gallbladder surgery, but no stones?

[L Owens]

Hi to everyone,

I've been told by my GI doctor that my gallbladder needs to come out, in order to relieve my current symptoms (20# weight loss due to inability to eat normally, upper right quad abdominal pain, nausea). A hidascan test with CCK showed that my gallbladder was not contracting enough - one of the numbers I saw was 15% function.

I can't locate any info anywhere about this condition, or that having surgery is indicated for it. In fact everywhere I see gallbladder surgery mentioned, it is for removal of stones. I definitely don't have any of those. Besides getting another GI opinion, does anyone on the BB have information or suggestions that might help with this situation?

Many thanks in advance!

L.

[Breezee]

Please read Pain & Vomiting & let me know if your symptions were similar to mine. I know my problem is my Gall Bladder but since they found no stones I think they are ruling it out...

Anyway, I'd be really interested in your symptions & how they came to the conclusion they did. also, what was that test you had? I'll be having a Gastric Emptying Study (I've had several) & I just don't know what else they expect to see. I throw up a lot of bile. Thanks!!!!

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The Breezee Blonde

[This message has been edited by Breezee (edited 02-05-2001).]

[L Owens]

Thanks for your reply ...

My symptoms were overwhelming fatigue and nausea at first, with a small amount of backpain. And actually, it was not nausea, since that normally happens around your bellybutton, and you usually throw up (I never did). My stomach pain was up higher, and it felt kind of like I'd been gut-kicked. After a few weeks of this, I started at the GP with a diagnosis of stress, which progressed to gastritis, which moved to possible ulcers. Upper GI and EGD showed no ulcers, and a sonogram showed no gallstones. Ditto on an abdominal CT. I took 8 weeks of prevacid to clear up a little GERD they found, but my stomach was still hurting, and I had developed a sharp stabbing pain up underneath my right ribcage. Because of my constant nausea/stomach pain, I wasn't eating well and I lost about 20 pounds.

I finally had a HIDAscan test with CCK, which is where they inject a tracer in your IV and photograph its path for 1 hour through your system. I also got a dose of something that is supposed to completely contract your GB during this test. The results showed that my GB was not contracting strongly enough. My GI doctor said the GB had to come out, but couldn't tell me why. The results were something like "gallbladder ejection function of 15%" and I believe somewhere around 40% is normal.

I consulted with a surgeon (while waiting for my second GI doc opinion) and he told me he felt the GB would not contract because the lining of the GB was probably filled with developing stones, which would eventually conglomerate and form regular large gallstones. But just their being there now would cause my GB not to contract well. He also thought that having (non sterile) bile in the GB all the time would contribute to my general ill-feeling and increase my chances of absyss and infections. He said he had treated other patients with similar symptoms and they were all better after surgery - in fact, they were surprised to know they had stones at all, since their sonograms had also said no stones.

('hope this post is not too long :-) The last interesting thing I learned was that these "baby stones" that can line your gallbladder are sometimes called "sludge" by doctors, and they become regular sized gallstones over time - they do not spontaneously dissolve. This surgeon I saw had a box on his desk of several types of stones he'd removed over the years, and I was amazed at how different they all were! Some were golf ball sized, others were about the size of pin heads (the "sludge" ones he mentioned).

Good luck to you - I hope this helped.

Regards,

L.

[4isenuf]

Hi, I just wanted to tell you my story. After two years of right sided pain, constipation and diarrhea, back pain, feeling like I had just been punched in the stomach, I began a battery of tests. The first one was an ultrasound. My doc was convinced it was gallstones. No stones were found, so I went another year with this. Another ultrasound was done, still no stones. Had a hidascan done, just like you, and amazingly it too showed that my gallbladder was not functioning right. My doc right then said he would take my gallbladder out the next day. I was hesitent because we saw no stones. During this time a good friends daughter had her gallbladder out at the age of 19 (she saw stones). After the removal she has had constant diarrhea. Her liver was supposed to take over for her gallbladder but did not. She said she would rather deal with her problems before the removal than what she is dealing with now. It really makes me nervous that my doc was so eager to just take an organ out of me. He actually admitted to me that he could not promise me my pain would go away. My biggest fear was that I would have it removed, and they would see that it was perfectly normal, and be worse off than I am now. I would definitly think before having it removed with no signs of stones! Good Luck, Janet

[tina ballerina]

hi all, well you all could have been writing about me. I have just been told the exact same story, terrible pain, high liver enzymes but no stones, I was also told possible 'SLUDGE'. I was told that if they remove my gallbladder, the condition should correct itself, but i am worried about having surgery as it might not make a blind bit of difference. Does anyone's liver enzymes go sky high when you have an attack?
I have just had to cancel a holiday to Rome because i am worried sick i will get an attack while i am away, the doc said that if i go jaundice again, i will need to be hospitalised and my insurance will not cover me. well I now know i am not alone, your stories made interesting reading.