Is it true Gallbladder problems are only with food? - Gallbladder Message Board

Socagrl · 09-26-2004, 09:29 AM

i have pain that come and goes in my RUQ, if i press on it sometimes it's very tender. But i also have persistant achey, burning pain in my right back that wraps around and sometimes goes up to my shoulder blade. The pain in my back can be distressing. I also get a lot of reflux, burping. Sometimes my stool is green and has mucus. But everything i have read about GB is that it's worse with food. My pain is not worse with food. Has anyone had GB problems but not made worse by food? I get bad reflux if i eat too much, even if i drink too much water.

thank u for your help. maria

glorydots · 09-26-2004, 09:11 PM

I found that mine would be extremely aggrivated by food.
However, even on the off day I would experience soreness, tenderness and bloating at any given time....food or no food.
I don't know if I could really answer your question, but I just wanted to let you know that there are a variety of symptoms.
It would be best that you have your gallbladder checked out.
I had my gallbladder removed in July and I woke up last night with very bad pains where my gallbladder used to be. It kept me up for a couple hours...so I guess what I am saying is , is that anything is possible.
Sorry, not much insight to give, but I hope you are feeling better.

~glorydots

fear of surgery · 09-27-2004, 08:41 AM

Hello there --

As to whether gall bladder pain is usually caused by foods, my answer would be a resounding NO. My biggest attack, supposedly from a passing stone, occurred at 7:30 a.m. and I had not eaten anything at all. Certain foods DO aggravate the GB, of course, and for some people food is what starts up the problems.

I had my GB removed by lap chole. exactly four months ago. Other than a 3 week period of digestive adjustment afterwards, the following has transpired:

Epigastric pains from time to time, especially after eating such things as too much chocolate. Pains in right upper quadrant, very fleeting, where the GB probably was located. Pains in right side (flank) from time to time.

The worst is pains in LOWER right quadrant, near where I think the appendix is located. At 2:30 one morning I was jolted out of bed in agony by such pain. I jumped up and paced around for a couple of minutes, and could actually FEEL something bulging in and out of lower quadrant. I suspect this was the colon, in some sort of spasm. After some gas (sorry), the whole incident abated.

Just this week, a new pain has been added to the mix -- again, very fleeting but now sharper, from very low right quadrant straight up to where the GB would've probably been.

I have an appointment with the gastro doc this week to discuss these "pains" but unless I agree to under a ton of tests, I have a feeling there will be no answers. I am in NO hurry for more procedures, believe me. I will let him take a blood panel and palpate the area but am so sick of all of this that I doubt I will go further than that.

I've heard and read that all sorts of symptoms are possible after abdomninal surgery, and the surgeon's nurse in his office said when I complained a few weeks post-op, "you've been cut -- you have several incisions and things were moved around inside during surgery -- you need time to heal."

Well, since it all went quickly and well four months ago, I feel like I should have zero residual effects. Some people say it takes them up to a year or more to feel right. Thus far, I haven't had the diarrhea that many folks have. But...I understand that it and other problems like IBS, GERD, et al, can crop up at any time -- even decades later!

That bile is now just dripping straight into the small intestine. Surely that CAN'T be a good thing! And it is very irritating to the other organs. It is a little known fact that right-sided colon cancer is more common in people with GB removal. It's from the bile. I had read about this and gastro doc confirmed it for me. He said, "just get a colonoscopy about every 5 years instead of 10 and you'll have nothing to worry about." He also said I was the FIRST patient in his 20 years of practice who had asked him specifically about that. Aren't I the smart one?!

Back to your original question, again I say that NO, GB problems do NOT just occur with food intake. Not by a longshot. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Despite my complaints about pains since the surgery, I am glad I did it (so far). I was getting pretty miserable with the diseased thing in place.

Good luck!

Moonbeamdarlene · 09-27-2004, 11:16 AM

Food deffinately affected my Gallbladder. If I did not stick to a very low fat diet I would get attacks, I ate a 2 inch piece of Keilbassi once and had a 6 hour GB attack from it, everytime I ate something high fat, raw veggies, onions, spicy foods, I could count on a attack. I suffered with this for 4 years, had Kaiser Perm. and they wouldn't even do a ultrasound, even when I went to emergency, the emergency Dr would call Kaiser and they would not allow a ultrasound. Finally we got off of Kaiser. My GB started going into attack even from a swallow of water. I went to Emergency, they did a ultrasound, said my GB was full of stones and my liver ensymes were bad and I wasn't going anywhere, it was coming out in the morning. There was nothing to the surgery, takes about 45 minutes in all, just a few little incisions. I was always petrified of surgery also, but the GB removal was so easy. I have had no phantom GB attack pains, its been 5 years now.

Socagrl · 09-27-2004, 05:59 PM

what's a GB attack? i have never had it!! my back is always sore and sometimes in RUQ also, but i notice sometimes i get little stabs or spasms, but the underline soreness and ache are always there!