Gallbladder Problems?

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2005
Gallbladder Problems?
13
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

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iVillage Member
Registered: 03-23-2003
Mon, 03-27-2006 - 8:18pm

Hi and Welcome to the board.


Sorry to hear you are not doing well.

 
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2005
Tue, 03-28-2006 - 5:14pm
Thank you for replying to my message. I have had a US done on my gallbladder.It was normal also. I took your advice and called my doctor and told him something has to be done.He ordered another Cat-Scan and a chest X-ray for in the morning.He said if those came back normal that he would at least send me to a surgeon and I could negotiate with him to take my gallbladder out. I know thats what it is bacause every woman in my family has had their gallbladder taken out and they had the exact same symptoms. I just dont understand why the tests are not showing anything. Hopefully I will find something out soon. Thanks again!!
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-23-2004
Fri, 03-31-2006 - 9:55am
My boyfriend's daughter had the same problem. She's 15 and had the same symptoms. At first they did think it was her gall bladder. They did the same tests that you did, everything came out normal. Then they thought it was her kidneys...everything came out normal. Then they thought she had endometriosis...they went in to do surgery and found out that she didn't have it. A month later...after she had missed a whole month of school...they decided just to take the gall bladder out just in case. When they did they found out that it was inflammed and diseased and that it was in fact the problem. She's back to normal now...a month ago she was on the couch in terrible pain. So you could in fact need your gall bladder out. All of her tests came out normal and said that her gall bladder was functioning normally, but when they took it out they were wrong. The doctor said it happens a lot. Good luck!!!
iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2005
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 2:12pm
Hello everyone,
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.
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-27-2003
Wed, 04-05-2006 - 5:25pm

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
Avatar for kweenie97
iVillage Member
Registered: 06-09-2003
Wed, 04-12-2006 - 11:35pm
I can identify with having something wrong and not figuring out what it is. I too have RUQ pain, off and on for almost 2 years now. Last fall I got bumped just under the rib cage and it was like a knife going into me. It's been pretty constant since then...it just feels like a hot rock is in me. I've had the ultra sound, nuc med, upper GI, and CT as well. Nuc med showed some decreased gallbladder function so my doctor did send me to a surgeon. Surgeon wouldn't take it out until he was convinced it was my gallbladder. So off to the GI specialist I went. First one I saw completely wrote off my pain/nausea/vomiting and only wanted to focus on some diarrhea I have sometimes from medication that I'm on. I explained this to him but it didn't seem to do a bit a good. Told me my pain was muscular. Whatever. So I'm getting a second opinion in a week and that week can't get here fast enough. If you come to any kind of diagnosis, please let us know. I'm not bad enough to not be able to keep anything down but I do see where I'm progressing with vomiting more and just constantly feeling exhausted. Good luck to you!
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2006
Mon, 05-08-2006 - 3:55pm

I was reading you posts and was wondering what ended up happening? Is it kidney stones?? Hope you're doing well!!

Teresa

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2005
Tue, 05-09-2006 - 1:18pm
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
iVillage Member
Registered: 05-08-2006
Tue, 05-09-2006 - 2:49pm

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

iVillage Member
Registered: 01-22-2005
Wed, 05-10-2006 - 1:31pm
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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