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Gall Bladder Problems

1K views 18 replies 6 participants last post by  LadyM 
G
#1 ·
Ok guys, my doctor had me do a blood test to see if my gallbladder needs to be removed. I called the office to get the results; they said I need to come in. That is not a good thing! I do not want surgery! I had my appendix out and found out that I am prone to keloids. I have also seen on the net that If you have had surgery in you abdomen, you have to go with the old surgery. That would mean the huge scar.One thing that I noticed on here was that people were talking about "attacks." I have had 2 "attack" in the past week, and I just have pain and bloated feeling 24/7. Is it normal to have the pain 24/7. I am loosing weight too because I don't eat much. I had a glass of pop for lunch which filled me up.Anyone know my options here? I heard about the camomile tea, Coke and oil, and a couple other things. I want to try these before I agree to a surgery. Does anyone know of any other ways to fix gallbladder, without surgery? I want to bring a list to my doctor.
 
#2 ·
Lil, Hadn't heard that about having to have the major surgery if you had prior abdominal surgery. In fact I have personal knowledge of a few people who had the Laproscopy surgery after having other ab surgeries. I'm not sure what you read on the net means. But I think your Gall Bladder would have to be in awful shape & ruptured in order to justify the "big" surgery in today's world of greedy insurance carriers.I had an extended lap done to have mine removed. Mine was gangrenous by the time they took it out, (long awful story which I will spare you.... thank me...
)and I was pretty darn sick post-op. I had infection creeping up my throat, literally before the surgery. So if the Doc thinks it isn't a good idea for you to hang on to yours, get a 2nd opinion to make you feel confident of the diagnosis. But if 2 Docs tell ya it needs to go, trust me, don't wait til its gangrenous & rupturing before ya get it taken out. That said...It depends on why your Gall Bladder isn't functioning as to whether or not you can treat it without surgery. I never had a blood test to have my gall bladder function tested. I had to go right for the CT Scan. Perhaps you had a CBC type blood test??? This would count your white & red blood cells. An elevated white count could indicate infection. A CT Scan can confirm that. I only had the blood test taken 'stat' right before I had the CT scan. Yep, it was elevated. That is the only reason I can think of for how a blood test could tell ya whether or not your Gall Bladder needs to come out.( By the way, Are you running a fever? If ya are Call the Doc pronto!) On the other hand...Perhaps you just have some gall stones and perhaps the Doc has a med that could help break them up. I can understand why you are concerned & want to avoid surgery if you can. But if a Gall Bladder is diseased.... sorry but it HAS GOT to GO. In the mean time eat little or NO fat so you don't bring on an attack from you know where..Yes by the time I hit the Hospital mine was hurting 24/7.Please let us know how you are doing. Sorry I couldn't give any really good ideas on how to avoid the surgery. But whatever happens I sure hope you feel better soon.
BQ
 
#3 ·
Lil, Hadn't heard that about having to have the major surgery if you had prior abdominal surgery. In fact I have personal knowledge of a few people who had the Laproscopy surgery after having other ab surgeries. I'm not sure what you read on the net means. But I think your Gall Bladder would have to be in awful shape & ruptured in order to justify the "big" surgery in today's world of greedy insurance carriers.I had an extended lap done to have mine removed. Mine was gangrenous by the time they took it out, (long awful story which I will spare you.... thank me...
)and I was pretty darn sick post-op. I had infection creeping up my throat, literally before the surgery. So if the Doc thinks it isn't a good idea for you to hang on to yours, get a 2nd opinion to make you feel confident of the diagnosis. But if 2 Docs tell ya it needs to go, trust me, don't wait til its gangrenous & rupturing before ya get it taken out. That said...It depends on why your Gall Bladder isn't functioning as to whether or not you can treat it without surgery. I never had a blood test to have my gall bladder function tested. I had to go right for the CT Scan. Perhaps you had a CBC type blood test??? This would count your white & red blood cells. An elevated white count could indicate infection. A CT Scan can confirm that. I only had the blood test taken 'stat' right before I had the CT scan. Yep, it was elevated. That is the only reason I can think of for how a blood test could tell ya whether or not your Gall Bladder needs to come out.( By the way, Are you running a fever? If ya are Call the Doc pronto!) On the other hand...Perhaps you just have some gall stones and perhaps the Doc has a med that could help break them up. I can understand why you are concerned & want to avoid surgery if you can. But if a Gall Bladder is diseased.... sorry but it HAS GOT to GO. In the mean time eat little or NO fat so you don't bring on an attack from you know where..Yes by the time I hit the Hospital mine was hurting 24/7.Please let us know how you are doing. Sorry I couldn't give any really good ideas on how to avoid the surgery. But whatever happens I sure hope you feel better soon.
BQ
 
#4 ·
What the surgeon told me about needing the "big" surgery because of past surgeries was that sometimes after surgery we get lovely scar tissue inside there. Like my surgeon said, this can get in the way of seeing everything good with the lap. And what he can't see, he won't cut! LOL I was grateful for that statement!
But I still think this is on RARE occasions and I still think most of the time it doesn't matter if you've had a past surgery, they can see fine and they just cut that little bad boy out of there. BQ is right though. I had a friend who had IBS symptoms for a while. Then started getting gallbladder pains. Let it go for months. She ended up in the hospital for a week before she could have the surgery, she had a few really bad infections. Was close to death! She had D for 6 months-1 year afterwards when she ate fatty foods! Now it's been about 2 years and she doesn't have any problems at all.I think those people who don't get D afterwards won't be found on boards like this, for obvious reasons. So you're more then likely to find the horror stories on these boards. While I do believe ANYONE can get bad D afterwards, even those that don't have a history of IBS, I do believe a lot of people recover with no problems.My surgeon told me to expect some D, and heartburn for that matter while my body readjusted. He said that is VERY common with most people. Like I said in my other post though, if they are claiming gallstones, ask for an ultrasound to make sure if you already haven't had one. If there are gallstones present and your getting pain like you say you are, I don't think you have any choice then to have it out! Good luck!Jennifer
 
#5 ·
What the surgeon told me about needing the "big" surgery because of past surgeries was that sometimes after surgery we get lovely scar tissue inside there. Like my surgeon said, this can get in the way of seeing everything good with the lap. And what he can't see, he won't cut! LOL I was grateful for that statement!
But I still think this is on RARE occasions and I still think most of the time it doesn't matter if you've had a past surgery, they can see fine and they just cut that little bad boy out of there. BQ is right though. I had a friend who had IBS symptoms for a while. Then started getting gallbladder pains. Let it go for months. She ended up in the hospital for a week before she could have the surgery, she had a few really bad infections. Was close to death! She had D for 6 months-1 year afterwards when she ate fatty foods! Now it's been about 2 years and she doesn't have any problems at all.I think those people who don't get D afterwards won't be found on boards like this, for obvious reasons. So you're more then likely to find the horror stories on these boards. While I do believe ANYONE can get bad D afterwards, even those that don't have a history of IBS, I do believe a lot of people recover with no problems.My surgeon told me to expect some D, and heartburn for that matter while my body readjusted. He said that is VERY common with most people. Like I said in my other post though, if they are claiming gallstones, ask for an ultrasound to make sure if you already haven't had one. If there are gallstones present and your getting pain like you say you are, I don't think you have any choice then to have it out! Good luck!Jennifer
 
#7 ·
Hi, Sorry to hear about your gallbladder problems. First off I would insist on at least an ultrasound to confirm what the actual problem is. Like whether it is stones or desease. Not sure about your info on the actual surgery and not being able to do the lap. Seems that this would only happen as a last resort. Our technology is wonderful these days. I have had my gallbladder removed just over a year ago. I had 2 attackes and then pain and nausea 24/7. Not always severe but there. More noticable after eating. I have had no ill effects from the removal. No "D"! You may wonder why I am here then. It is because I had problems with "D" about a year before the surgery that stemmed from taking antibotics. If you have the surgery make sure you get some good acidophulis to counter any antibotics they give you in surgery. I forgot to do this after having my son in April by c-section and had problems afterwards that I am now just getting over.Take care and make sure you have all the information to satisfy yourself before having surgery.Regards, Jo-Anne
 
#6 ·
Hi, Sorry to hear about your gallbladder problems. First off I would insist on at least an ultrasound to confirm what the actual problem is. Like whether it is stones or desease. Not sure about your info on the actual surgery and not being able to do the lap. Seems that this would only happen as a last resort. Our technology is wonderful these days. I have had my gallbladder removed just over a year ago. I had 2 attackes and then pain and nausea 24/7. Not always severe but there. More noticable after eating. I have had no ill effects from the removal. No "D"! You may wonder why I am here then. It is because I had problems with "D" about a year before the surgery that stemmed from taking antibotics. If you have the surgery make sure you get some good acidophulis to counter any antibotics they give you in surgery. I forgot to do this after having my son in April by c-section and had problems afterwards that I am now just getting over.Take care and make sure you have all the information to satisfy yourself before having surgery.Regards, Jo-Anne
 
#8 ·
Lil nut - you need to explore more about the open v lap. My dad had vascular surgery last fall (plus open heart surgery prior to that). They went thru the abdomen for the vascular surgery. Right after the vascular surgery, his gall bladder started playing up. Of course, they had to wait a little while for him to recover from the previous surgery. When they removed his gall bladder, it was done as a lap.
 
#9 ·
Lil nut - you need to explore more about the open v lap. My dad had vascular surgery last fall (plus open heart surgery prior to that). They went thru the abdomen for the vascular surgery. Right after the vascular surgery, his gall bladder started playing up. Of course, they had to wait a little while for him to recover from the previous surgery. When they removed his gall bladder, it was done as a lap.
 
G
#11 ·
Ok, I need more help because I am even MORE confused!!! I just got home from my ultrasound, nothing wrong with my Gallbladder. I have no idea what is wrong with me. My blood test shows that there is no stones stuck anywhere and the ultrasound shows no stones at all.I was told that I had a lot of gas and he could not see my pancreas in the ultrasound. Is that a hint? When he was doing the test it REALY hurt when he was close to my rib on the right hand side. What else can it be??? I have constant pain in the center abdomen ie. indigestion, bloating, I am not hungry and a glass of water will fill me up, when I am home and relaxing I am fine, when I am in a car or active it begins to hurt, I have lots of nausea and gas, I went to Burger King and had severe pain for the next couple hours. I have tried TUMS and my doctor put me on a prescription antacid, they don't help at all. Now the doctor prescribed a stronger antacid and pain medication. Nothing helps. WHAT IS WONG WITH ME?!?!?!I don't think that it is a liver or kidney problem because I believe that you would have bathroom problems (I think). I don't suspect IBS because I don't have a problem in the lower digestive area.Can some one PLEAES, PLEASE help. Even if you have ideas that I can look into, I would appreciate it.
 
G
#10 ·
Ok, I need more help because I am even MORE confused!!! I just got home from my ultrasound, nothing wrong with my Gallbladder. I have no idea what is wrong with me. My blood test shows that there is no stones stuck anywhere and the ultrasound shows no stones at all.I was told that I had a lot of gas and he could not see my pancreas in the ultrasound. Is that a hint? When he was doing the test it REALY hurt when he was close to my rib on the right hand side. What else can it be??? I have constant pain in the center abdomen ie. indigestion, bloating, I am not hungry and a glass of water will fill me up, when I am home and relaxing I am fine, when I am in a car or active it begins to hurt, I have lots of nausea and gas, I went to Burger King and had severe pain for the next couple hours. I have tried TUMS and my doctor put me on a prescription antacid, they don't help at all. Now the doctor prescribed a stronger antacid and pain medication. Nothing helps. WHAT IS WONG WITH ME?!?!?!I don't think that it is a liver or kidney problem because I believe that you would have bathroom problems (I think). I don't suspect IBS because I don't have a problem in the lower digestive area.Can some one PLEAES, PLEASE help. Even if you have ideas that I can look into, I would appreciate it.
 
#13 ·
Well, Lil It could be gas. Gas pain can be severe. I usually use phazyme (any simethicone sp? product will do though) after each meal if I'm having trouble with gas. Also Peppermint Tea is a natural smooth muscle relaxant and can help gas 'move along'. The symptoms you described sounds very familiar to me when I'm having lots of trapped gas. I know it causes you more discomfort, but moving around may actually help you a bit by breaking it up so you can get rid of it. Can you try some light exercise?The fact that the Ultrasound was good is a positive. Did the Doc give you any other suggestions?Hope you can feel better soon.BQ
 
#12 ·
Well, Lil It could be gas. Gas pain can be severe. I usually use phazyme (any simethicone sp? product will do though) after each meal if I'm having trouble with gas. Also Peppermint Tea is a natural smooth muscle relaxant and can help gas 'move along'. The symptoms you described sounds very familiar to me when I'm having lots of trapped gas. I know it causes you more discomfort, but moving around may actually help you a bit by breaking it up so you can get rid of it. Can you try some light exercise?The fact that the Ultrasound was good is a positive. Did the Doc give you any other suggestions?Hope you can feel better soon.BQ
 
#15 ·
You can have stones in the duct leading into the pancreas. You mentioned he could not see the pancreas. I had stones in both places, having the stones in the pancreas years after my gall bladder was removed. There is severe pain with stones. I hope you find an answer soon.
 
#14 ·
You can have stones in the duct leading into the pancreas. You mentioned he could not see the pancreas. I had stones in both places, having the stones in the pancreas years after my gall bladder was removed. There is severe pain with stones. I hope you find an answer soon.
 
#16 ·
Oh boy, I can see how that would be very frusterating!!Well I'll tell you this though. Last year I had a really bad attack, went in the next day to the ER. My Ultrasound came back FINE! No stones or anything! A year later an ultrasound showed a gallbladder FULL of them! So as someone who has been there don't rule it out yet! I did that, and never thought twice about my gallbladder till I got the next really bad attack!I think I passed the stones at that point. And like someone else said maybe they are stuck elsewhere. People can have a nonfunctioning gallbladder without stones. There is a test for that. I forget what it's called. But basically they give you something that will make your gallbladder "goo" glow. Then they make your gallbladder contract (which can be uncomfy to say the least). Then they watch and see how well your gallbladder is operating. I few people I've known found out they had bad gallbladders this way. I'm still betting you have stones though. You may have passed them I think. Sorry your having to go through all of this!Jennifer
 
#17 ·
Oh boy, I can see how that would be very frusterating!!Well I'll tell you this though. Last year I had a really bad attack, went in the next day to the ER. My Ultrasound came back FINE! No stones or anything! A year later an ultrasound showed a gallbladder FULL of them! So as someone who has been there don't rule it out yet! I did that, and never thought twice about my gallbladder till I got the next really bad attack!I think I passed the stones at that point. And like someone else said maybe they are stuck elsewhere. People can have a nonfunctioning gallbladder without stones. There is a test for that. I forget what it's called. But basically they give you something that will make your gallbladder "goo" glow. Then they make your gallbladder contract (which can be uncomfy to say the least). Then they watch and see how well your gallbladder is operating. I few people I've known found out they had bad gallbladders this way. I'm still betting you have stones though. You may have passed them I think. Sorry your having to go through all of this!Jennifer
 
#19 ·
Lil, have they done a gallbladder scan on you? I remember when I first started complaining with gallbladder symptoms that they done a ultra sound and it showed no stones, when they took my gallbladder out I had NO stones, it was only functioning at 14 percent, my gallbladder was diseased. Thirty-Five percent or higher is normal. Only thing that will show how your gallbladder is functioning is a gallbladder hida-scan. If you haven't had that I would ask for it to be done just to make sure your gallbladder if healthy. I hope you feel better soon.
 
#18 ·
Lil, have they done a gallbladder scan on you? I remember when I first started complaining with gallbladder symptoms that they done a ultra sound and it showed no stones, when they took my gallbladder out I had NO stones, it was only functioning at 14 percent, my gallbladder was diseased. Thirty-Five percent or higher is normal. Only thing that will show how your gallbladder is functioning is a gallbladder hida-scan. If you haven't had that I would ask for it to be done just to make sure your gallbladder if healthy. I hope you feel better soon.
 
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