gallbladders

I think there is a real link. My sergeon told me that when your gallbladder isn't working propery you can develop IBS symptoms. And of course a lot of people who have their gallbladder out seem to develop IBS-D afterwards.Back in '99 I saw a lot of people on these boards having theirs out, and it kinda freaked me out. I actually got a little irritated with seeing it so much. Thinking "hello" this is about IBS, not gallbladders. Only to find out mine was as rotten as they come, full of stones!!I think anyone with IBS should at least have it checked out, just to be on the safe side. Since after all the only way to know for sure that it's just IBS is to rule out everything else. Jennifer

I think there is a real link. My sergeon told me that when your gallbladder isn't working propery you can develop IBS symptoms. And of course a lot of people who have their gallbladder out seem to develop IBS-D afterwards.Back in '99 I saw a lot of people on these boards having theirs out, and it kinda freaked me out. I actually got a little irritated with seeing it so much. Thinking "hello" this is about IBS, not gallbladders. Only to find out mine was as rotten as they come, full of stones!!I think anyone with IBS should at least have it checked out, just to be on the safe side. Since after all the only way to know for sure that it's just IBS is to rule out everything else. Jennifer

Hey Cori! A simple ultrasound will shows stones. I know some people have had bad gallbladders with no stones, and there is another test that shows how well your gallbladder is working. I didn't even need that test though since the ultrasound showed stones.Actually last summer is when I had my first gallbladder attack. It usually happens after eating a fatty meal. I ate pizza one day for dinner, and woke up in the middle of the night. Pain in the upper right hand side of the stomach area, and it shot up to my shoulder. I also threw up a few times, and had some major D. The interesting thing was when I went to the ER the next day the ultrasound didn't see any stones! So I just put it off to some bad pizza or something and forgot about it.Throughout the next year I ate a lot of fatty things here and there without any troubles. Then two weeks ago we went out to lunch for mexican food. Again I woke up in the middle of the night, horrible pain, and nausea. Went again to the ER and this time they found TONS of stones. A surgeon the next day told me it had to come out and SOON! 5 days later I was on the operating table!Once it was out the surgeon told my husband that from the looks of that gallbladder it had been BAD for MANY years. I've had IBS-D now for 3 years, and he says he has no doubt it was causing me problems with diahrrea!So yeah, part of me regrets not having it checked out sooner, maybe I could have saved myself a few years of suffering. I did a lot of reading this past week on it, and I also read that 90% of people who have gallstones don't have attacks. But when they start to have attacks is when it has to come out. I also wonder though that if I would have had an ultrasound back in '99 would it had showed gallstones that soon? I don't know. Maybe it takes time to get to that point where you know that's what the problem is. I don't really think that everyone here has a bad gallbladder. But over the years I have seen a lot of it on these boards. Many having problems before they had it removed, and a lot having problems after it was gone. So you could have it checked, but then you could just wait and see if you ever develop such attacks first. I just hate how IBS symptoms can be a lot of different things. To me it always made me unsure of what the heck was going on, ya know? Jennifer[This message has been edited by Homebound (edited 10-21-2001).]

Hey Cori! A simple ultrasound will shows stones. I know some people have had bad gallbladders with no stones, and there is another test that shows how well your gallbladder is working. I didn't even need that test though since the ultrasound showed stones.Actually last summer is when I had my first gallbladder attack. It usually happens after eating a fatty meal. I ate pizza one day for dinner, and woke up in the middle of the night. Pain in the upper right hand side of the stomach area, and it shot up to my shoulder. I also threw up a few times, and had some major D. The interesting thing was when I went to the ER the next day the ultrasound didn't see any stones! So I just put it off to some bad pizza or something and forgot about it.Throughout the next year I ate a lot of fatty things here and there without any troubles. Then two weeks ago we went out to lunch for mexican food. Again I woke up in the middle of the night, horrible pain, and nausea. Went again to the ER and this time they found TONS of stones. A surgeon the next day told me it had to come out and SOON! 5 days later I was on the operating table!Once it was out the surgeon told my husband that from the looks of that gallbladder it had been BAD for MANY years. I've had IBS-D now for 3 years, and he says he has no doubt it was causing me problems with diahrrea!So yeah, part of me regrets not having it checked out sooner, maybe I could have saved myself a few years of suffering. I did a lot of reading this past week on it, and I also read that 90% of people who have gallstones don't have attacks. But when they start to have attacks is when it has to come out. I also wonder though that if I would have had an ultrasound back in '99 would it had showed gallstones that soon? I don't know. Maybe it takes time to get to that point where you know that's what the problem is. I don't really think that everyone here has a bad gallbladder. But over the years I have seen a lot of it on these boards. Many having problems before they had it removed, and a lot having problems after it was gone. So you could have it checked, but then you could just wait and see if you ever develop such attacks first. I just hate how IBS symptoms can be a lot of different things. To me it always made me unsure of what the heck was going on, ya know? Jennifer[This message has been edited by Homebound (edited 10-21-2001).]

Cori, BE CAREFUL!Do not have that gallbladder taken out until you have had atleast two doctors take a peek at you.I had D attacks off and on and finally when it began to disrupt my life, I went to the doctor. They did an ultrasound and said I have stones and that I needed my gallbladder removed. I was so desperate to stop the D attacks that I went for it and man, I really have problems now. That was in 1996 and I am still paying for a bad decision.I did not have stones even though they told me I did. Once they got in there, they could not find any stones. My gallbladder was removed anyway and I then developed a severe case of acid reflux disease (atleast we think that is what it is). I had heart attack like pain start before I even left the hospital! I have been tested, tested and retested. Problem is, it doesn't happen everyday, I don't have acid come up in my throat and it doesn't "burn", it HURTS!It actually feels like what you would think a heart attack would feel like.My GI is now thinking I could be having Esophagus spasms. I have to carry a bottle of water and pepto with me every where I go incase I have an "attack". The only thing that stops the pain is the act of drinking (sometimes), Pepto (sometimes) and by vomiting. I have noticed lately that if I feel the pain starting and eat something like a cereal bar or something, a lot of times, it will stop it also. This is so awful.Anyway, Please-Please-Please do not jump into this. You sound a lot like me. I did not have any pain in that area either. My only symptoms was a bit of cramping and D. ------------------How long a minute is, depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on...

Cori, BE CAREFUL!Do not have that gallbladder taken out until you have had atleast two doctors take a peek at you.I had D attacks off and on and finally when it began to disrupt my life, I went to the doctor. They did an ultrasound and said I have stones and that I needed my gallbladder removed. I was so desperate to stop the D attacks that I went for it and man, I really have problems now. That was in 1996 and I am still paying for a bad decision.I did not have stones even though they told me I did. Once they got in there, they could not find any stones. My gallbladder was removed anyway and I then developed a severe case of acid reflux disease (atleast we think that is what it is). I had heart attack like pain start before I even left the hospital! I have been tested, tested and retested. Problem is, it doesn't happen everyday, I don't have acid come up in my throat and it doesn't "burn", it HURTS!It actually feels like what you would think a heart attack would feel like.My GI is now thinking I could be having Esophagus spasms. I have to carry a bottle of water and pepto with me every where I go incase I have an "attack". The only thing that stops the pain is the act of drinking (sometimes), Pepto (sometimes) and by vomiting. I have noticed lately that if I feel the pain starting and eat something like a cereal bar or something, a lot of times, it will stop it also. This is so awful.Anyway, Please-Please-Please do not jump into this. You sound a lot like me. I did not have any pain in that area either. My only symptoms was a bit of cramping and D. ------------------How long a minute is, depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on...

Jleigh- Sorry all that happened to you. Sound like you had a quack doctor! I don't think that happens very often really (stones being diagnosed and not really having them). Nor have a really heard of anyone getting reflux disease FROM having their gallbladder out. Most people I know who have had theirs out either had no problems afterwards, or got some D because of the extra bile. Most doctors will not remove a gallbladder unless the person is getting attacks, and stones are present. I had an attack, and no stones were found the first time, they suspect now that I PASSED the stone during the first attack. Maybe that was the case with you I don't know.But I do know that after the surgery was over the sergeon did say that he found a rotten gallbladder full of stones. A bad gallbladder is nothing to mess with, you can DIE from it. Even if I got bad D afterwards it would still be worth it. At least I would still have my life! I never once told Cori to rush in and have it out. I don't think a simple Ultrasound would hurt though. Especially when so many people here have a colonoscopy and other invasive tests to rule out other things. I personally think it's better to be safe then sorry. But I would never tell someone to have their gallbladder out unless they really needed to. Again sorry this happened to you, but I personally don't believe that your current problems has anything to do with having your gallbladder out. Do a search on this board, you will be shocked to see how many people here have reflux problems and STILL have their gallbladders! But that's just my opinion. As always I think everyone should listen to their doctors (and if your in doubt of how good they are, get a new one!). I just wanted to clear up that I'm not suggesting surgery here. I'm just suggesting like everything else that has to do with IBS, that maybe it's a good idea to rule gallbladder disease out too. Since so many people DO have real problems with it.Jennifer[This message has been edited by Homebound (edited 10-22-2001).]

Jleigh- Sorry all that happened to you. Sound like you had a quack doctor! I don't think that happens very often really (stones being diagnosed and not really having them). Nor have a really heard of anyone getting reflux disease FROM having their gallbladder out. Most people I know who have had theirs out either had no problems afterwards, or got some D because of the extra bile. Most doctors will not remove a gallbladder unless the person is getting attacks, and stones are present. I had an attack, and no stones were found the first time, they suspect now that I PASSED the stone during the first attack. Maybe that was the case with you I don't know.But I do know that after the surgery was over the sergeon did say that he found a rotten gallbladder full of stones. A bad gallbladder is nothing to mess with, you can DIE from it. Even if I got bad D afterwards it would still be worth it. At least I would still have my life! I never once told Cori to rush in and have it out. I don't think a simple Ultrasound would hurt though. Especially when so many people here have a colonoscopy and other invasive tests to rule out other things. I personally think it's better to be safe then sorry. But I would never tell someone to have their gallbladder out unless they really needed to. Again sorry this happened to you, but I personally don't believe that your current problems has anything to do with having your gallbladder out. Do a search on this board, you will be shocked to see how many people here have reflux problems and STILL have their gallbladders! But that's just my opinion. As always I think everyone should listen to their doctors (and if your in doubt of how good they are, get a new one!). I just wanted to clear up that I'm not suggesting surgery here. I'm just suggesting like everything else that has to do with IBS, that maybe it's a good idea to rule gallbladder disease out too. Since so many people DO have real problems with it.Jennifer[This message has been edited by Homebound (edited 10-22-2001).]

Jennifer,I'm sorry you thought I was jumping on your post. I wasn't. I hadn't even read it until you replied to my post. It was long and I was lazy so I was just replying to Cori's second post. Sorry for the misunderstanding.The radiologist who read my ultrasound was the one who said I had stones and my GP just went with what this guy said I guess. As I said before, my symptoms were simply D and mild cramping. I never had pain or vomiting or any of the typical symptoms. It is my own fault for not getting a second opinion. That is why anytime I see a gallbladder thread, I feel like I have to put my warning in. It had to be the gallbladder removal that has caused this pain. If not, I don't know what else it could've been as I hadn't even experienced any type of heartburn before going into the surgery but I started having this horrible pain immediately after. Like within two hours. I was not going to a GI before the surgery. After I kept having so many problems my GP finally sent me to a GI. I know many people who developed acid reflux disease after their gb was removed. One lady I worked with got it so bad she would wake up at night with acid running out of her nose! There is a possibility that I do not have reflux, it could be spasms??????? The fact that it is not consistant keeps me from having some of the tests to find out for sure. So, we try medicine after medicine to see what may work and so far-nothing has.The most relief I have had has come from the IBS hypnotherapy tapes and Calcium.------------------How long a minute is, depends on what side of the bathroom door you're on...