Ongoing Complications (1000+)

[DataCurator]

I had my gallbladder removed November of 2009. It is now 15 months later and I’m still experiencing nausea. My doctor wants me to come in and take tests but it sounds like the tests show nothing helpful. My health insurance is bad and I don’t want to pay for a bunch of useless tests. I hope the nausea subsides eventually. I hate feeling this way.

[DataCurator]

I had my gallbladder removed November of 2009. It is now 15 months later and I’m still experiencing nausea. My doctor wants me to come in and take tests but it sounds like the tests show nothing helpful. My health insurance is bad and I don’t want to pay for a bunch of useless tests. I hope the nausea subsides eventually. I hate feeling this way.

[DataCurator]

Hi, I had my gallbladder removed about 7 years ago. I regret it. I have some sort of chronic hives conditon and have to take an antihistamine to controll it insanely prickling itching and misery. I have been researching for almost two years to figure out what is causing this and I am now able to relate it to the galbladder removal. The poor liver cannot cope with the galbaldder removal and so it it struggling. One VER important thing to do after the removal of the galbladder is to take lipase, an enzyme, that digestes or helps to digest fats!! please research this and consider it. Talk to your docs about lipase. I am working on taking this now that I found out about it 7 years later and GEEEEZ why didnt the doc tell me to do this. I am working on getting my liver clean and eating healthier, less fats, more whole grains, love quinoa!!

[DataCurator]

“i had my gall bladder removed due to stones 3 years ago (took 3 years for them to even send me for a scan and not just tell me i had indegestion and a furthur 3 to get them to agree to remove it equalling 6 years of incredible pain) and a few weeks after i started having diarrhea numerous times day and night that was bright yellow, also lots of acid reflux, extreme stomach pain and weight loss. it took the doctors 2 years to link the 2 things together, before that i just kept getting told i had IBS and quite frankly they treated me like I was a nuisance wasting their time. after doing my own research and finally seeing the only doctor at the local practice who listens to his patients they sent me to a specialist who did a CPAT scan which revealed i most definately had bile reflux.

i now have anti spasmodic meds for the pain (not useful at all) and colesevelam to soak up the excess bile. sometimes the meds stop the diarrhea but sometimes they dont. bile can just leak out of me on a bad day with no warning so its a very embarassing issue. i can be at the toilet more that 30 times a day which makes working and sometimes even taking my own kids to school dam near impossible. i really want an effective treatment as i want to go to uni and study medicine but i dont see how i can manage it when im glued to the toilet so many times a day or doubled over in pain. i wasnt told about any possible comlications of the surgery other than the minimal risk of death from the anesthetic. had i known i still would have gone ahead with the surgery at the pain from the stones was too much to bear (had to be prescribed pethidine just to cope) but at least i would’ve been able to have a post operative diagnosis alot sooner. im struggling to understand why this doesnt get diagnosed easily following gall bladder surgery as its a very common side affect according to my specialist and the internet, you only have to type bile reflux into a search engine and most results are linked to gall bladder surgery. i now have pernicious anemia due to the bile reflux which means i need injections for the rest of my life. i have no energy most of the time and have 2 small kids to contend with. has anyone got any ideas about different treatments? ive tried the sachets and i just throw up as soon as ive drank them so they dont work at all”

[DataCurator]

“Hello All,
Nice to see I’m not the only one having this pains. I had my gull bladder removed on 10/21/2010. Today is 5/3/2011 so it’s been 6 and some months and am still experiencing this pain problem. When the doctors took out my gull bladder they never mentioned that I would have to deal with this stomach, and insition pain and disconfort problems, but as I can see I’m not the only one who has had them or is experiencing them. Note that I had laparoscopy surgery, which is the regular 4 insition procedure (non invasive).

To me it seems that stomach disconfort and sometimes pain comes to be mostly because of food and the the way our stomach/body process them. I seem to have this pains most of all when I eat acid foods, drink alcohol or foods that build up gas in the gastro system. I have not figured out what diet works best for me as I love my hispanic foods that I’ve eaten all of my life, but eventually I will probably have to work hard and look for a diet that helps. Also note that now I must right away must go to the restroom and eliminate my solid intakes right after I eat.

I also have pain and disconfort at the top (main/big), and right lower insitions when I lay down to sleep for the night, speacially when the front of my body is down pressed agains the bed. The pains seem to be worst if I have had a late dinner and still feel full or feel my stomach bloated. The pain and disconfort seems to always feels worst at the top (big) insition and this happens almost every night.

I also rerely, do wake up with an acute pain in my stomach much like the pains and symtoms I experinced when I had to go to the emergency room and they took out my gullbladder. This is usually cured in my case by going immediately to the kitchen and drinking some water and eating something quick and light to hold me till breakfast.

Well, I hope this helps anyone and have no fear you are not alone.”

[DataCurator]

I had my gallbladder out in Feb 07 and I still get sick every time I eat. It doesn’t matter what I eat- there is no pattern. I get nauseated after eating pretty much anything. I had an xray of my small intestine with the barium swallow, I had an upper gi, and blood taken to see if its celiac or crones disease. They have all come back normal. Could this be the sphincter of oddi dysfunction? I am really at my wits end here- getting sick all the time is no fun as most of you know. I have a follow up with my dr after all these tests next week and I wonder if I should mention the sphincter of oddi thing. Its weird because I don’t feel much pain- just terrible nausea. I swear I am popping pepto bismol like theres no tomorrow and that can’t be good either. I also take phenergran when its really bad but I am almost out of that. I had that when I had my gallbladder problems in the beginning.

[DataCurator]

“Hi everyone

I had a lap chole in late Feb. A week later I had called an ambulance as the pain was so bad. Turns out I had another retained stone in my bile duct. Had a n ERCP and sphincterotomy and was promised by the surgeon that that would be the end of my troubles. Not so. Since then I have been back to the hospital twice, once by emergency ambulance as the pain is just so bad. It starts out as “”Ooh, I’m hungry”” and then within minutes it’s the most severe hunger type pain imaginable. Radiating to my back, then under my right ribs again. I feel sick with the pain. Not wishing to sound melodramatic, but the pain is so bad I think I might just pass out and die. It goes from this funny spasm to the right of my stomach which in itself is not painful, but unless I eat something immediately or drink milk or something it fast becomes out of control and I feel wobbly and quite ill. It seems if I catch it quickly enough it doesn’t progress onto the full blown attack of pain.

The last attack I had was two days ago, I had to fast for 24 hrs for another completely unrelated minor procedure. As soon as I ate something after fasting, I knew I was in trouble. Spent the night in the emergency depatment, having pethedine for the pain. Bloods all normal. When I told the doc my history and that I had spent four days in hospital after having this pain 2 months ago and that they’d found nothing wrong (USS, Bloods, CT, Xray all normal. They even compared my CT to the MRCP I’d had previously and nothing was different.) he kind of just looked at me as though I was mad or making it up, which I am not! He said that I had gastritis and gave me some PPIs, antacids and anti-spasm meds. They are helping and now I just feel as though I’m bruised in that area, but I’m worried there’s something else going on. Having read through this thread it seems that I am not alone.

No particular food seems to set it off, but I feel I tolerate spicy foods less well than I had prior to my gallbladder coming out. The only thing that is obvious to me now is that I cant alow myself to get hungry, which makes the mornings bad; having to shovel some toast or cereal down almost the second I wake. No doctor wants to venture an explanation for these odd stomach spasms. Also, without wanting to be too revealing, if I don’t eat, I get loose, very yellow bowel movements, which I assume is just excess undigested/digested bile that’s not been “”soaked up”” by any food. Doc, once again is not at all concerned about this.

The worst thing is people not believing the pain. My mother in law had her gall bladder removed and has been fine ever since. Therefore even my husband makes me feel like I must be exaggerating in some way, especially since my tests keep showing nothing wrong. I’m so fed up. Am I going to have to spend the rest of my life in anticipation of agonising pain?”

[DataCurator]

I had my surgery in Oct. I was so darn sick prior to the surgery, and lost 35lbs. So, I was very happy to have the surgery. I felt better immediately. I have experienced some bowel problems and a little nausea. As with all other posters, I do have problems with fatty, greasy foods. Cooking with olive oil really helps. Dairy products dont seem to bother me much. Sometimes, I dont know what causes an attack. I have ate pizza hut pizza several times since I had the surgery, but last week I had a horrible attack after eating PH Pizza. I was on the toilet within 20 minutes and cramped horribly. Had a belly ache for several days following. All in all, its getting better each month. I do take a nexium every day as I was diagnosed with acid reflux as well. I have kept the 35 lbs for the most part.

[DataCurator]

I had mine removed almost 2 years ago and I take more pepto and immodium than one person should. I have a friend that has had it out for over 10 years and we cant go anywhere together that there is only one bathroom. Doctors will tell you that it will get better in a year but honestly they dont know because they havent had theirs removed. If they told you that you would have to live this way the rest of your life then there would be less removal surgeries and more ways to figure out how to fix what is causing your problems. Some days I have to stop at a public restroom (yuck) between home and work. But I have no choice. Not to mention I have gained [weight] like 15 pounds and I dont know how when I use the bathroom so much, you would think I would be anorexic looking. .

[DataCurator]

Your NOT alone! I had gallbladder surgery Oct of 2010 and as of today I am still having problems. For me it feels like having a stomach bug every day for the rest of my life. I can’t tell you how miserable I am. Within a year I have lost 50 lbs. Can’t eat anything without it hurting me. I recently went in for another ultrasound due to the pain and nausea. I haven’t heard back from my doctor yet. I have pretty much given up hope. I am only 38 yrs old, single mom of 3 and I want this miserable life over with. My kids are what is keeping me going. They give me the inspiration to keep going. I have read so much research as well as spoken to individuals who have had gallbladder surgery. ALL tell me its a never ending thing. Doctors don’t even know what to do to help patients.

[DataCurator]

“I had my gallbladder out 19 years ago after losing 40 lbs after pregnancy. Turns out dieting can make the gallbladder try to eject any stones you might have (who knew!???). I had one little pea-sized stone stuck in my bile duct. Off to ER with ripping pain, add one surgeon with a knife, and my gallbladder was no more. No post-operative suggestions were given for diet change, supplements…nothing. I looked healthy, so what could they say??? Off you go into the wild blue yonder…

Now, 19 years later, and 65 lbs heavier, I have started trying to figure out why I cannot lose weight, have developed all kinds of food sensitivities, suffer from vitamin deficiencies and have lost hair. I have also started getting the shit-bomb 10 mins after eating non-organic eggs (no more breakfasts out), peanut butter of any kind, cow’s milk, and haven’t been able to eat red meat in ANY form for more than 5 years (oh no I don’t shit red meat out, I just barf it back up – super gross).

My annual physicals are “”perfect”” my DR says except I need to lose weight, and my bad cholesterol is at the top of the “”healthy”” range so he’d like to see me exercise more to lower it a little.

I should say too that 95% of the time I am a very healthy (mostly organic) eater – lots of fish, chicken, veggies, fruits, and cottage cheese (for some reason I can tolerate a cup a day of cottage cheese a day and my nutritionist said I need calcium and since I hate soy and rice based products, I eat the cottage cheese with no trouble). I limit my carbs to 2-3 servings per day and then only wholewheat/highfiber. I work out 2-3 times a week (1/2 hr weights, 1/2 hr cardio), and live pretty well (take time out for stress relief, etc). SO WHAT WAS I DOING WRONG TO GAIN ALL THIS WEIGHT!?!?! It was making me crazy!

Finally I went to a naturopath three weeks ago just to see what she had to say. It turns out my weight gain is because I had my gall-bladder out. I have been storing all that undigested fat in my lower body for 19 years; year after year adding a few more pounds. And if I eat a slice of cake at a birthday party once in a blue moon, you can be sure I’ll be up a pound or two the next day.

I have been taking all kinds of vitamins (B complex, C, D, cal-mag, and a multi) as well as I just started on digestive enzymes this week. The naturopath said I needed to look for one high in LIPASE – so I am taking ReNew Life’s DIGEST MORE ULTRA. The healthfood store clerk said it has the highest level of lipase. So far, it’s made me poop 3 times a day (it’s normal poop) – for me this is UNREAL as normally I have only pooped once every day or two for the past 19 years (unless I ate the forbidden foods mentioned above, and God forbide if I ate something greasy – BAD news & 5 minutes to a fat flush).

I will start probiotics next week. (One new thing a week!) I tried a cleanse before (Medi-Clear) and it made me gag to drink it and it didn’t make me feel any better, so I’ve forgone it so far with the naturopath.

I will try to come back and give regular updates on my journey to let you all know how my weight loss and return to better health is going. Keep your fingers crossed, and your prayers coming…maybe we can all figure this out together!”

[DataCurator]

“I had my gallbladder removed in June of ’08. I had three years of intense pain with many ER visits prior to getting it removed. I started gaining weight after a couple months. I also was frequently ill from everything I ate. I got to a point that I just didn’t want to eat at all anymore. I did so much research on the web and I think I have finally gotten to a point where I understand what is going on with my body and why I gained weight from it all. I hope this helps. With no gallbladder my body ( and yours, if you don’t have one) can no longer digest fat. Eating healthy is a good start, but does not fix it. Any fat put in will do two things- turn to fat, and turn to diarrhea. This is a hard one since we have all been taught that some kinds of fat are necessary, like omega 3’s. The thing is though, our bodies can not digest any fat. I now eat a low- fat diet with no more than 30 grams of fat a day. Everyt time I cheat, even just a little bit, I get diarrhea, and cramps, and gas, and you know the rest. It is a very hard diet to stick to. In just under two months time I have lost eight pounds. The best way of eating this low amount of fat is to spread it out some, a little bit with each meal. That is definitely the hardest part for me. Here is a sample of my daily food intake:

Breakfast:
2 cups coffee w/ nonfat creamer
Nonfat egg substitute w/ 1 Tbls cheese

Lunch:
Apple slices
Lunch meat sandwich- no cheese or mayo

Snack:
Nonfat pudding cup

Dinner:
Fish filet
1 cup seasoned rice
1/2 cup corn

Snack:
Popcorn

There are many websites that will help you figure out fat content of things- and keep in mind some fruit and veggies have fat too. After sticking to the diet strictly for a few weeks you should be able to estimate pretty well what you are eating and how it will effect you. When eating out most restaurants have nutrition facts available now. Always keep in mind that you can still have a small amount of your favorites, just keep it really small, and make sure the other foods you are eating with it will fill you up with no fat. The most important part of this diet is a large consumption of water. Start the day off with a cup of water as soon as you wake up. Have a cup of water before you eat all of your meals. Look for nonfat varieties of the stuff you always buy. There is a nonfat version of every dairy product. Eat more fish, chicken and turkey than all other meats. If you love cheeseburgers, try a veggie burger. There are lots of alternatives for all the foods that are staples in most homes.

Good luck!! I hope this helps all of you as much as it has helped me”

[DataCurator]

Happy to see I’m not alone in this world with this “crappy” problem! I had my GB taken out Oct. 2011 thanks to the wonderful stones that created so much pain I awoke from a dead sleep. Went to the ER got checked out they told me they had to take it out and set up surgery for the next day because my heart rate was “too low”.Did they ever think that I just might now how to relax better than most people? Went through it all had an easy recover thanks to the laprascopic surgery. I thought everything was all good afterwards until I quit taking the pain meds. Then I was introduced to HELL! like everyone else I could be half way through a meal or right at the end and not even 3 min after it would strike. Never in my life have I ever had to plan a route with multiple bathrooms along the way just in case. So since I run a delivery route I had to get this fixed ASAP. Went down to the GI doc and told him the problems and he was like “oh yeah it happens to 15% of people. didn’t the surgeon go over this with you.” HELL NO I wasn’t told about anything. So what’s done is done. He wrote me up an Rx for cholestyramine and I gave it a shot. WOW is all I can say! I went from up to 7 runny ones a day to 1 normal one a day. Not to mention the Rx is pretty cheap. I think retail no insurance is about 30-40 dollars but luckily for me I’ve got the coverage! A little note from experience, if you get the cholestyramine get nothing but the one made by Sandoz. it is a fine powder thats orange flavored and is by far the best tasting one I have tried. Steer clear of the prevalite!! I wish they would really educate people on this because the after effects are just absurd, what can ya do though! 29 years old with my appendix out in 06′ GB out in 11′ diagnosed with gluten allergy among others GERD and EE of the esophagus! Still going strong!

[DataCurator]

I’ve been dealing with right side abdominal pain for over 6 months now. From the beginning I said it’s right where my gallbladder would be IF I had one. It was removed about 4 years prior to this pain showing up. I’ve chased my tail for the last 6 months. My GI doc did every test he could do, and ruled out everything he could, before passing me back to my Gyno with the theory that maybe it was endometriosis (because the pain replicated during sex). She went in and did laproscopy and I did have moderate Endo, but now (2 months later) the pain is still there. I’ve seen a pelvic pain specialist and am now in PT. The specialist said he felt like it was probably muscular, but if I didn’t improve by the time I saw him again in 4 months he’d be doing surgery again to see what might have been missed. He put in me PT and they have suggested something I’ve wondered for a while… that it might be scar tissue from my GB surgery. After the laproscopy my Gyno told my husband that there was “a lot of scar tissue” around my gallbladder. He replied “she doesn’t have a gallbladder” to which my Gyno replied “yeah, then there’s definitely a lot of scar tissue there”. I’ve got another 4 months of this before I see the specialist again, and after two visits to PT I’m not really hopeful that they are going to be able to help much. They said they can work on the scar tissue at the incisions, but I don’t think they can do much about the gallbladder.

[DataCurator]

I just turned 21 and have had my gb out for about 3 months and it seems every time i drink i get way too drunk toooooo quick and end up very very sick i mean vomiting headache spinning and so on and it lasts for days b4 my gb removal i was able to drink how ever much i wanted and rarely had a hang over but lately it is horrible even to have just a few drinks with friends it is killing me i wish there was a way to make it stop