LesleyAnne

Hi!

I am about seven and half weeks out from lap chloe. I had my gallbladder removed because it was only functioning at 8% (diagnosed via Hida Scan).

I ALWAYS hear from others and read online that typical Post Chloe problems are diarrhea or pain related. I am not having a problem with diarrhea at all (which I find odd because a percentage of people usually do). I also have no pain where my gallbladder use to be.

I am having other problems. I was fine the first week out from surgery but starting day 7 I started having reflux, stomach fluttering, and nausea problems. My symptoms have ranged from having horrible taste in mouth, lots of belching, feeling sick to stomach from time to time that comes on real suddenly (almost like something is suddenly is swishing the wrong way making me feel that way) (some days it lasts for several hours and is more severe, others days it will last for 30 seconds and leave as soon as it comes on), nausea, and stomach fluttering (feels like my stomach is doing flips and is flipping my food upside down and this makes me feel like I am gonna get sick).

I am very concerned about this not because I think I have horrible disease or think there is something very, very wrong with me, but because it is an annoyance and I think that feeling nauseous and sick to your stomach is the worst feeling in the world. Plus pre surgery, my surgeron told me he was taking out my gallbladder to make me feel better.....well I do feel better (this stuff is as horrible as I felt when I had my gallbladder in)...but I don't feel normal or 100%.

Now I have seen three doctors for this (my surgeron, my general MD, and a Gastro doctor). They are ALL telling me the SAME thing. "Your body is adjusting to not having a gallbladder and so you are going to acid reflux/bile reflux for a while until your body adjusts. While I totally believe my dctrs, what I don't like is that they are all giving me different time frames ( one says six to eight weeks (well eight weeks is friday), one says it could be 4 to 6 months and another says he can't put a number on it. I am just frustrated because I didnt think I would ever have to deal with a condition for which I didn't know when it was gonna go away. The doctrs also tell me I have to give a PPI four weeks to work before they will test me further. I have all three dcts saying its nothing serious...just body adjusting...so try the medicine (or basically suffer for four weeks) and then we might put a camera down ur throat.

My dctrs have put me on Nexium 40mg ( i tried that for a 2 1/2 weeks and didnt seem to find my relief (do you think I should have stayed on it longer??)). Now I switched my medicine to Aciphex and also Carafate (supposeldly helps bind bile). I have been on the Aciphex now four days and seem to be feeling better either because the Aciphex is working or because whatever is causing the reflux (body adjusting) is actually not acting up.

So with all this detail here are my questions....

1) Have you experience acid reflux/nausea after lap chloe? How common is this? Did you have the same symptoms I was having (nausea, acid taste, burping....I have no heartburn or pain)
2) What causes reflux after post chloe surgery, ( I mean my dctr didnt damaged any nerves liek the Pyloric Sphincter....) so how could bile reflux back into my stomach if nothing is damaged?? Is the cause maybe bile refluxing into the stomach which fills the stomach, which in turn makes acid reflux up into the esphogus??
3). Do you think this is bile reflux or acid reflux or both?
4). How long will this last? Is it possible I could live with this the rest of my life?? Is it possible my body will never adjust to not having a gallbladder?
5). Why are my symptoms so intermittent? Why do I feel good for six days and then feel bad for five? Could my body just be working properly one day and not the next?
6). Are there any other medicines that coudl help with this? Isn't it true if its bile reflux that a PPI won't even help because it is for acid reflux???