I had my gallbladder out 3 weeks ago and I am in pain again. I went to the ER 2 days ago with back pain and pain where my gallbladder use to be. They did a sonogram and said my common bile duct was inflamed and fluid where my gallbladder use to be. Surgeon will not do a ERCP becuse my bloodwork was normal. They sent me home with pain meds and told me this is normal 3 weeks after. Now today I started getting chest pains, heavy dull aching feeling. I have acid reflux, but this doesn't feel anything like it. It is a heavy aching feeling. It took many many trips to the ER for them to even figure out it was my gallbladder so I am actually embarrassed to go back to the hospital. I think I am even starting to get on my husbands nerves. I think they all think I am crazy and don't really do anything. For anyone who has had their gallbladder out, did this happen to you? Sadly, I have gotten use to the pain but the chest pains are making me nervous. Any advice is appreciated because I really don't know where else to turn.
Embarrassed or not, for chest pain that is dull, heavy and aching, you should be in the ER. You need an EKG and cardiac enzymes done, a chest xray to check for postop pneumonia which can cause pain, and they should check your pancreatic enzymes. If your common bile duct is inflamed your pancreas or pancreatic duct may be also, and a serum amylase is an easy way to check that. A CBC would be good to make sure the fluid in the surgical area is not an infection. Blood clots can even develop post op in the lungs which can cause chest pain. Good luck, I hope things check out ok. Better to be safe than sorry.
Last edited by ladybud; 09-21-2012 at 07:58 PM.
Reason: added something
I agree with everything Ladybud said. Definitely get a CBC, chest x-ray, amylase blood test, liver enzymes, cardiac enzymes, and your vitals (temperature, blood pressure, O2 sat, etc) taken. This could be an abscess or infection or perhaps they cut something they shouldn't have, etc. There are many possible surgical complications and they are not that uncommon. Do not worry what anyone thinks of you - only you know how you are feeling and that you are not feeling right. You should not be getting worse 3 weeks out from surgery. Either I would suggest going to the ER again, or getting an emergency appointment with the surgeon who did your surgery to get some more followup to determine the cause of your new symptoms.
I had my gallbladder removed on the 4th of July and i still get weird pains in my chest and upper back.... burning in my stomach, and wierd discomfort where my gallbladder used to be. I have gone back to my doctor and surgeon and had many blood tests and EKG and scans, but they can't find anything wrong. I really hope that with time I start feeling better. It's very depressing, because I really thought I would feel much better after the surgery,
It is possible you might be having reflux of gastric juices into the esophagus, causing the pain. You might want to read some of the threads on GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disorder). The acid doesn't belong in your esophagus, and can cause heartburn, chest pain, sometimes radiating to back. I would make sure you have had an amylase blood test too to check your pancreas. GERD can be treated with medications, some of which are OTC, some RX from your Dr.
Sorry, I just reread your first post and realized you already know you have GERD and this feels different. Can you get a copy of your test results and check for an amylase? You can post any results if there is anything hi or low. I would call your Dr. tomorrow and have the labs and ultrasound reports emailed to you so you know what they say, and let him know about this chest and back pain.
