[Marriah]

Hi guys, havent been around in a while, hope everyone is doing well.Well, my episodes have come back, after being in 'remission' for a few wonderful months. A brief description of my problem:excruciating stomach pain (upper center)nauseaprojectile vomitinguncontrollable DThis has been going on for about 4 years now. My episodes are grouped together over about a month or so, then I'm good for a few months. The episodes last for about 12-48 hours.Nothing has stopped these episodes. I have tried the following meds:zanaxbentyllevsinphenergan: pills, suppositories, injectioncompazine: supp.nitroIm sure there have been others, but the point is that I have tried most everything.I have had about every test you can think of. Blood tests, urine analysis, poo analysis, both kinds of scopes.I frequently end up in the e.r., only to be given a shot of phenergan and fluids, and then sent home to puke my guts out some more. In the past 4 days, I have been to the er twice, and now have 12 punctures in my arm from them trying to find a vein. I am so sick of this.Anyway, this last time I was in the er, I asked them not to give me phenergan, and perhaps they could test me while i was actually sick. They did a full ab ultra-sound, and ab x-ray. They were checking my gallbladder. Nothing came up.My question is this: Is it possible to have gallbladder disease, or gallstones, without it showing up on tests? Or not having any sensitivity on your right side? I am really starting to think its my gallbladder, and am on a special diet, excluding fat, grease, acidic things, ect.My reg doc cant do anything more, and I couldnt get an appt with my GI for another month.Please help me.

, Marriah

 

[BQ]

Follow the diet and see how you do Marriah. I will tell you we are ALL different. I had GB attacks and NONE were for the duration of time you mentioned (thank G-d, cause I'd be dead by now, LOL) and the pain was OFF the scale.This may just be how your system reacts. Have you ever correllated ingestion of a particular food or activity, event... etc with the onset of these attacks? Start a symptom log if you haven't already. Your GB may be fine just like the tests indicated. However I have heard, in very rare cases, of GB stones not being seen on an Ultrasound. But hey ya never know. To have a GB attack, all ya need to do is ingest some fatty food. If you do and you have an attack within hours, it could be your GB. If you haven't had any particularly fatty food before the onset of these attacks, your GB is probably fine.For now follow the diet you were given and log your symptoms so at least you will be able to see the GI with as much info for him as possible.Hope you get to feeling better soon.BQ

 

[Homebound]

Hi Marriah, I'm sorry that your having this.I had my gallbladder out in Oct. 2001. A year before that I had my first very bad attack. Exactly how you discribed. A sever pain in the upper right/middle area. I would vomit and have D at the same time. The pain for me would last hours. I went to the ER, and they found NOTHING on the ultrasound. A year goes by, probably had many "small" attacks that I must have passed off as heart burn or something. We go out to my favorite Mexican food restuarant. And BAM this attack was even worse! Back to the ER after crying in pain all night with it, and finally believing this was my gallbladder.This time they found a gallbladder full of stones, and swollen. The next week I had it out.So it is VERY possible to have a messed up gallbladder and stones without them finding it at first. You also can have a nonfunctioning gallbladder without stones, which basically gives you the same symptoms. They have a test for that, I believe it's called a hidascan. That test can see how well or not so well your gallbladder is working. I didn't get that far since they did find the stones at some point. I wish I hadn't put it off after the first attack though. The surgeon said my GB was very diseased and swollen, with tons of stones by the time I had it out. Very dangerous he said.

Good luck, I hope you can find out what is causing your pain! I would keep pushing those doctors for answers till you do!

 

[TechChick]

I didn't have any stones in my GB, its function was 12%. They did the ultrasound, x-rays and different drugs to try find out what was wrong. The doctor even told me that your ultrasound was normal so its not your gallbladder, it wasn't till I want to see the PA in the office several months later that she thought it was my gallbladder and order a hidascan. After my test came back at 12%, I had surgery 1 week later. Have you had a hidascan? Its possible that your gallbladder is not functioning correctly or not at all. My symptoms were exactly as yours are, the attacks would last anywhere from 12-48 hours, and they were misserable.

 

[RitaLucy]

Marriah Yes you can have gallbladder disease without having stones. Ask your Dr. for a hida scan and a CT scan.I had a hida scan several months ago to confirm that my gallbladder is functioning basically at 15%. I will have it out soon as soon as I find a surgeon I like at the hospital I want to go to.