Considering Gall Bladder Surgery - Gallbladder Message Board

buxfan · 09-28-2007, 07:43 AM

I'm new to this forum. I'm a 29 year old generally healthy male. I'm in law enforcement so I need to stay fit. I've been ill for about 7 weeks now. Began with constant nausea and bloating related to an intolerance to certain foods which I used to enjoy, ie: Coffee, Banannas, anything spicy, some greesy foods, eggs. I have givin up those foods and have been on acid blockers and anti-nausea meds for over a month and they are contolling alot of the stomach pain and nausea but not completely eliminating it. I have had every test imaginable, and the only irregular test showed a small polyp on my gall bladder. I have no stones, at least none that they have identified.

My HIDA scan showed an ejection fraction of over 50 % and I felt good the day of that test but went right back to feeling lousy the next day.

Now that the nausea is under control, for the most part, I am having pain on my right side under my rib cage and my back is killing me around my right shoulder blade. I even had what I would consider to be a gall bladder attack a few days ago with the pressure and intense pain under my rib cage. All signs point to gall bladder problems but there is no difinitive answer. My Dr. will remove the gall bladder and said that removal of the gall bladder poses a maximum of 40% chance of improvement in my symptoms, but further stated that if he were in my shoes he would have the surgury. I have a couple days to decide. Is there anyone out there with any similar experiance that can give me some advise?

Collector167 · 09-28-2007, 10:47 PM

It sounds like the gallbladder could very well be the cause of your problems. I had pain in my right shoulder, pain under my ribs, pain in my back, nausea, heart palpitations, diarrhea, etc. When they did the ultrasound all they could find was a "small polyp", I flunked the HIDA at 23%.

It is possible that you either have sludge or an inflamed gallbladder. It is not unusual for the HIDA scan results to vary from test to test.

I am being treated with the drug Ursodiol, this along with taking large doses of fish oil per my GI doc has substantially reduced my symptoms. The downside is that it can be expensive if you don't have a good insurance plan, that in many cases the problems may recur w/in five years.

If you read these boards you will find that about 25% of people who have surgery continue to have problems. There also may be long term issues with cholesterol levels.

buxfan · 09-29-2007, 09:16 AM

Thanks for the reply. I do honestly beleive that it is my gall bladder and have for weeks. All tests show no problems with any of my digestive track.

Forensicmom · 09-29-2007, 02:34 PM

Unfortunately only you can make that decision. In your line of work, you will need to be off for a few weeks, or at least they will have you on "light duty".

All I know about the gall bladder problems are what happened to me. I had mine taken out on May 8th of this year and I'm positive it was the right decision for me.

I had nausea, stomach pain, chest pains, and I was losing weight b/c of no appetite. I'm small to begin with, so 10lbs makes a HUGE difference. I was abo****ely miserable. My doctors originally thought it was stress (b/c of headaches). They dismissed the problem until a few months later when it started again. This was last December when my family came down with a stomach virus. I felt sick for about 3 weeks, but figured I was sick like them, however I didn't get better. I went to the dr again and he said it was acid reflux. I took acid blockers, which did nothing. I don't eat greasy or fatty foods anyway. They finally did a few more tests and my HIDA scna came back at 16%. I was THRILLED when the dr told me it needed to be removed. I figured FINALLY I could get some relief. However, the surgeon wasn't sure that the gallbladder was the problem b/c some of my symptoms were not "classic" as she called it. It took it's time AFTER the surgery before I really knew if it worked or not, but I'm able to eat my regular foods and am pain free. It took 3-4 months before all of the symptoms and side effects totally went away.

Good luck from a former CSI (before it was considered a "cool" job)

buxfan · 10-02-2007, 12:42 PM

Thanks for the reply! I'm asuming that you did not have gall stones either?