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GallBladder - Tell me about yours.... (1 Viewer)

Chemical X

Chemical X

Footballguy
Basically, my wife has been feeling bad for about a month and we suspect her gallbladder.  Went to our primary doc and her bilirubin came back elevated, but she doesn't have Hep.  She got sent for a HidaScan, which came back negative.  She is going to a Gastro Surgeon this week.  Our docs says he doesn't believe its Crohn's, IBS, yadda yadda.

Our issue is that the tests don't definitively say gallbladder, but our primary doc says if it walks like a duck, etc.  She is ok having it removed, but we'd like some clarity on yeah, its the GB.  She's not yellow, doesn't have a fever and some of those other symptoms, but she has pain, elevated bili, seems worse at night, etc.

Any of you chodes have a ballbladder ripped out?  What symptoms did you have?  What did you experience?  Just bouncing this around.  Shtick welcomed, since I already asked her if she's been using new or shared needles.

 
I had mine out. Usually flared up when eating greasy foods. Felt like pain in my kidneys, also thought I was constipated. I was in bed for almost a day and a half once thinking I was just constipated and needed relief. Finally went to my doctor and they ordered an ultrasound. The doctor told me I had a rock garden in there.

So basically it feels like back/kidney pain or constipation, at least to me it did.

 
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I had mine out a few years ago. I was having pain like I'd had with kidney stones and, sure enough, the gall bladder was full of stones. I don't recall running a fever or anything - just the pain in my side. The surgery itself was a breeze.

One thing the surgeon told me before the surgery was "from this day forward, never assume it's just a fart" and he was right. My body doesn't process food the same way it did before, but there's no real rhyme or reason to when I'll have issues. 

 
Uruk-Hai said:
One thing the surgeon told me before the surgery was "from this day forward, never assume it's just a fart" and he was right. My body doesn't process food the same way it did before, but there's no real rhyme or reason to when I'll have issues. 
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Yup, when you gotta go DO NOT WAIT!

 
STBootleg said:
I had mine out. Usually flared up when eating greasy foods. Felt like pain in my kidneys, also thought I was constipated. I was in bed for almost a day and a half once thinking I was just constipated and needed relief. Finally went to my doctor and they ordered an ultrasound. The doctor told me I had a rock garden in there.

So basically it feels like back/kidney pain or constipation, at least to me it did.
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So the ultrasound was the test to know?  She had the HIDA scan and they said the function was normal, but I assume that this isn't a picture and its likely she has stones.  An xray didn't pick this up and the pain is like constipation, but its in that kidney, right side and back area.  Seems like I know where this is going.

 
STBootleg said:
I had mine out. Usually flared up when eating greasy foods. Felt like pain in my kidneys, also thought I was constipated. I was in bed for almost a day and a half once thinking I was just constipated and needed relief. Finally went to my doctor and they ordered an ultrasound. The doctor told me I had a rock garden in there.

So basically it feels like back/kidney pain or constipation, at least to me it did.
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What is your diet like now?

 
wife, MIL and BIL all had theirs taken out in just the last few years

each said it's a tremendous feeling of gas pressure in the chest that cannot be relieved. almost as if they swallowed something way too big and it's lodged in the chest.  the below symptoms pretty much lockstep with what my wife explained.. except for the puking.  

MIL and BIL both thought they were having heart attacks. 

https://www.google.com/search?q=gallbladder+infection+symptoms&rlz=1C1GCEU_enUS821US821&oq=gallbladder+infection&aqs=chrome.3.69i57j0l5.4390j1j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

Signs and symptoms of cholecystitis may include:

Severe pain in your upper right or center abdomen.

Pain that spreads to your right shoulder or back.

Tenderness over your abdomen when it's touched.

Nausea.

Vomiting.

Fever.

eta: and like others said. there's no more waiting to use the bathroom. got to be careful with greasy, fatty foods especially.

 
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Chemical X said:
So the ultrasound was the test to know?  She had the HIDA scan and they said the function was normal, but I assume that this isn't a picture and its likely she has stones.  An xray didn't pick this up and the pain is like constipation, but its in that kidney, right side and back area.  Seems like I know where this is going.
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Yes, the ultrasound actually showed the stones. I thought for sure that it was kidney stones because that is where the pain seemed to come from, but apparently that's normal for gall stones.

 
Leeroy Jenkins said:
What is your diet like now?
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I did actually clean up my diet before I had the surgery to remove the gall bladder and had no more flare ups prior to surgery.

Pretty much just watched any thing too fatty or greasy. Since having it removed I'll still indulge at times on pizza and other various foods but it goes right through me with no warning now.

I keep mentioning pizza because that is what brought about the really bad pains that actually made me go to the doctor.

 
Chemical X said:
Basically, my wife has been feeling bad for about a month and we suspect her gallbladder.  Went to our primary doc and her bilirubin came back elevated, but she doesn't have Hep.  She got sent for a HidaScan, which came back negative.  She is going to a Gastro Surgeon this week.  Our docs says he doesn't believe its Crohn's, IBS, yadda yadda.

Our issue is that the tests don't definitively say gallbladder, but our primary doc says if it walks like a duck, etc.  She is ok having it removed, but we'd like some clarity on yeah, its the GB.  She's not yellow, doesn't have a fever and some of those other symptoms, but she has pain, elevated bili, seems worse at night, etc.

Any of you chodes have a ballbladder ripped out?  What symptoms did you have?  What did you experience?  Just bouncing this around.  Shtick welcomed, since I already asked her if she's been using new or shared needles.
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STBootleg said:
I had mine out. Usually flared up when eating greasy foods. Felt like pain in my kidneys, also thought I was constipated. I was in bed for almost a day and a half once thinking I was just constipated and needed relief. Finally went to my doctor and they ordered an ultrasound. The doctor told me I had a rock garden in there.

So basically it feels like back/kidney pain or constipation, at least to me it did.
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My wife's story sounds just like these 2.  Also seemed the say way where they would never commit completely to it being the GB.

Only issue was the next day the doctor had a weird feeling like something was quite right so she had to come in for followup test for any knicks or leaking.  Except they weren't very forth coming on any details.  It was weird that she was constantly bumped to the front of the line, never had to wait for anything.  Not really a good feeling.  Everything was fine though.

 
Clinicians frequently refer to it as the 5-F Syndrome—fair, fat, female, fertile and over forty.

Right shoulder pain accompanied by flatulent dyspepsia is considered to be the best indicator.

Once the presence of gallstones is confirmed the usual procedure is to schedule surgical removal of the gallbladder.

 
I am happy to say that I evicted the gallbladder last summer. It was being an unruly tenant and it landed me in the ER twice in the span of a week. Two horribly painful attacks that spanned about a month.  Lying in front of the john, in incredible pain that no position would alleviate, wanting to die after throwing up did nothing to make me feel better. I hear about the greasy foods, but that hasn't been my experience. Several bites of a pumpkin muffin landed me in the ER the second time.  Random things would bother it at random times. It took me a week after the surgery to a) get any sleep w/o some kick butt meds and b) walk around like a semi-normal human. After two weeks it was all systems go. I don't miss the darn thing at all.

 
Had a buddy who recently had his out - story sounds similar to ones in here save one extra thing - he had 5 stones in his bile  duct and had to have a separate procedure to have those removed.  Sounded horrible.

 
My wife had hers out a few years ago. Was having really bad pain in side/back for months. Took a trip to the ER for them to finally diagnose properly. Full of stones. Had laproscopic outpatient surgery. Back to work in a few days.

 
cap'n grunge said:
My wife had hers out a few years ago. Was having really bad pain in side/back for months. Took a trip to the ER for them to finally diagnose properly. Full of stones. Had laproscopic outpatient surgery. Back to work in a few days.
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How did they find the stones?  Ultrasound?

 
Do the ultrasound.

My wife had chest pain for over a year, that went undiagnosed because at the time due to her other chronic pain issues was blown off by her doctors.  When she had an ultrasound for something else they saw a ####load of stones.  

Do the ultrasound.

 
You're talking about two main diagnoses here: biliary colic and cholecystitis.

The former is intermittent right upper abdominal pain (or referred pain to upper back) +/- nausea/vomiting from transient irritation/obstruction of the cystic duct, which drains the gallbladder into the common bile duct. This is usually caused by a migrating stone, or sometimes just sludge mucking up the plumbing. Greasy meals promote biliary colic, as bile release from the gallbladder is necessary to digest fats.

If the obstruction is not relieved, stagnant bile in the gallbladder can become infected. This is called cholecystitis. Unlike colic, the pain is unrelenting and usually accompanied by fevers/chills. 

Both diagnoses ultimately require removal of the gallbladder, but cholecystitis necessitates urgent surgery + antibiotics, while colic is elective cholecystectomy.

Ultrasound is probably the best test to diagnose gallstones or sludge, though CT can show them too. Elevated bilirubin and another blood test called alkaline phosphatase suggests biliary obstruction or irritation. All these tests can be falsely negative after an attack of biliary colic, if the stone has already passed through the common bile duct, pancreas and into the small intestine. That being said, there are usually other stones/sludge remaining in the gallbag, waiting to cause the next attack. 

The HIDA scan is a functional study which shows how much bile the gallbladder releases in response to infusion of a hormone called CCK. It is typically used to confirm the diagnosis of cholecystitis, after a screening ultrasound or CT is equivocal. But it doesn't show the stone, rather, it confirms blockage of the cystic duct, or reduced ejection of bile from the gallbladder.

Other less likely possibilities include blockage elsewhere in the biliary tract due to stones/sludge, extrinsic compression from a mass/tumor, stricture or spasm of the sphincter of Oddi, which controls the flow of bile and digestive juices from the pancreas into the small intestine. But many of these would show consistent elevation in blood tests, irritation of the pancreas and/or dilated ducts on abdominal imagery.

Lastly, it's possible the pain is referred from somewhere else, including the heart or stomach. If the gallbladder/liver work up is negative, your doctor may consider upper endoscopy (camera into stomach) or cardiac work up (stress test).

 
I just noticed the bilirubin has remained elevated. How high? What type (conjugated/direct or unconjugated/indirect)?

The differential includes some other obscure diseases if she has isolated elevated bilirubin and negative imagery.

 
My wife had her's out just this last march.  On occasion, she'd wake up in the middle of the night feeling sick to her stomach and throwing up....she NEVER throws up, but this started happening every few months.  She'd be sick for a day or two then be fine for a few months.  The last time she had this, she was sick for a few days and felt terrible.  Every time she'd eat it would make her feel worse.  Took her to the ER and they did the ultrasound to see that she had gall stones blocking pathways.  She had to sit in the hospital for 2 days to allow the inflammation to recede.  The problem was the gall stones, technically, but she decided to have her gallbladder removed because she didn't want to go through blockages anymore.

 
Had mine out about 15 years ago. Almost right around the time I joined this board. I was at work one day and all of a sudden I had terrible pain in what I thought was my stomach. Figured I had to go to the bathroom. Went in and could not go. Just felt like the worst constipation ever. Left the bathroom to walk back to my desk and was hit with such bad pain it literally knocked me off my feet. I remember writhing around on the floor for what seemed like a half hour. Pain finally went away. This went on for a couple days before I finally went to the doctor. He told me to go straight to the ER to get done tests. 

The one test they pumped something through me and told me not to throw up or we’d have to start all over. When they started, my entire body warmed up and I honestly have no idea how I didn’t throw up. When the tests came back, they said the gallbladder needed to be removed and they were surprised I had gone so long without coming into the ER. I just thought I was constipated. 

Surgery was easy and I’ve had no lasting effects. My diet hasn’t changed. I still eat crappy, greasy food. Good riddance, gallbladder. My body doesn’t have time for slackers that’s want to only work 60% of the time. You got time to lean, you got time to clean. Or whatever a gallbladder does. Who knows. 

 
Good info to know. While doing routine ultrasounds post cancer they did find a 2 cm stone. I anticipate a gallbladder removal in my future

 
Wife had her's out a few years ago. Pain started in the top of the stomach and then would go around the top before finally settling into the middle of her back. A couple of nights she was in so much pain, all she could do was pace. We did the apple cider vinegar and lemon juice drink and it seemed to calm the attacks down some nights,  The surgery was simple, but my wife had a reaction to the anesthesia and wouldn't wake up. Her blood pressure/heart rate fell off significantly. She scared the living daylights out of me and she had to be kept overnight for observation. 

What sucks is I am now going through the same thing when I eat red spaghetti sauce or red meat--same type of pain. It is miserable, so I can guess what my future holds.   

 
Courtjester said:
Wife had her's out a few years ago. Pain started in the top of the stomach and then would go around the top before finally settling into the middle of her back. A couple of nights she was in so much pain, all she could do was pace. We did the apple cider vinegar and lemon juice drink and it seemed to calm the attacks down some nights,  The surgery was simple, but my wife had a reaction to the anesthesia and wouldn't wake up. Her blood pressure/heart rate fell off significantly. She scared the living daylights out of me and she had to be kept overnight for observation. 

What sucks is I am now going through the same thing when I eat red spaghetti sauce or red meat--same type of pain. It is miserable, so I can guess what my future holds.   
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My wife has been pacing like crazy.  Apple Cider Vinegar and Lemon Juice Drink you say?

 
CurlyNight said:
Terminalxylem said:
Removal of the gallbladder is rarely indicated for asymptomatic stones.
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I was told while the stone won't grow, if it moves to block the duct then it's a problem. I was told 2 cm is pretty big so not much room for any more.
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This is why my wife had her's removed.  Stones were being produced and each "episode" she experienced over the course of the year was essentially her getting a blockage from the stones, getting sick as a result, then passing the stone.  Apparently this is a rather common thing for women and can be hereditary.  

 
I didn't know there were two reasons for it.  Again, over 15 years ago, but I remember the doctor telling me a number and saying that number was so high, he was shocked that I wasn't rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.  No clue what that number would have been now.  

 
TheIronSheik said:
I didn't know there were two reasons for it.  Again, over 15 years ago, but I remember the doctor telling me a number and saying that number was so high, he was shocked that I wasn't rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.  No clue what that number would have been now.  
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It’s all the same process. Stones are produced and migrate to the cystic duct draining the gallbladder. Then, either the stone passes through the biliary tract via the common bile duct into the small intestine, or it gets stuck somewhere along the way. If it gets lodged in the cystic duct (the smallest section of plumbing), bile can no longer be expressed from the gallbladder, usually resulting in infection. Infected gallbladders get taken out right away, while those that produce stones prone to migration can be taken out electively.

Stones are really common, especially in women and older people. But the majority don’t cause any problems. Only when they start moving do they cause symptoms. The number your doctor told you was either a white blood cell count (high suggest infection) or bilirubin (high suggests biliary tract is obstructed). If it were the latter, you’d probably notice it as your skin and the whites of your eyes turned yellow from jaundice.

 
TheIronSheik said:
I didn't know there were two reasons for it.  Again, over 15 years ago, but I remember the doctor telling me a number and saying that number was so high, he was shocked that I wasn't rushed to the hospital in an ambulance.  No clue what that number would have been now.  
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I think it’s uncommon with Arabs so that’s why he was surprised.

 
Heading to the GI today.  Really don't know if this is GB or a hideous case of reflux/LPR, which GI can determine.  Wife is in dire distress and is having trouble eating, sleeping, functioning.

 
Chemical X said:
Heading to the GI today.  Really don't know if this is GB or a hideous case of reflux/LPR, which GI can determine.  Wife is in dire distress and is having trouble eating, sleeping, functioning.
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I remember when the doctor told me I'd have to have mine taken out.  I felt like I was hit with a ton of bricks.  Just to hear that something in your body wasn't working right and needed to be removed was a huge thing to me.  Especially since I'd never even really heard of the gallbladder.  But after speaking with a ton of people, I realized it was like getting your tonsils taken out, essentially.  Maybe not exactly, but what I mean is it's fairly common.  If it's causing pain, have them rip that thing out.  It's also done laparoscopically, so I have two tiny scars on my stomach about 1/4 of an inch long.  And then a longer, unnoticeable one in my belly button. 

So no real scars, no more pain, no changes to my lifestyle and I was pretty much back at work a week later.  Might have even been sooner, not sure.  

I hope your wife can get this figured out and taken care of, GB.  Like I said, if it's the GB, the good news is it ain't no big thang. 

 
TheIronSheik said:
So no real scars, no more pain, no changes to my lifestyle and I was pretty much back at work a week later.  Might have even been sooner, not sure.  
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I can agree with most of this but think you might be doing a disservice on one. The scars, no changes and better life afterwards are true. But I was useless for a week after the surgery. I needed all the pain pills that first week and then some. I couldn't sleep. Couldn't work cause the pills would make me loopy and I was foggy anyway due to lack of sleep. I could not find a position that would make the pain feel any better. Transitions from sitting/standing and back sucked too. In short, that week just totally sucked. The second week things got better, I started to be able to sleep but it took some time to get to that point. I certainly wasn't in any shape to work for about 1.5 weeks.

But I feel tons  better now and don't miss it at all. 

 
TheIronSheik said:
I remember when the doctor told me I'd have to have mine taken out.  I felt like I was hit with a ton of bricks.  Just to hear that something in your body wasn't working right and needed to be removed was a huge thing to me.  Especially since I'd never even really heard of the gallbladder.  But after speaking with a ton of people, I realized it was like getting your tonsils taken out, essentially.  Maybe not exactly, but what I mean is it's fairly common.  If it's causing pain, have them rip that thing out.  It's also done laparoscopically, so I have two tiny scars on my stomach about 1/4 of an inch long.  And then a longer, unnoticeable one in my belly button. 

So no real scars, no more pain, no changes to my lifestyle and I was pretty much back at work a week later.  Might have even been sooner, not sure.  

I hope your wife can get this figured out and taken care of, GB.  Like I said, if it's the GB, the good news is it ain't no big thang. 
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Had a little twist today....besides the GB she's been fighting awful reflux....we think.  GI doctor actually suspects a thyroid issue, he felt fullness and she is having pain and swallowing issues.  So, maybe not a GB after all.  Larynoscopy tomorrow.

 
Chemical X said:
Had a little twist today....besides the GB she's been fighting awful reflux....we think.  GI doctor actually suspects a thyroid issue, he felt fullness and she is having pain and swallowing issues.  So, maybe not a GB after all.  Larynoscopy tomorrow.
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update?

 
After a few years of weird abdominal pains an ultrasound showed my gall stones.  

Got it taken out.  Pretty simple laparoscopic surgery.  

No real side effects other than like others have said, if I eat too much greasy food then I have to stay near a bathroom.  

 
Twice this weeks I have had unbearable pain after a fatty dinner. The pain is not pinpointed in the gall bladder area, but seems rather broad across upper stomach. I feel extremely bloated and nothing relieves it. I feel constipated, but don;t really need to poop. I cannot find a comfortable position anywhere,  I try walking, laying and sitting every which way to no avail. The pain and discomfort is unrelenting and sleep is about impossible. Got some blood work yesterday and going in for a sonogram today. I'm not felling very good about this.

 
cosjobs said:
Twice this weeks I have had unbearable pain after a fatty dinner. The pain is not pinpointed in the gall bladder area, but seems rather broad across upper stomach. I feel extremely bloated and nothing relieves it. I feel constipated, but don;t really need to poop. I cannot find a comfortable position anywhere,  I try walking, laying and sitting every which way to no avail. The pain and discomfort is unrelenting and sleep is about impossible. Got some blood work yesterday and going in for a sonogram today. I'm not felling very good about this.
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That's exactly how mine felt with the bloating and feeling constipated. My pain radiated around towards my back and kidneys.

Sounds like gall bladder and hopefully that's it because it's pretty simple surgery to remove.

 
cosjobs said:
Twice this weeks I have had unbearable pain after a fatty dinner. The pain is not pinpointed in the gall bladder area, but seems rather broad across upper stomach. I feel extremely bloated and nothing relieves it. I feel constipated, but don;t really need to poop. I cannot find a comfortable position anywhere,  I try walking, laying and sitting every which way to no avail. The pain and discomfort is unrelenting and sleep is about impossible. Got some blood work yesterday and going in for a sonogram today. I'm not felling very good about this.
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mirrors my wife and mother in law's symptoms exactly

gllllllllllllllll

 
My wife had hers taken out about a month ago.  

After a cook-out at a friend's house a few months back, she had really bad stomach pain.  She's a tough cookie, but she said at the time it was the worst pain outside of childbirth.  We went home, she puked, and then slept for 3 hours and then felt better.  Happened again about a month later in the middle of the night, so we went to the ER where they suspected gall stones.  

Her pain was similar to what others have said - broad across upper stomach.  No way to get comfortable.  

The good news for anyone having issues - her procedure was out-patient.  4 small incisions and that's it.  She's had no complications since and has basically gone back to eating whatever she wants.

 
GallBladder - Tell me about yours....

Gallbladders.  Good topic.  Gallbladders are pretty cool to chill and hang out with.

Please don't ask about people about their colons because as everyone knows they are full of #### 🙂

 
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cosjobs said:
Twice this weeks I have had unbearable pain after a fatty dinner. The pain is not pinpointed in the gall bladder area, but seems rather broad across upper stomach. I feel extremely bloated and nothing relieves it. I feel constipated, but don;t really need to poop. I cannot find a comfortable position anywhere,  I try walking, laying and sitting every which way to no avail. The pain and discomfort is unrelenting and sleep is about impossible. Got some blood work yesterday and going in for a sonogram today. I'm not felling very good about this.
Click to expand...


STBootleg said:
That's exactly how mine felt with the bloating and feeling constipated. My pain radiated around towards my back and kidneys.

Sounds like gall bladder and hopefully that's it because it's pretty simple surgery to remove.
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mr. furley said:
mirrors my wife and mother in law's symptoms exactly

gllllllllllllllll
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I had the exact same experience.  Very, very intermittent.  3-4 times a year maybe, almost always in the deep of the night waking me up.  I found that Alleve (no other anti-inflammatory, only Alleve) worked like a charm.  I'm typically an Advil guy myself and not really even sure why I had it lying around but one night I was awoken at 4:00 AM and it was either the ER (again) or try random stuff.  10 minutes later I was sleeping like a baby.  It's been a couple of years since I had anything come up but I still have that bottle in my nightstand drawer.

 
I have to admit I know next to nothing about my GallBladder. Sometimes I wish we were built like those modern refrigerators, where we could see what's inside us all the time. But until then I will probably remain ignorant about my innards. Until it's too late.

 
I also know morning about my gallbladder and hope it stays that way. I assume it’s kind of like an offensive lineman in football. When you start hearing their name mentioned, it usually means they aren’t doing their job. 

 
Ilov80s said:
I also know morning about my gallbladder and hope it stays that way. I assume it’s kind of like an offensive lineman in football. When you start hearing their name mentioned, it usually means they aren’t doing their job. 
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Actually it's very much like an OL, except you know waaaaay before hearing the offender's name - it's like HOLY F^&)*&U @%&# WHAT WAS THAT YOU JUST GOT THE QB KILLED except instead of QB it's your belly and instead of killed it's you wish you could just die now.  And then some time later, after the dude's been airlifted out and in the hospital, do you have an instant replay and some dude circling the offender on the screen.

 
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