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Ongoing Complications (1000+)
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I think we may all be experiencing symptoms from unrelated or different problems. I want to be very clear about my own situation so that others can dissect which people have the same problem as them. I had my gall bladder removed, 3 small incisions, about 2.5 years ago. Since then I’ve had two problems with crippling stomach pain. One is morning hunger pain. You wake up hungry, but it inflates into a crippling pain of cramping that is best solved by quickly eating crackers and water. You just have to get something on the stomach and keep it there. After close to 2 years of this every morning I’m happy to say this has faded away to having it just about 0 times in the last 6-8 months. I do believe for me it has fixed itself! Unfortunately there is a second problem with crippling stomach pain that comes after you eat. Similar to symptoms others have expressed, it’s usually after the first meal of the day. I might be starting to notice a correlation with slightly spicy foods. I have noticed increasing bouts with it when I eat at La Casita. But I’ve had problems today for example eating a simple club sandwich with fries. It did have Thousand Island dressing on it though which is slightly spicy I guess. Then again I ate a flamethrower from DQ without any problems. Another time I had a tuna melt. I went to the bathroom, and started feeling that familiar stomach pain starting to come on, so out of hope it was just some gas I popped a couple Multi-Symptom Rolaids. In that case it wasn’t spicy food and I kind of wonder/feel like the rolaids might have actually made it worse. Anyone ever feel like they make pain worse? My pain is crippling. I’m 31 years old. My wife drives me to the emergency room. I’m in the passenger seat with the seat folded back balled up in the fetal position, breathing so heavy that I can’t speak, or it sounds like someone’s pushing quickly and hard on my stomach pushing the air out of me. It’s beyond frightening, and you do think you’re going to die. I’ve had this pain probably 1-2 times a month since my surgery 2.5 years ago. By the time I get to the emergency room the pain subsides, and the only thing that keeps me from going to the ER every time is the comfort in knowing that I have this pain so often that it’s become predictable… knowing that it will pass. You just have to hang in there. Then when it’s all over you can relax and finally cry. But it’s torture. For anyone with those symptoms you’re not alone. I live in Minnesota and my Doctors so far are of little help. I might see if I can get a referral to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester. For those who may not know, the Mayo Clinic is a world famous hospital where presidents and kings from other countries go for medical attention. Perhaps one of us could walk in the door and they would have all the answers for us, a simple pill and our lives are back to normal again. If I or anyone stumbles across that experience, please share. Andy
“My name is Shirley, I had my gallbladder removed when I was 20 it had apparently for no reason stopped working, it was only working at 2%, I am now turning 30.. The pain has never stopped for me.. I get the very bad hunger pain in the morning mixed with nausea if i cant get to the fridge on time, sometimes i dont even make it through the night, and the same distressing pain if I over eat.. The pain is extremely dibilitating,the only way i can describe it is like the most terrible charlie horse in my diaphram..cant breathe, or answer questions..(people unfamiliar with this pain want to ask a million questions while youre in this pain..) when it comes on if i’m driving I have to pull my car over and pretty much wait it out..I literally have to keep food circulating in my stomach about every four hours or so.I don’t take the trips to the er anymore but i used to ..It is certainly very scary and confusing since there seems to be no doctor who can answer my questions.and i have even had doctors tell me its psychosomatic..not sure if i spelled that right but it basically means im causing the pain myself because they havent found the cause… it is oddly comforting to know i am not alone however it sickens me to hear of SO MANY people with these issues. I had no idea and stumbled on here by accident actually.
”“Hi I had my gallbladder and one very large stone in the common bile duct removed in an emergency operation 3 weeks ago and spent 12 days in hospital. I had no episodes of nausea before or after the operation until I had the ‘t’ drainage tube (which had previously been clamped)removed in outpatients and now just have a feeling of nausea in my throat several times a day…is this the usual pattern? I found that I was given no dietary advice but was starving a couple of days after I came home and fancied fish, mashed potatoes and salad for nearly every meal for some obscure reason! I have been putting olive oil and lemon on the salad so am now trying to cut down on the olive oil to see if that helps the nausea.
I also find that when I wake up in the morning or during the night my stomach feels really sore and I still find it hard to take a really deep breath without getting ‘a twinge’ and it’s uncomfortable if I lay on my side. I have also experienced some ‘dumping’ though this is now improved from what it was before the operation when I couldnt eat salads or fruit at all without getting diarrohea. ”I had my GB removed 5 years ago after experiencing systematically increasing nausea for about 10 months prior to the operation. Post op, I was nauseated constantly for 2 years and then things finally started to get better. Over the next 2 years the nausea slowly dissipated to a frequency of several times a week for several hours at a time. In the last year, the nausea is much less frequent, but I still have bouts that sometimes last for days. So much for an easy surgery and recovery. I’ve read that about 2% of people suffer from prolonged or permanent symptoms. I’ve been test thoroughly and the test are all normal. I’m hoping that as time goes on it will become less of an issue.
I had my gallbladder removed on the 13th of January. I had to go back to the hospital two days later for an ultrasound and an iv because I was dehydrated. It’s now the 31st of January and for the last 3 days I’ve been throwing up. I can’t keep anything down. I am running a fever. I had a few sips of gatorade this morning and that has stayed down so far. I wondering if what I am experiencing is normal?
“I’ve been reading through the last few pages of posts and I can say that for some people, there truly are problems post gall bladder removal. Up to 40% of people who have their gall bladders out will experience side effects (for some, they last months, for others, a lifetime).
So for those of you who are lucky to not experience any problems, go ahead and post comments about your own experiences but I would urge you not to make blanket statements telling people that nothing will happen and that everything will be fine. For 2/10 people, that will not be the case. And those people need to be forewarned so they can make an educated decision about whether to have the surgery.
Like those who have previously posted issues, I too have had issues post surgery. I had always been very slim but since the surgery I have steadily gained weight in my stomach area (10 lbs/year), despite no changes to my diet.
It has been 10 years since I had my gall bladder surgery and I am still experiencing digestion problems (alternating between constipation and chronic, painful diahrreah). I seldom have a regular BM. When diarreah occurs, I have hot flashes lasting 15 minutes until the BM is over, and severe abdominal pain. There is also a visible grease line in the toilet bowl and I can see where the fat is NOT breaking down. When I have constipation, I experience bloating, exhaustion, and blurred vision.
I have been told these reason this occurs is because the bile is no longer being regulated when released into my intestines. The gallbladder facilitates and regulates the flow of bile in your body. So when that facilitator is taken away, quite often that the flow will be not as efficient, ie. too much at one time, or not enough.
Without the gallbladder, the bile is not as readily secreted in the body, and the liver can become overwhelmed when faced with large amounts of any fats, especially saturated fats and hydrogenated fats. For some people even small amounts of fats can cause discomfort.
One of the side effects of gallbladder removal can be the dumping of bile which can send someone running to the bathroom immediately after eating. On the flip side, your body can also sometimes experience a decrease in the secretion of bile which results in weight gain as fat is not broken down.
If you think of your problem as a biliary (bile) problem as opposed to a “”gallbladder”” problem you are more on the right track to understanding how to take care of it.
IS GALLBLADDER SURGERY EFFECTIVE?
The answer to all of the above is “”sometimes””.
Abdominal pain, nausea, gas, bloating, and diarrhea are common following surgery. Postcholecystectomy syndrome (after gallbladder removal syndrome) may include all of the above symptoms plus indigestion, nausea, vomiting and constant pain in the upper right abdomen.
Sound familiar? You’re right — gallbladder attack symptoms. Up to 40% of people who undergo gallbladder surgery will experience these symptoms for months or years after surgery. How is this possible? You no longer have a gallbladder and that was the problem, right?
Look to the whole biliary tract. Now that the gallbladder is no longer present to act as a reservoir for bile, the common bile duct may expand as the bile backs up in the bile duct between the sphincter or muscular opening at the small intestine and the liver from which it flows. If it drips constantly into the small intestine this can cause problems of a different kind. However, this syndrome with accompanying pain appears to have the flow of bile obstructed by either a narrowing of the sphincter or a malfunction of the sphincter.
“”Functional biliary pain in the absence of gallstone disease is a definite entity and a challenge for clinicians.”” which is to say that at this point in time, they don’t really know what to do with gallbladder problems that aren’t related to gallstones (2) and “”Often, following cholecystectomy, biliary pain does not resolve…”” (2) which means after gallbladder surgery you may just be stuck with the pain.
So in conclusion, your best bet may be to try and fix what is wrong if that is possible, before taking it out. Sometimes, that is just not possible.”
“Hi, I just had my gall bladder ( micro surgery) removed 2 weeks after I found out It was sick( stones) and I will say it was the best thing I have had done.I was told by my nurse to hold off on eating fat,greasey foods for 3 weeks when the doctor said 2 weeks. The nurse said it will cut down on having the runs to the bathroom better than 2 weeks and so far she was right. So far no runs. My surgery was done on Tues, morning and I was back home the some day.Very little to no pain, never used the pain meds,I was given ..Having this surgery has not changed my life any. Only take it easy for a few days.Three days after surgery I cleaned the carpet. Oh”” I for got to tell you I am 62 1/2
So if you are thinking about this surgery GO 4 IT .But first check with your regular doctor,have chest x rays,and blood work done ahead of time,and even a ekg. This saves your surgeon time and you money.
GOOD LUCK ”I too have had my gallbladder removed exactly 2 years ago. I can say 2 months after having it removed, I still feel like I have stones. The same pain I get keeping me up crying at night. My thing is.. I have not been back to the doctor again after my surgery. I have spoken to a few people, and they tell me the pains never did go away for them either. Have you checked to see if you have an ulcer? or acid reflux disease? This is what I have been told may be the cause of my pains. But still feels like I have gallstones
it sounds like we are having the same type of thing. From all the research I have done, and the non (or small) response to PPIs, antacids, etc, I am inclined to believe that it is bile or a combo of bile and acid. I had an endoscopy about a month before my GB surgery, and it was totally clean. No H. pylori, no esophagitis, no ulcers, etc. During the surgery, it was found that my GB was necrotic and infected (gross…) and that I had three 2cm stones. I have been doing some searches on bile reflux and it seems like the only “cure” is medication and/or surgery. Lifestyle and diet changes seem to have minimal effects. I am a vegetarian, so I think my diet is pretty low fat already (in response to the other post), but I am going to try to reduce the fat even more. So far, it’s been about 1 week on Prevacid, and it’s gotten a little better, but still not 100% gone. I agree that I just want something to get rid of the horrible symptoms. The feeling of something stuck in my throat is really distracting and sometimes really painful. At this point, if surgery is an option, I’m willing to do it because I really feel like I will never be “normal” again without doing something!
“I had my gallbladder removed December 13, 2010. I’ve gained 40 pounds since then! I’m in a total panic and nothing I do seems to help. I’m severely constipated and the doctor told me it was normal not to have a bowel movement for 5 days – 2 weeks. Hello? Is he joking? I have to take 2 heaping capsules of Miralax DAILY and then barely something comes out. It feels like I’m carrying a concrete brick around in the front of me. Is there any answer for this? What can I do? I’ve started exercising more than I ever have and continue to eat non-fat (as I have for the last entire year before surgery & lost 77 pounds) and the scale just keeps moving up. When will it ever stop and is there a way to make it stop? I’m so freaked out I don’t know what to do. I’ve reduced my food so much I feel sick all the time from the bile in my stomach. Yet, if I eat anything it adds calories. I’m in a vicious cycle. HELP PLEASE – I’m now searching for another doctor because this gastro is an idiot telling me that about bowel movements.
”I had my surgery 2 weeks ago today with the laparascope. I too was assured that after 7-10 days I’d feel pretty much back to my old self. Well my old self never had indigestion. I have IBS but never diarrhea like I get now. But worst of all is the right-side pain. As I sit here typing I’m trying to breath ‘over’ the pain (old Lamaze technique) and it helps. The other day I was trying to rub off the remaining sticky tape residue where I assume my gallbladder used to be and I got a terrible searing, tearing kind of pain and now that spot is sore to touch most of the time. Guessing maybe I just disturbed a healing spot but I feel awful. Nausea and occasional lowgrade temp (no more than 100). I’ve called the doctor, spoken to his nurse who assured a call back. That was 3 days ago. Today he’s in surgery. I don’t want to sound like a hypochondriac but I assumed I’d be back to work in another week or so (I’m a personal chef so lots of lifting, time on my feet). Not like this, or at least not with real pain meds. I also have fibroymalgia, which has flared up but this is not fibro pain. It helped to read this forum though and see that I am NOT loosing my mind or imagining the pain. Hope everyone finds relief and answers soon. Do you get the feeling that sometimes doctors think this pain is in our heads or we’re exaggerating it? After all…they figure they removed the cause right?
OMG I had surgery 3 years ago and I awoke after surgery with a very bloated tummy and to this day everyone asks if I am pregnant even though I am 51 years old. I have a tiny waist size 12 in clothes until u get to my tummy and then I need size 16 pants to go around my tummy but my butt and legs I take a size 11 pants. I wish I had never had the operation. Unfortunately they don’t make enough swing tops out there to cover the stomach. I would do anything to have a flat tummy again.
“I had a lot of problems with diarrhea and then constipation. i am sure it
started after my gallbladder was taken out. I was diagnosed with irritable bowel syndrome and put on fiber pills, which helped, but I had to carry extra clothes, wipes to clean up,etc with me all the time. Earlier this year I switched to a multi-grain bread, that’s crunchy, and seldom have bowel problems anymore. But I have to watch what I eat very closely.
I also have problems with very severe chestpain that is not heart related.
I continue to have reflux problems, hungry all the time, and burning stomach. I have no idea how to fix this problem. Any ideas? ”I had my gall bladder out about 8 years ago. I had a lot of digestive heartburn, but not diarhea. I just read under another message for IBS that Slippery Elm Bark helped her (from health food store) and she had that problem all her life. But she said if you are on other medication, you should check with your doctor first. I found that will gall bladder removal, everyone’s symptoms afterwards are different. I have to not eat many raw vegetables, but can even eat coleslaw if I just eat a little bit and it is finely shredded (I love coleslaw). I am on Nexium which helps a lot! It is the best one for my chemistry I have been on. I don’t like to be on medicine, but I found I would be limited to basically a bland diet if I don’t take it. Hope this helps! And don’t overeat anything–it will make you miserable! I did gain weight and am battling to take that off now with diet and exercise–which I have always done, but have to be much stricter now because much harder to lose any weight. Of course, I just turned 50, so that may be why, also.
I had my gall bladder removed 3 years ago, at first all my problems seemed to disappear. Now i have noticed that my stomache is swelling up like i am pregnant and i am suffering from pain in my right side under my ribs. I have been advised that i might have stones in my bile duct and may require an ERPC, [tube down throat to take stones from bile duct]. I have told my doctor about the bloating, and he also says this is quite common with gall bladder problems.
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