a little while. The pain went away for a while, but now it’s back. While it used to occur only once or twice a month, recently, the pain has started once a week (and lasts for three to four days). The doctor put me on nexium. The pain came back. Has anyone experienced anything similar? I am so frustrated. Is there anyone out there with advice or a similar experience? Please let me know.
Hi everyone! Sorry to hear all the bad experiences, but glad I’m not crazy!! I had my gall bladder removed almost 3 months ago & the diarhea is NEVER-ENDING, unfortunately. I gained a nice 21 pounds since my surgery. I went back to the Emergency Department recently with severe abdominal pain that was as intense as when my gall bladder acted up (my surgeon told me I had the worst gangreen infected gall bladder he had ever seen – I looked at pics online after geeting home from 4 days in the hospital & they were absolutely disgusting & horrifying). Anyway, a nurse at the ER told me that after gall bladder removal men tend to lose weight while women tend to gain weight; she said she wasn’t sure why though. And, I was told my body would regulate after 2-3 weeks, which has proven untrue. Btw, found out in ER I had a bacterial infection in my intestines, caused by taking very strong antibiotics for a tooth infection. An awesome nurse I had in the hospital after surgery told me that the doctors don’t & won’t tell you the whole story, so he shared with me that some people’s systems regulate after the 2-3 week period, whereas other people will never tolerate fatty foods without the diarhea as an adverse effect. He did say there is a medication you can take that helps produce bile in the system (which the gall bladder is no longer there to produce) which will bind to the fat in your system so that the body can properly absorb it. The reason for the diarhea, he said, is that bile binds to the fat in our bodies & without that bile, the fat goes straight through us, hence, diarhea. I don’t know what the medicine is called, but I’m sure if you talk to your primary care provider he or she will know. I hope that’s helpful to someone! One more thing, every doctor or nurse I’ve talked to since the surgery says the diarhea has nothing to do with th gall bladder removal – I mean, come on! ARE YOU KIDDING ME???????
“I feel a little different… I started having pains in my side, back and horrible heart burn. The heart burn started and I thought it was due to eating to fast.. however after I looked back over time I saw that the symptom was due to my gall bladder. With the pain at first I thought it was Kidney stones but the dr ran a sonogram on me to see if I had gall stones. I didn’t have stones, however I started to get worse and for the next 2 months anyhing I ate lasted maybe 3 minutes and came back up. He then ran the hydascan or hidascan not sure how its spelt and it showed that my gall bladder had just shut down on me with only 18% still working. By the time I had surgery and got it out it as about to rupture and that was only about a week or so later. Has anyone else had this problem of it shutting down without any reason… I have no kids *as they say moms are more easily to suffer this issue*.
I have went fro a size 5 to a 9/10 yet its just in my lower tummy where I cant fit into my pants. I look swollen and have tried many differet things to lose the weight. I feel awkward becauce even from high school and when I first started colleg I weighed 125-135 Im like solid muscle now i weigh 140-145 and jumped like to a 10… to me that seems odd and very bad on my self image of myself. I feel insecure as ever and I hate the way my stomach looks. I have constant problems and it happens randomlly… I never know if what I eat is going to make me hurt or cause bowel movements or not. I have found it to be all types of food not just the fatty ones as well. Even salad at times will hurt me the worst. I recently got a subway salad and instead of dressing i just squeeze maybe 2 or 3 teaspoons of lime on it. Not even that much really just to give it flavor and it tore my stomach up. I cant do dairy at all, no bbq, no beer, and yet other days cheese wont do a thing to me.. I have nexium that kills my pocket book but even that doest help me. If I hurt it feels to what to me is like a heart attack.
Has anyone gone thru this? Is there anything at all that can be done or with time does it ease a lil or get any better?”
“Like so many other people, I am SO glad that I found this website. I had my gall bladder removed -via emergency surgery – in Feb. of this year (2012). I was told by many people, including my doctors, that I would feel so much better after this surgery. But I didn’t. Instead, the pain continued much as it had before the surgery. I found other blogs on the internet that dealt with that subject.
But I’m still dealing with the bloating — sometimes it’s more of a problem than others, but I haven’t yet found the common denominator in the foods I’m eating that seems to cause it. However, I know that less meat/more vegetables is a healthy diet anyway, so I’m going to start trying that approach — along with the digestive enzymes.
Again, I’m so glad I found this website – it’s really frustrating to eat right and exercise and then sometimes look like you’re pregnant! Major bummer. Hopefully, this new approach will work –
Good luck to all – ”“I just found this site and read all the post through March. I am really sorry for all the pain and discomfort all of you have been experiencing, as a result of having your gallbladder removed.
My mother-in-law who will be 87 next month, had her gallbadder removed about one year ago, and has been in more pain ever since. Especially in the mornings, and sometimes last all day. Every morning pain in her lower abdomen, nauseous and loss of appetite. She has gone to the emergency room several times because of the pain. Many tests have been run, the only answer that she is getting now, is that the pain is caused from the incision.
Is there any hope that this pain will go away and she will be able to eat and enjoy food again? She is normally a very healthy, active, living life to the fullest kind of person. This has become a nightmare for all of us who love her and are watching her suffer.
What kind of foods help/or aggrevate? Anything, more you can share with me would be greatly appreciated. Looking for answers to help.
I love my “”mom”” and you would too if you met her[:)] …chris ”
“I, too, had my gallbladder out and had diarhea immediately after meals. I finally went to an internist who did an endoscopy and colonoscopy. Even after I had not eaten any foods and purged myself for the scope, I had large amounts of bile in the stomach and bowels during the scopes.
It never mattered what I ate to cause the urge. For me it happened as often as 3 times a week, prolonged for a couple of hours. Very difficult to eat out and travel to say the least. My social life was becoming a thing of the past.
The doctor put me on Questran, (someone else mentioned that above), and I have been worry-free for three weeks. I now believe that my gallbladder had been the source of my problem while it was in (for I have had rapid-bowel problems thoughnever diagnosed as such)since I was about 27 years old. I had it taken out when I was 51. Then it became almost impossible.
I put up with this for about two years before going to the internist. And on top of this, somewhere along the line I developed GERD. The result was a bile-stained esophagus that must have hidden the Barrett’s, because the internist didn’t realize I had it until the polyps he removed confirmed Barrett’s.
Barrett’s is very serious, and if you have GERD as well, please have an endoscopy done. You don’t want to end up with this potentially deadly disease that seems to be irreversible.
But, praise the Lord, I can walk four or five miles a day again without having to fear what I would do if I needed to go to the bathroom.
If you haven’t, ask your doctor about Questran and give it a try. It has delivered me from the fear of going out in public situations, and is enabling me to become active again.
This is three weeks-experience talking; I know that’s not a lot. But I have never experienced three weeks of normalcy in this regard for YEARS!
Good luck to all of you and may God bless you. ”
“I had my gallbladder removed in March 1999. I had “”attacks”” that would last about 3-4 hours at a time for at least 9 years on and off. Finally that March, I had a severe attack that did not go away. After 36 hours of pain, I gave in to go to the hospital and they determined it was my gallbladder and removed it.
My surgeon told me that I would most likely have problems with diarrhea for a couple of months. That was an understatement!! I am still having these problems. At times it seems like it gets better but then it comes back like a bad dream. This is so embarrassing. I had to finally tell my husband after a bad experience of needing to go to the bathroom.
I know all of you have heard this before but I can understand and feel what you are going through. This is very frustrating. I live my life based on how close I will be to a bathroom.
Also I have gained weight since my surgery(about 15 pounds). I don’t understand this since I don’t seem to keep my food for very long why I would gain weight.
Thank you for all your information on here. I am going to try eating a lower fat diet and see if that helps. ”
“I am so glad to have found all of your posts regarding pain after gallbladder surgery. I had mine removed February 2008 due to a very large gallstone that was obstructing my bile duct and causing pain. I thought this surgery was a no-brainer, a piece of cake in which I would feel better after. Now I don’t have the original pain anymore, but now I have different pain that sometimes scares me. Until reading these posts I started worrying that my liver was damaged because I still have upper right quadrant pain that feels like a tightening ,cramping, a sharp pain, and even itching where my gallbladder used to be. My top incision area definitely has discomfort especially after sitting all day at my desk.
Well anyway, I am hopeful that my liver is not failing, but instead it is scar tissue that may be causing the pain and discomfort or possibly spasms in the bile duct.
I have all the similar problems that others have expressed such as pain and bloating after eating. It is horrible how healthy fresh fruits and vegetables cause pain and gas!!! Also I have bouts of diarrhea and constipation. Icecream is the worst!!!
To try and regulate my digestive system and not be running to the bathroom with diarrhea I have began to include lots of fiber in my diet. It really helps. It is exciting to see nice normal stools again. Every morning I eat 1/2 cup of plain grape nuts cereal with @ 8 oz of plain low fat yogurt mixed together with frozen blueberries or some other cut up fruit such as strawberries. Other times I eat plain Cherrios or Wheat Chex instead of the grape nuts. I eat lots more salads and fresh fruit. But the vegetables such as brocolli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts can really cause extreme gas and bloating for days. Legumes do the same thing!! I never had this before my gallbladder was out.
It is really sad that some of the healthy foods cause GI problems. I am still trying to figure out my diet. I’ll have a good week and think I’ve figured it out and then I’ll eat something like bananas that cause issues.
Good luck everyone. It does get better, slowly!!!”
“I am so glad to have found all of your posts regarding pain after gallbladder surgery. I had mine removed February 2008 due to a very large gallstone that was obstructing my bile duct and causing pain. I thought this surgery was a no-brainer, a piece of cake in which I would feel better after. Now I don’t have the original pain anymore, but now I have different pain that sometimes scares me. Until reading these posts I started worrying that my liver was damaged because I still have upper right quadrant pain that feels like a tightening ,cramping, a sharp pain, and even itching where my gallbladder used to be. My top incision area definitely has discomfort especially after sitting all day at my desk.
Well anyway, I am hopeful that my liver is not failing, but instead it is scar tissue that may be causing the pain and discomfort or possibly spasms in the bile duct.
I have all the similar problems that others have expressed such as pain and bloating after eating. It is horrible how healthy fresh fruits and vegetables cause pain and gas!!! Also I have bouts of diarrhea and constipation. Icecream is the worst!!!
To try and regulate my digestive system and not be running to the bathroom with diarrhea I have began to include lots of fiber in my diet. It really helps. It is exciting to see nice normal stools again. Every morning I eat 1/2 cup of plain grape nuts cereal with @ 8 oz of plain low fat yogurt mixed together with frozen blueberries or some other cut up fruit such as strawberries. Other times I eat plain Cherrios or Wheat Chex instead of the grape nuts. I eat lots more salads and fresh fruit. But the vegetables such as brocolli, cauliflower and brussel sprouts can really cause extreme gas and bloating for days. Legumes do the same thing!! I never had this before my gallbladder was out.
It is really sad that some of the healthy foods cause GI problems. I am still trying to figure out my diet. I’ll have a good week and think I’ve figured it out and then I’ll eat something like bananas that cause issues.
Good luck everyone. It does get better, slowly!!!”
I actually have this same problem. I will be 24 next week. I had my gallbladder removed shortly after my son was born in 04. Since the surgery I have had pain in my stomach and latley it has been getting worse. It is right above the belly button and I can feel it at times when I lay down. It moves though. I can push it around and it relieves some pressure. The pain follows around to my back and also makes it difficult for me to do the things I used to. Even the simple house chores can be too much sometimes. I have been meaning to have it checked out but I haven’t yet. I think I haven’t since the pain seems to come and go. At first I rarely felt it…only on holidays when I ate more than normal. But now I feel the pain all most all day everyday. If it is scar tissue would it move around??? Or could it be something else?
I have had my gall bladder out for about 3yrs now and I have not followed a healthy eating plan…I was curious If the recent discovery of my type2 diabetes was related to not following the eating plan? If I follow the Diabetic Diet will that help with some of the Issues I have been having sice I had the gall stones removed? .
“I had my gall bladder out due to back pain. An ultrasound revealed gall stones and multiple other testing turned up nothing. I woke up from surgery with ….. you guessed it – back pain.
As it turned out, I didn’t need gall bladder surgery. I had back pain from muscle tension. It took us several months and lots of testing and physical rehab and a pain specialist to finally get to the bottom of it. The bottom line was I was extremely stressed from work pressure and family problems.
Meanwhile, I had a six month backache, surgery, two weeks off work, and over $100,000 in medical bills. I know because the insurance company called me wanting to know what was going on. I think they suspected medical fraud by the professionals. That amount triggers an investigation. The specialist that operated on me did admit in a post operation appointment that I shouldn’t have back pain any more and likely the surgery didn’t fix the problem. But then I already figured that out 2 minutes after I woke up from surgery.
I try to look at it that I had gall stones and sooner or later I would have needed it out anyway, and at least I was younger and got it over with.
My point is that sometimes they think it is your gall bladder but it is possible it is something else. Consider the possibility that you have some other problem that the surgery didn’t correct – it could be anything from gastrointestinal to stress to something more serious (or less serious). Doctors are sometimes wrong, especially when the symptoms are vague and complex.
One who knows from experience…………..”
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