Ongoing Complications (1000+)

[DataCurator]

This sounds like my case a bit too…I first had server upper-right abdominal pain in 2004 where I was rushed to the ER. After some tests they diagnosed this as a kidney infection and gave me some medicine. The second attack came in early November 2008, once again I was on my way to the ER. They tested me for kidney stones, I have none. I had the pain again in late November, back to the ER. This time they did a CT scan and ultrasound and found 2-3 small gall stones. They said I was having ‘gall attacks’ caused by these stones. I had my gall bladder removed laproscopically in December of 2008, and the pain in my upper-right abodmin has not gone away. The pain has actually been occuring even more. I have already had two of these attacks with discomfort on a daily basis. The pain is so intense it brings me to my knees, I have even passed out once due to the pain. I usually get the pain in the mornings and after eatting greasy foods.In the past 2 weeks, I have been to the doctor 4 times and had blood work, ultrasound, x-rays and an MRI done. All of these came back normal. Now they are suspecting me for Celiac Disease, and I am going in for more tests shortly. If this is true, goodbye wheat. Did I mention that I already have severe food allergies to soy, milk and peanuts…I need to fix this pain because it is ruining my life… oh yea, I am only 25.

[DataCurator]

My gallstones were asymptomatic and were found by accident during an ultrasound for another reason. I was told to leave them alone until 5 years later, when I started experiencing painful abdominal bloating and a GI recommended I have my GB removed. No tests of any kind were done to determine if the bloating was caused by anything else. I had my GB removed almost a year ago. Since then the bloating has continued and, in addition, I have terrible pain in my upper right quadrant just under my ribcage, especially after I eat. My doctor has admitted to me that having my GB out was a mistake. Tired of feeling poorly, I sought the opinion of another GI who diagnosed me with celiac disease. After total elimination of gluten from my diet, I still experienced the same painful bloating. I eventually determined on my own that I was allergic to carrageenan, a food additive, which is found in many dairy products and salad dressings. MSG is another culprit. Because of my celiac disease, I have many food sensitivities. If only my first GI had done a simple blood test to check for celiac, I would not have had my gallbladder removed. I recently found a new doctor, a holistic MD, who does not recommend having your GB removed unless it is absolutely necessary! Anyone contemplating having your GB removed, I urge you to get a 2nd and perhaps even a 3rd opinion from a holistic physician who has other ideas of how to treat gallbladder pain. If I could turn back the hands of time and reverse my GB surgery I would. I was in great health before my surgery and now I feel awful most days. I have found that eating a low-fat diet and taking a digestive enzyme and Cholacol help to relieve the pain somewhat.

[DataCurator]

I had mine removed almost 2 years ago and I still have pain Sometimes severe, but I always have some kind of pain going on in my stomach area chest lower abdomin up into back towards the right shoulder, stomach just hurts al the time.I was told pains would go away and my body would learn that the gallbladder is no longer there.I can’t eat as much as i did before the surgery, but feel full and bloated all the time this sucks.It makes me worry all the time that something else is going on, I have had several panic attacks since my surgery, I have been back to the doctors and they have ran all the tests and say every thing checks out normal.They make feel like I’m nuts or something.

[DataCurator]

I don’t know why you people do no read all of the posts on here. I have posted several times. Have your doctor write you a script for cholestyramine powder (generic orange flavor) . This comes in a round can, loose powder form. I take half a scoop each morning with my orange juice and that is the end of it. Those whining about constipation,,,change your dossage to what works for you. I never have a problem and eat whatever I want. A secondary benefit fromn this is lower cholesterol.

[DataCurator]

i’ ve been scrollin down all your letters. andy, yours caught my attention. my dad had his gallbadder removed about 4 years ago and been in pain ever since. he has been to so many doctors all the tests come back normal. they tell him he should glad that all his tests results are negative,they just don’t care what this is doing to his quility of life. like you his pain comes most of the time from food. the pain is very bad but subsides as quickly as it comes on.after, a flare up it leaves him very weak and tired.we have tried to change his diet but nothing helps. BUT reading all your comments has helped just knowing we’re not alone and i’ve wrote down alot of suggestions to ask the doctor about.andy, my dad is very active and retiring at the end of the year. i can only imagine how hard this for you at such a young age and your young family.hang in there! if we find anything for our dad we will post it to help all your suffering.thanks for listening.

[DataCurator]

yes i have heard that it could be a blocked bile duct or small stone in duct……also another possibility is sphincter of oddi dysfunction……sphincter muscles in this area liver and pancreas narrow and tighten causing this biliary pain that mimics a gallbladder attack………i have been reading as much as i can on this subject and i think that is what i have………have not seen a physician yet…………tooooooooo scared…………..but because of your pregnancy they say that hormones play a part in these digestive organs……..also……..i have also heard that a procedure called an ercp which widens these bile ducts can also cause other problems…….im going to have bloodwork done and see what my liver enzymes are and maybe try some meds before i have any procedures done………..thanks a lot for replying let me know what you find out……….

[DataCurator]

Does it really get better? I had mine out a year ago and I am having all kinds of trouble. I have every test imaginable. The doctors think I am crazy and I am imagining this pain. I even had a colonoscopy. I eat lean meals, exercise but I still need to loose 80 lbs and i don’t know if that will do any good. My liver enzymes where slightly elevated and that scares me because I think it is Spinctor of the Oddi dyfunction that may be causing it. I get belchie, gas, indigestion throughout the day. I don’t eat fat and i am almost vegetarian. I stay away from gassy veggies too. My diet is so bland and I still have problems. No doctor can help me. I went a holistic approach and started to meditate and I do accupuncture. I get a right upper quandran pain where my liver is – this comes and goes. Tell me does this disappear and come back? How long have you been pain free?

[DataCurator]

I can completely sympathize with all of you that suffer from this. I had my gall bladder taken out April 14, 2005. Just a few days afterwards, I started suffering from severe cramps and diarrhea within 10-15 minutes after eating. It now happens to me with just about everything I eat. I have tried to learn my trigger foods, but can’t. I can eat a hamburger one day and be fine, eat another one the next day and be in the bathroom for 20 minutes doubled over in severe pain with hot flashes and feeling like I am going to faint, sitting on the toilet with my head between my knees! I don’t go out to eat unless I am coming straight home. Sometimes I don’t make it home. I’ve had to stop on the way and run into a bathroom somewhere. I wake up and dread eating. I have not had a solid stool in 3 years. I have been embarrassed several times having to try and explain why I was in the bathroom so long at someones house. I currently have no insurance and can’t afford the expensive medications like welchol and questran. I also have a very strong family history of colon cancer, which I have read that having a gall bladder removal can up your chances of getting cancer. I work from home, so I don’t have the job issues others have, but I have to make sure I know where a bathroom is at all times. I can eat something in the morning and have diarrhea all day from it. To all of you suffering, I hope and pray you get better, but so far mine has gotten worse

[DataCurator]

“I agree as well, I had my gallbladder out in May, not back to work yet and still very uncomfortable, cannot lift over 10lbs,very hard to cope when you have 2 kids under 8! and can hardley tollerate food, and my stomach is bloated or extended alot of the time. My muscles were damaged during surgery so pain is an everyday occurance…..before this surgery….. life seemed better…… now what? I experience depression now as well because i just don’t feel like i’m getting better anytime
soon:o(”

[DataCurator]

I have celiac and a painful gallbladder, but no stones. I also have loads of polyps, the largest is 5mm. It’s so nice to have someone recognize a connection. Things have improved for me since a strict gluten free diet with less gall bladder pain however it’s interesting that when I’ve eaten out and been glutened by mistake, I am sick for days and my gall bladder hurts. Thanks for all your work and giving me hope.

[DataCurator]

I am 38 years old and i had my gallbladder removed 8 years ago. I now have what my GI doctor calls bile induced diarrhea. When ever I eat , about 15-30 minutes later I am running to the bathroom. I lived with this for years because I thought I had to. But, last year i started some medication to control the diarrhea and it seems to be working great. However, after years of chronic diarrhea I now how diverticulosis and I have had several attacks. I know that this does not happen to everyone, but the risk is there.

[DataCurator]

“Hi – I’m brand new to this forum and am SO glad to have found it.

I had my gall bladder removed 20 years ago, and for years had no digestive problems at all, although I have always been careful to stick to a low-fat diet.

About two years ago, I started feeling weird throat sensations – as if my throat were closing up, along with a feeling of fullness in my ears. No pain. No changes in any other system. I went through a battery of tests for ulcers, GERD, etc., and everything was negative. I had a repeat endoscopy about 9 months ago, and everything was still fine. So I carried on, just hoping it would go away. Increased my exercise, decreased my stress.

About two months ago, the symptoms got worse – now I’m at the point where although I wake up feeling absolutely fine every morning, but as the day wears on, my throat starts burning and my ears feel full and sometimes burn, and this lasts more or less all day. It comes and goes, but more often comes and stays.

I started a very strict diet plan yesterday, given to me by a naturopath – cooked, bland foods only, spaced three hours apart. I have done this kind of purifying diet before, and know it works, and my symptoms clear up. But it is very restrictive, and I can only stay on it for a couple of days. Then I slowly add in other foods – and eventually, at least in the past, the symptoms creep up on me.

I have an appointment with my doctor for two days from now, and think that as opposed as I am to medication, I should start taking something, because as one of you above mentioned, I, too, am worried about the long-term effects on my esophagus. (Not to mention the fact that the burning puts me in a rotten mood…)

I wish my surgeon 20 years ago – the top laparoscopic surgeon in Israel – had told me what might be in store. He probably didn’t even know, which is very bad.

Thanks for “”listening””!

–Joyce”

[DataCurator]

“i had gallstones for as long as i can remmeber feeling ill..
i eventually went to the doctor after massive pains in my chest
telling the doctor i had gallstones he laughed and said they dont test people under 30 for gallstones..but to make me happy he went ahead with it.

i never went back to that doctor.

after alot of putting it off and after a long couple years of severe attacks
i went thrugh with all the tests and pre op stuff..

and eventually i was in theatre
the day of my surgery could have been my last.

i was in so much pain..[my dad had previously had gallstones with no symptoms and nearly died he was in ICU for 3 months [they brought him back 3 times] :(] i thought that would be me…

after being told my surgery would take1.5 hrs and i would be out the next morning i was feeling a little better telling my family to go home and ill see them tommorow..

i had the surgery wich took a little over 4 hours they told me it woud be key hole surgery and there was a one percent chance they would have to slice me open…i begged them, not to slice me open and felt confident they wouldnt have too..i mean 1 percent comon!!

i woke up from surgery surrounded my worried family..

and the first words i heard “”they had to cut you open dear”” and i cried so hard 🙁 in my dopey morphine state..
my gallbladder was compleetly hardened with infection and had to copme out or i would have died.
the doctor later came in and told me the surgery took alot longer then he thought and that he had messed up the surgery…he was apologisoing and telling me he scared himself!! i was like WTF!! he told me that he had knocked my bowel [and that it may be perferrated] and that he accidentally grabbed my stomach instead of my gallbladder and think one of them or both might not function properly and i would have to have further surgery to correct them..i was in disbelief..and omg i had no idea of the hell i was in…

i was not aloud to eat or drink for 5 days!! i was throwing up from haveing an empty stomach and being on that drip think they pump into you all the time..SO GROSS i was throwing up the medicine and urinating i tout and everything was green and disgusting..they wouldnt let me drink or eat…i was so sick..and no one seemed to care..

i could not sleep because my drip was not put in properly and everytime i moved it would cut off and start to beep really loud..

i was soo sick…

the nurses ignored my calls after a while..

and one of the nurses [a noisy larakin man] would wake me up in the middle of the night saying “”if i have to be awake then you do too”” i was vomiting and chucking my vomit bags ont he floor and when i ask for a new one they would say fill this one up first they are expensive. :O

everything smelled so gross..

i begged to go home everyday

it was 6 days of pure hell.

i have a massive scar across my right side under my right breast its about writing pen and a half long..and crooked and wide :””(

and i have a scar above my belly button for the trial key hole surgery they didint even have to do that!!

i have severe bloating now, and am rapidly outting on weight i have out on 10 kilos in 8 months.

i feel horrid.

and the pain still persists. i feel light head and nauseated all the time..dizzy spells and have frequent urination.

i thought it was all meant to be over..

they promised me the world and all i got was hell.

im glad to get rid of the gallstone attacks..but it was a harsh journey i hope everything lays off me soon.

did anyone else go through this kind of horror?”

[DataCurator]

Hello all! I cant say that I’m happy to see so many others having the same problems as myself. But I must admit that I feel much better that I am not alone. I recently had my gallbladder removed. December 12th to be exact and I am still having the same pain as before. I have had blood work done numerous times pre and post op. Ive had 2 ultrasounds and an MRCP scan. And all came back negative. I just dont get it….and neither do any of the specialist i have seen. I have lost so much weight in these past few weeks. I am afraid to eat anything. I know that greasy foods and saturated fat cause these ” attacks” but come on…REALLY? When does this end? It almost seems like all of this is just a bunch of guess work. Are there any suggestions as to what I should do next? Is this something that I just have to live with? I appologize for complaining but its so frustrating

[DataCurator]

“3 years ago,I had my gallbladder removed!
Every since its been pure hell for me! I regret
so much having my gallbladder removed! After
having my gallbladder removed, I had to have 3 other surgeries, due to my gallbladder surgery.
I had 2 surgeries to remove adhesions and lesions from my insides including my bowels.
I also had to have a procedure done on my bladder from where I had multiple hemorrhages.
I can’t believe the shit, I been going through
since my gallbladder surgery! I have experienced unexplained chest pain, back pain, feel very sick at times and I constantly get diarreah. For 3 years, I have feared that I may
possibly die, because I can’t get answers from doctors on why I may be experiencing all these
problems, since my gallbladder surgery. My
biggest fear is possibly dying and leaving my
only child, which is 15 years old, without his
mother.My advice to anyone thinking about having their gallbladder removed Don’t Do It!
You may regret it afterwards! I know I do!
Your family and loved ones may regret it as well!”