Right side pain, not constant

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-16-2004
Right side pain, not constant
4
Sun, 02-20-2005 - 8:25pm
Since mind friday I have had this pain in my right side, down by my hipbone, ocassonlay moving up near my bellybutton. It does not hurt all the time, it hurts some, more when I walk around or ride in the car. No fever, some occasional nausea but no vomiting. I ruled out apendicitis since its not a constant pain. I have diareah ( a little, more like just loose stools) I have IBS and I had my gallbladder out last January (04). I have tried pressing on the area and it hurts some but not like 'oh my god don't do that it hurts' kind of pain.
Any thoughts?
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
Mon, 02-21-2005 - 9:01am

Well I am not sure

thflowers-hahd23222.gif picture by Wren53B

iVillage Member
Registered: 11-18-2004
Sun, 02-27-2005 - 10:40am
I have right side pain too. I had my gall blader out last year and since then I have also had pain in my right side, usually right behind my lower ribs. I'll have it for a couple of days and then it will go away for a while. it seems to be worst first thing in the morning, and can be alleviated by changing position. It is not really intense, more of an ache. I also notice that my stools tend to be lighter, kinda yellowish when this happens. I have talked to my family doc and a GI specialist about it. They did an ultrasound and some blood work. they haven't come up with a real answer, but they don't seem too worried about it, as long as it doesn't get worse/isn't accompanied by fever, vomiting, etc. The family doc thought my duadnum (top part of the intestine) might be irritated and they did a test for h.pylori which I haven't gotten the results or yet. The other possibility seems to be irritation of the bile ducts. the ultrasound was normal, so no stones, but I would think they might just be more sensative now that the gall bladder is gone....who knows?
Anyways, i don't think we are alone. I feel like I have read about people having upper right quadrent abdominal pain after having thier gall bladders out. maybe some others will jump in with comments.
iVillage Member
Registered: 10-14-2003
Sun, 02-27-2005 - 1:09pm

Yes!

thflowers-hahd23222.gif picture by Wren53B

iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Wed, 03-02-2005 - 12:11am

Hi - I had my GB out a year ago and continuted to experience pain. They finally ordered an ultra sound in Dec/04 and found that there is some inflamation of a duct (there is a separate post from me some where further back in the Discussion folder - title something about test results being back)

There was no evidence of stones - but they don't always show up on ultra sounds.

The plan is to monitor my symptoms and repeat the ultrasound in a few months.

I was so glad that they did find something - so that it's not just me being neurotic - and also glad that I kept at the doctor about it. (which is hard to do some times)

My suggestion would be to follow up and if necessary see another doctor who is willing to find a cause rather than tell you that pain after GB removal is normal. It isn't normal - it's a sign something isn't right.

You'd mentioned possible irritation of the ducts - were they larger than they should be on the ultra sound? OR how did they decide that.

The fact that it gets better based on your movment makes me (not a medical profesisonal) think that it is something physically wrong rather than a reaction to food (although food can certainly play a role in things).

During my journey leading up the GB removal (8 months after diagnosis) and after the surgery I did a number of elimination trials with my diet. That would mean eliminating a certain food group from my diet for a 3 month period - re-introducing it and watch for a reaction. This is difficult - but I found it actually easier to just remember not to eat dairy than to remember to write done my food consumption and physical symptoms daily then compare notes to do an analysis. (that's just me - others have great results with a food journal). Anyway - I discovered that eggs, dairy, and gluten products are best avoided. The gluten really causes a bit of bloating and some pesky "female problems" to flare up - which was an interesting finding. Fat is also something that I have to keep an eye on. By avoiding dairy, eggs and gluten that automatically rules out all processed foods.

Sorry for nattering - it's late.

Take care,
Jo