Gallbladder Polyp - Gallbladder Message Board

theysayloveis · 03-27-2009, 06:09 PM

Hi All, I'm new here and I'm really hoping for a response!

I had some really bad pain in my right rib cage below the breast and sometimes it would shoot through to my shoulder. Had an ultrasound that found some interesting things:
0.28 cm polyp on my gallbladder
my gallbladder is considered "upper normal" in thickness (doc said it means my gallbladder is working harder indicating i've developed some sort of issue)
I have an accessory spleen (crazy, right?!)

AND I'm only 23. I've been referred to a GI. I do suffer from IBS and GERD so perhaps it's all connected. I was wondering if anyone has had ANY of these issues and what happened? My doc said that they'll probably remove my gallbladder as precaution and because of the terrible pain I have (my boyfriend can't even hug me anymore!)

I'm looking forward to hearing from someone!

Collector167 · 03-28-2009, 07:32 PM

It sounds like you have classic gallbladder symptoms. Frequently those with gallbladder issues will also have pale stools. A malfunctioning gallbladder can create symptoms similar to IBS.

The ultrasound can show certain structures, but is a limited imaging tool. When I had my ultrasound they were unable to conclusively decide whether I had polyps or stones lodged against the wall the of gallbladder. What the ultrasound cannot see if is you have microcrystals aka "sludge" these are precursors to the formation of stones and can create the classic gallbladder symptoms.

Other than polyps or stones, there can be other organic reasons why a gallbladder would fail.

In most cases once they have conducted the ultrasound they would then schedule a patient for a HIDA scan to test how well the gallbladder is functioning.

If polyps are above a certain size, they will strongly suggest that the gallbladder be removed w/o a HIDA scan. Why? The concern is that larger polyps will become cancerous. Gallbladder cancer is rather rare, but doctors want to be cautious.