Gallbladder Problems?
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Gallbladder Problems?
| Mon, 03-27-2006 - 12:40pm |
Hello,
I was wondering if I could get some advice or see if anyone is going through the same thing. I have been really sick for about 8 months now.I have had these attacks for about 4 years but they usually went away within a few days. My symptoms are right upper quadrant pain in my shoulder and back, right side stomach pain,nausea,vomiting. I thought for sure it was my gallbladder. I am seeing a GI Specialist and have had the following tests done:Blood laboratory tests, Ultrasound, Gallbladder Scan,Cat Scan, MRI Upper GI, and A GI scope with biopsies. Every single one came out normal. My doctor said there was nothing more he could do. I dont know where to go from here. I have no insurance so this has wiped out all of my savings. I cannot work and spend most of my time in bed. Please let me know what I can do to feel better and get my life back. Thanks so much
I was wondering if I could get some advice or see if anyone is going through the same thing. I have been really sick for about 8 months now.I have had these attacks for about 4 years but they usually went away within a few days. My symptoms are right upper quadrant pain in my shoulder and back, right side stomach pain,nausea,vomiting. I thought for sure it was my gallbladder. I am seeing a GI Specialist and have had the following tests done:Blood laboratory tests, Ultrasound, Gallbladder Scan,Cat Scan, MRI Upper GI, and A GI scope with biopsies. Every single one came out normal. My doctor said there was nothing more he could do. I dont know where to go from here. I have no insurance so this has wiped out all of my savings. I cannot work and spend most of my time in bed. Please let me know what I can do to feel better and get my life back. Thanks so much

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Hi and Welcome to the board.
Sorry to hear you are not doing well.
I had my cat-scan test done and it showed a spot on my kidney. They said it may be a stone but they are not sure. Would all of the symptoms I have been having be caused by that(upper back pain, right side pain, nausea, and vomiting)? I always heard you would have lower flank pain, possibly blood in urine and maybe burning during urination. I have none of these syptoms.That is about the only test they havent done on me is an urinalysis. Now my Dr wants me too have an MRI that is closed. Im very claustraphobic.Ive tried to have one before with anxiety medicine and had a panic attack .They had to stop the test. My dr said he would let me know what my other options are but that was days ago.I am so tired of just laying around being sick and just having to wait for these dr to let me know something. I cant even keep down water and I sleep about 2 hours a night from the pain. Anyway I know Im feeling sorry for myself. Thanks for reading my post. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. Hugs to everyone out there thats not feeling well. Take care.
Hi...wow, I'm sorry you're feeling so bad. If you can't even keep down water, maybe your best bet would be to go to the nearest emergency room...if it is a kidney stone, they could at least give you fluids and anti-nausea and pain medication to help manage it.
Here's an article I found on the common symptoms of kidney stones...I think the side pain, nausea, and vomiting would be often associated with stones, though I have heard that the pain most often radiates down to the lower back (but radiating up higher may be possible...I'm just not sure):
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/kidney_stones/page3_em.htm
I wish your doctor were following up with you better...it must be so frustrating. I'm worried that you are in so much pain and not keeping down water...that does sound like something that should be taken seriously. Would you consider going to the ER to see what they might be able to do?
Hang in there,
Rose
Edited 4/5/2006 5:26 pm ET by rosa444
I was reading you posts and was wondering what ended up happening? Is it kidney stones?? Hope you're doing well!!
Teresa
Hi,thanks for replying to my post. I did end up having surgery last Wed. I didnt have stones but had a cyst behind my gallbladder causing it to not work properly. When they went to remove it a blood vessell burst and I lost a lot of blood. So what ended up being a simple one hour surgery and going home, I ended up in the hospital for 4 days and was in surgery for four hours. I am now recuperating and hope having it out will be worth it in the long run.I hope that people will now realize you can have all normal tests and no stones show up but still can have a dysfunctioning gallbladder that can make you real sick. I really appreciate you writing to see how I was doing. It means a lot. Take care
Sincerely,
Stephani
Wow! I'm so sorry that all that happened but I hope it was well worth it and you won't be in anymore pain! I hope the surgery went well and that you have a speedy recovery!! Were you in any pain after your surgery? I'm going in for my surgery May 25 and I'm very nervous!
I agree with you! Too many people and even alot of doctors think just because you don't have stones then everything is okay and its not. Mine has been going on for 6 years all tests, ultrasounds came back fine then finally last year they sent me for a HIDA scan! When the results came back my doctor told me they came back fine. I got so frustrated I stopped going to the docotors and just dealt with the pain for a year. Then this year I started getting the pains really bad and went back to the doctors (a different doctor) and he looked at my charts and said my HIDA scan last year came back with an ejection fraction of 16% which was low - I was in SHOCK! I was dealing with the pain for a year when it could have all been avoided. He sent me for another HIDA scan and Upper GI just to be sure and the HIDA came back with 15% this time so off the surgeon I went! Just because there are no stones means NOTHING!
Take care,
Teresa
Hi! If I would have known you had surgery coming up I wouldnt have made it sound so bad. I bet you really fell better now. Sorry!! I cant believe that they made you suffer for so long without doing anything. Especially when you had a failed HIDA SCAN. That is so frustrating! I didnt even fail my Scan. It was at 56% so Im lucky I talked this surgeon into even helping me. After the surgery I was in some pain. They say the first 48 hours is the worse.You know what helped me the most? A small pillow that you hold against your stomach. It helped when I had to get up and walk,when I was lying down on that side or when I had to cough. My mom called that pillow my friend. I didnt go anywhere without it. Are you having the 4 small incisions and doing it in day surgery? Believe me it will all be worth it. You wont know what to do living pain free after all this time! Too bad it wasnt done a lot sooner like it should have. Well, good luck with your surgery. Try not to be too nervous and it will be over before you know it. Instead of focusing on the surgery just think about how much better you will feel after it is all over. Take care
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