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“I had my gallbladder removed on 7/8/99. The doctor told me that it was the second attack and that they are going to take it out. She told me she was the best there is. So I had it removed. I was in alot of pain after the surgery and they did not send me home like they where supposed to do. I stayed the night and went home the next day. Two days after the surgery, I was changing my clothes and noticed that my side had turned black bruised. I was very upset after seeing this. The next day my hip got a big black circle (bruise) on it. When I went to the doctor and asked her about this, she said that sometimes this happens. Is this true. After about 4 months after the surgery, my stomach had pain in it everytime I got hungry. I had to get something to eat or I felt like I would vomit. It was a horrible feeling. I went to a gastroligist and he went down to view my stomach with a scope and said I had acid reflux and barretts esophigus. I had to change my diet and take previcid. He then sent me for blood work because I also have a pain where my liver is located. The bloodwork came back with high levels for the liver and also my triglycerides came back at 264 and then he sent me for a C/T scan. The scan showed I have a fatty infiltration of the liver. Also, it showed a 1-2 mm lung nodule in the right middle lobe. After that he ordered a chest e-ray and that came back and said no active disease is seen in the chest. I still have the pain in my liver and my doctor said he wants to see me back in his office in 3 months. My questions are: 1) Is a fatty liver reversable and if so what can I do to reverse it?
2) Should I have pain where by liver is?
3) Should I still have pain after 8 months in my right side where all the bruising was.
4)Should I except that my e-ray on the chest came back normal when the C/T scan (a more detailed test) showed a 1-2 mm nodule. “i had my gull bladder removed 3 years ago ive had ongoing bowl problems im loose most of the time so bad sometimes i have accidents just going for a walk its really destoryed my life ,i have questran from to doctor , i suffer from cramps so bad i it makes me cry , when i need to go loo i cant control it as its so loose it will just come away from my body questran helps with the cramps ,ive now been given amitripline from consultant but not sure how thats gonna help
“Hey all,
I had my gallbladder out about 2 years ago. I felt fine for the first 7 months then felt like my gallbladder was never removed. Fast forward to 3 GI docs, 10, 000 in unnecessary tests and my Primary care doc finally diagnosed me with post-cholecystectomy syndrome. He put me on a bile binding med called “”Welchol”” and I feel so much better. Still need to stick to lowfat but no more burning pain in my stomach. Hope this can help someone out there.
Karen”
I had my gallbladder out 10-24-07. I don’t recommend those surgical centers. I had my surgery at 8 am and by 10 am they sent me home. I was in the ER 3 times since then with a pain they can’t figure out. I’ve had an angio gram and my heart is fine. I had an endoscopic procedure because they thought my esophogus was spasming. It came back fine. I’ve had 2 cat scans. They came back fine. Finally my family doctor said I could be having phantom pain. He said not everyone bounces back after losing an organ. I lost 22 lbs. was afraid to eat because of the pain and full feeling. I also wasn’t sleeping more than 3 hrs. a night. My family dr. gave me a drug called Klonopin(in the valium family) I’m eating again and sleeping 8 hrs. If I have any pain I take a half one and a whole one at night to sleep. I’m starting to feel like my old self. You do feel alone when drs. run tests and tell you there’s nothing wrong, but you still have pain.
“I had my lap chole at the beginning on March… and I am STILL having issues. I was hospitalized for a week post-op unable to keep anything down; and in constant pain.. I was miserable. my surgeon told me I’d feel SO much better after my surgery… he was wrong.. if I could dig my gallbladder out from the trash and put it back in I would!!!! I have had test, after test after test… and everything has come back ‘normal’ from gastric emptying, EGD, abd ultrasound, HIDA scan, MRCP, and blood work, and everything is normal except some elivated LFTs & blie in my stomach…..
I have CONSTANT nausea daily and some vomiting, EVERYTHING I eat gives me diarrhea.. sometimes constipation but rare (and im eating a very bland diet due to the severe nausea & meds i’m on…) … pain in my upper chest, and abd and it’s just getting old …. anyone else having these issues…surgically i’m well… GI doctors say you’re a mystery & have NO idea what’s wrong & think your a head case…. what the heck???? Anyone else having these issues.. Please give me your insight!!”
hi i to have had problems since my gall bladder removed in september 2008. the pain started 2 days after surgery. i have pain under my rib cage and when i sit down it feels like something is being squashed! i cant lie on my side, drive or do much of anything with being in pain! i also feel sick most of the day. i saw the surgeon and had an ultra sound a few weeks after surgery but nothing, so for a year and half i just put up with pain but in march it got worse and causing me problems everyday. i could do more when i had the gallstones! im seeing another surgeon in to weeks so hoping they get to the bottom of it. clare
“I too have been suffering to the point it is effecting my daily life.
I had my g/b out 7 years ago. I have persistant diareha. You would think with all the pooping I do I would be thin, but nooooooo. I have gained weight. A couple of years ago I had a coloscopy and everything was fine.
I am very excited about the Questran andI am goping to call my doctor today. I do find I do much better on a high protein diet but nothing takes away the diareha. I wish someone had told me there would be these dramatic side effects sooner. I have probably spent thousands on Immodiam AD.”I myself had my gallbladder removed about 4 years ago and thought that we be the end to all my stomach problems, but I like you have had SEVERE upper abdominal pain with the pain radiating to my back. For me the pain didn’t come until about a year afterward so it could not be related but I sure described it the same way you did, I don’t remember that feeling at all. Mine only comes on about every 2 months or and cannot think of anything that I could be eating to cause this. One time I had to go to the ER I really thought something bad was happening but they found nothing at all. So I have given up I figure if something really bad happens off to the the ER I will go.I hope your pain is just from healing, good luck
Hello, my name is Shelly and after gallbladder surgery, I have found that I have bile reflux and I cannot even work sometimes. I never took the meds the doc wanted me to because I was afraid of the side effects and they were not working. I tried Aloe vera juice and it burned horribly! I think maybe my stomach is too irritated right now for that. But I tried other herbs that did help. I have a script for Xanax because my anxiety is out of control, but no other drugs. Could you send me some info. to my email that might help. My teeth are cracking from this and death sounds good sometimes. I hate to be this way, but I am very miserable.
“I had my gallbladder removed when I was 18, I am 25 now. Fresh out of high school, I found myself working the overnight shift at a local store, tending to sleep a great deal during the day. During this time I decided to get my life under control. I had been obese my entire life and enough was enough. Over the course of about 6 months I lost an incredible amount of weight due to a self-created (foolish) diet consisting of less than 3 grams of fat a day, and very high in fiber. Roughly 115lbs in 6 months. I had experienced a dramatic change in my energy level, but attributed it to working the overnight hours; It wasn’t unusual for me to sleep up to 12 hours a day. Through it all, I was very happy with my life. I was down to about 220lbs, 5’10 and losing an average of 5-7lbs per week, working and sleeping away the time preparing for college.
One night while I was off work, I woke up about 3am with incredible stomach pain. I’m sure most of you have experienced this before and know exactly what it was. No position helped, I found myself laying on the floor, getting up, sitting on the stairs, going into the bathroom, waking up my parents asking for help. My mother always at the ready produced some aspirin and sent me back to bed, all to no avail. Eventually the pain subsided. A week later, another ‘attack’, this one even worse than the last. I was literally crawling across the floor crying. I ended up driving myself to the emergency room and testing revealed that I had gallstones. The doctor indicated that my gallbladder was filled like a gumball machine. The only option provided to me was laparoscopic removal of the gallbladder. I met with a surgeon that day and went on to have the procedure performed less than a week later. All the while being told that it was like having my tonsils taken out and that after a month it would be as if it never happened.
Two days following the procedure, I was rushed back into the emergency room, jaundiced, feverish, and what felt to me as if I were dying. A urinalysis was requested and my sample was the color of coca cola. The diagnosis? Shockingly enough, gallstone.
I was confused, this was supposed to be an hour long procedure and I was supposed to be on my way with a few weeks off on medical leave from work. Apparently a possibility never revealed to me had become a reality. A gallstone had found its way out of the gallbladder during the procedure and became trapped in a liver duct. Another procedure (and applicable medical bills) I was back home again.
Fast forward 7 years. (7 already…) I gained back every bit of weight lost after the near death of my metabolism. Despite taking on a more healthy diet including vegetables, non-red meat, fruits, etc and bi-daily exercise, the weight would not be stopped. Eventually I gave up. I actually gained back more than I had lost. At this point in time, no matter what I eat, I suffer stomach cramping and diarrhea within 20-30 minutes. I am always tired, my energy is spent. I’m depressed. I wish I had been told the truth in regards to the long-term effects of this procedure. At this point I should have been back to normal 6 years and about 4 months ago.
I urge anyone considering this procedure to research all of the options. Don’t let anyone pressure you into a choice. More importantly than anything, ASK QUESTIONS.
Sorry for the life story.
*Note that my experience with this procedure is not the normal outcome, most people I have spoken with regarding it have had highly positive outcomes with only minor side effects, but nothing is ever certain. Having said that, surgery should never be the first and only choice in regards to this particular illness.”
I to suffer from RUQ pain. I was hospitalized for back and abdominal pain 6 weeks ago and the docs said i had a blockage after doing ultrasounds, and abdominal xrays. Then after discussing with the about a previous kidney stone they sent me for catscans and changed my diagnosis as they found a kidney stone stuck in the ureter. However in the hospital after having the kidney stone taken care of I continued with severe pain. I explained to the docs and nurses that when I ate something was triggered. I immediately build up with gas under my rib cages and all around the front abdomin (abdomen) making me look 9 months pregnant. The pain radiates thru my back and to my spine. The pain gets so intense that it causes me to become nauseated and even vomit. The pain could not be controlled by any pain meds starting from morphine, to dilauted etc…Im not sure what to do anymore. I can be in a dead sleep and woken instantly by the burning and bloating pain. I do know the pain gets more severe if i lay down. I asked the docs for carafate thinking maybe i have an ulcer. I have been treating myself with the carafate and nothing has changed. Ive been back to the doctors and now they want to put me on prevacid. My problems only get worse because now i am pregnant so testing is limited. My biggest fears are small bowel obstruction as my uterus grows and pushes on the organs. My previous pregnancy i developed an internal hernia causing severe intestinal damage for me.. Where do i go from here?
I had gall-bladder surgery about 7 years ago. Since then I have had to evacuate a little bit after eating. I have to wear something to keep from having an accident. I have accidents and don’t even know it until ‘after the fact’. I go through about 10 or 12 mini-pads a day. I do know that fatty foods hurt, fried foods hurt and just about everything else. I feel for all of you with this syndrome. I just don’t know what to do……
Ireally feel for you .I had gall bladder surgery about two years ago,and i have suffered every day since.bloating, pain,basically the same thing that i had before the surgery.I am on the same medacine that i was on before the surgery.I am at my wits end i need help also.every thing i eat makes me sick, I thoughrt i was alone in this. but i see there are more people out there that has the same thing that i do . help! thanks
“Hello everyone! I was actually looking for information about medications/supplements and their interactions if I do not have a gallbladder, which I don’t. I didn’t find what I was looking for but……………..I found it strange that almost everyone here has acid reflux / GERD after having their gallbladder out. What is up with that? I had never had any problems with reflux until after my gallbladder was taken out. All of a sudden I started having pain in my neck that went down into my left arm and I had chest pain and trouble breathing. I went to the doctor because I have a problem with my mitral valve and after a stress test and a huge hospital bill they said I “”must”” have acid reflux. I tried prilosec which did not work and then they put me on Prevacid. Prevacid works marvelous!!! All my symptoms gone!! However, now I am not taking it because it is extremly expensive and I have a huge deductible because of the new year. Anyway…..long story short, my mom recommended calcium with magnesium and wow that made me way sick. Anyone know if I should take magnesium without a gallbladder or where I can find information regarding this?
Sorry for the long note but I was just so surprised to see that so many people have the same problems.
Don’t get me wrong, having my gallbladder out was one of the best things that I could have done. Much better than the pain I was having from it. And, mine was just “”not working”” right like any of you. No stones.
Good to talk to you all!
God Bless.”“When you have problems after having your gall bladder removed–be it diarrhea or acid reflux–it’s called post-cholesectomy syndrome. Basically post-gall bladder removal syndrome. It’s not the same as IBS, because IBS has no known causes; if you have GI problems and you have no gall bladder, well, that’s a known cause.
I’ve been taking Welchol for about 5 years to deal with my bile diarrhea. It works really well, although I still have to be careful with my diet on a few points. I ran out of Welchol back in December and I’m unemployed and have no insurance, so I’ve been avoiding paying the doctor half a week’s unemployment wages for nothing more than a prescription, but I have not had any luck whatsoever controlling my D with diet or calcium either one. I’ve got enough money now I can afford to go to her (I have to get my prescription renewed because we’re going to a week-long campout in a couple of weeks and I can’t hope to make it 8 hours in the car one way, or teach classes or do anything else I want to do when I’m having diarrhea 3 or 4 times a day; even when I have a rare, normal bowel movement, it’s still full of bile and burns.)”
