Abdominal Pain After Gallbladder Surgery (colonoscopy, allergies, daily basis, x-rays)

[lwbrown]

May I ask...do you feel relief when you stand? Or when you sit up and lean forward slightly? Does it often hurt when you lie down in bed and do things like read or maybe work on a laptop computer? And does the pain go completely away sometimes and then suddenly return? If so...maybe you might want to consider what happened and is happening with me at this very moment.

I had my gall bladder removed 4 years ago and within months started to have IBS symptoms which were treated based on those symptoms. However, about 6 months ago (around Feb-08) I started to experience a constant painful pressure on my right side just beneath my ribs. I went to the dr. over and over until she finally sent me to a GI specialist who also treated me for IBS...HOWEVER...less than one month ago I started to experience severe back pain which we all assumed was from a severe kidney infection.

Then when bilirubin started spilling into my urine (often makes your urine look tea colored if heavily saturated and when it's not remarkable you always...no matter how hydrated you are have a decidedly yellow hue to your urine) and I'd shown signs of jaundice I was immediately hospitalized. I had 2 CT scans, one Doppler Ultrasound and was released 3 days later after, without any medical intervention other than an HUGE amount of IV fluids and powerful antibiotics for the kidney infection, my LFT (Liver Function Test) numbers started to fall. They did find a kidney stone but it was still intact and they knew that it wasn't causing the liver issue. They wondered if it was it hepatitis...no. Or is it an autoimmune disorder of the liver...no.

So, I had an MRCP (Magnetic Resonance Cholangiopancreatography) basically an MRI of the digestive tract a week ago and lo and behold...they found what they believe is the culprit...a cyst on my pancreas. I am scheduled to have an EUS (Endoscopic Ultrasound) with a fine needle aspiration/biopsy in 5 days.

The odds are more than likely that it is something that can treated but I'm so glad to know that they are SO close to a real answer because I was tired of them looking at me like I was nuts (but when the liver started acting screwy the doctors got a bit more on the 'I don't think it's in her head' train!).

For women, pseudocysts (which do not fit the definition of a true cyst...sac-like growth that is not normal within the tissue where it is located and is often fluid filled) are the most common cause and not actual cysts. Though the 'cause' of these cysts are typically not really known, they often cause chronic pancreatitis, liver function disorders, and more often than not, people with them are more likely to develop Type I diabetes.

Sometimes they (cysts and pseudocysts) can be aspirated but they may need to be surgically removed. And for women the odds of it being cancerous are MUCH lower than for men (especially those in their 50's and 60's...Patrick Swayze immediately comes to mind).

I don't know if I've helped put your mind at ease any or have caused you to be more worried but when I read your posting as well as the postings of many others, I felt as though our symptoms were so similar that I simply had to let you know what I know (or almost know) because when you don't feel good it effects everything and everyone you encounter. It's an odd little society we all belong to and the more information there is...the better. At least that's my motto.

Good luck to you and to anyone who reads this!

[NewToCA]

This thread is remarkable. I had my gallbladder removed in 1984, and started experiencing periodic severe abdominal pains about a month after the operation. Pains were very severe, generally lasting five to ten minutes. They told me this was unusual, but apparently from looking at these postings it isn't as rare as they made it sound to me.

Long story short, testing was inconclusive but over the next ten years the episodes became more infrequent. Even today, I'll have an occasional episode, but whereas I used to have perhaps 100 a year, now I probably have about 5 episodes an entire year.

[twixcookie]

Originally Posted by eddiek

Have you been checked for retained stones in the common bile duct?

I was thinking that too....they can check the biliary system for stones...but they should check for clots and hematomas too...

[mafew]

I had my gallbladder removed in 2000 after an unknown pain from that area had doctors stumped and they saw an enlargement of my gallbladder, so figured it had to come out. After the removal, I TOO had more severe pain in that area and still do 'till this day. I don't have the pain all time but it come in the form of attacks that can be so severe that I find myself aimlessly pacing and unable to breath without gasping from the severity of it. I used to try to feed the pain and put something in my stomach, like bread, but found a large glass of water can actually curb it; SOMETIMES. I don't have any medical insurance so I eventually prescribed myself Prilosec OTC and have had good results with that. There are unpleasant things about taking Prilosec over the long term but it keeps the attacks down for the most part. I still have the occasional attack and DO relate the attacks to what's on my diet. There are trigger foods, including greasy things, but only if I consume them in large quantities. Anything with large amounts of citrus can trigger an attack. Sometimes an empty stomach can trigger an attack if left too long. It's a very frustating disorder and wish that someone had a cure for it; even a name for it would be good.

[Roselvr]

I wonder if you just hit on something.

From wiki:
The gallbladder (or cholecyst, sometimes gall bladder) is a small organ whose function in the body is to harbor bile and aid in the digestive process.

So, this being food related would make sense.

Originally Posted by mafew

I used to try to feed the pain and put something in my stomach, like bread, but found a large glass of water can actually curb it; SOMETIMES. I don't have any medical insurance so I eventually prescribed myself Prilosec OTC and have had good results with that. There are unpleasant things about taking Prilosec over the long term but it keeps the attacks down for the most part. I still have the occasional attack and DO relate the attacks to what's on my diet. There are trigger foods, including greasy things, but only if I consume them in large quantities. Anything with large amounts of citrus can trigger an attack. Sometimes an empty stomach can trigger an attack if left too long. It's a very frustating disorder and wish that someone had a cure for it; even a name for it would be good.

Hopefully someone will come along and give you the name for this, too early in the morning for my brain to work. If they don't, send me a DM to search at another forum I go to, there are a few posts where the ladies talk about foods and the list to avoid.

[bully74uk]

Hi all
Have come across this thread as a result of continuing my research into my partners upper abdominal pains.

Today my partner was discharged from Hospital after being admitted on Saturday morning with severe upper abdominal pains (again)

She had her Gall Bladder removed approx 7 years ago and has been suffering from bouts of pain ever since, varying from mild to extreme (9/10 on a pain scale and so say much worse than child birth).

She has had many tests over the years to try and diagnose the cause, Xray, MRI Scan, Barium meal, Endoscopy (camera into stomach), endless blood tests but all have come back negative apart from some elevated levels from the liver.

The symptoms are described as a pain at the front and upper abdomen (just below the sternum)
It starts off mild and in the extreme case builds up to an intense pain then eases off again.
Sometimes it will pass on its own before getting to the "severe" stage but on four occasions (inc this weekend) the pain has reached the severe stages and doesn't fade. On all 4 occasions when it has got this bad she has ended up in hospital on morphine to control the pain.
When the pain reaches its more severe stages it starts to radiate round to her back as well.
She describes the bad attacks as starting mild, building up to severe and then easing off again. Then the length of time at severe level increases whilst the easing back to mild decreases, leaving her in almost constant severe pain.

In addition to all the tests that have been done, she has also tried many medications to try and control or eliminate the bouts of pain.
For the last 18 months or so she has been taking Amitriptyline which is actually an Anti-Depressant that has also been proven to deal with chronic pain among other things [URL="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amitriptyline"]Amitriptyline - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia[/URL]

The Amitriptyline has been working very well so far with no severe outbreaks of pain and only the odd mild outbreak.
Unfortunately she is not able to take the amitriptyline at the moment due to being 32 weeks pregnant.

Once the baby is born I want to start investigating the cause of her condition again as we would prefer to deal with the cause instead of her just taking medication for the rest of her life.

One area that I want the doctors to look at is Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction as the symptoms of this seem consistant with what my partner has been experiencing. More information of this can be found here: [URL="http://yourtotalhealth.ivillage.com/sphincter-oddi-dysfunction.html"]Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction[/URL]

There seem to be many people who experience similar problems post gall bladder removal and I have seen first hand on many occasions just how painfull it can be.

I hope my account is of use to people and wish you luck in trying to find a cure for your problems.

Regards,

[rmkpj]

To Jenn039

Had Laproscopic gallbladder remval 10/14. Pain afterwards but nothing really bad, it seemed to get better. Not eating anything fatty, was warned by my doctor. It didn't matter I couldn't eat any of that before either. Then three days after surgery getting ready to eat dinner 2 sharp pains in right side under ribs and pain has been terrible ever since. It's been three days doctor has done blood tests, normal and CT no results yet. I had rotator Cuff surgery 7/1/08 and was fine the day before, never any gallbladder pain or symptoms, after I woke up from anesthesia nausea and vomiting and pain. Doctor thought pain meds. When It wasn't going away many test. Finally did CCK/Hida. It didn't recreate pain but nausea, function only 19% was told by PCP had to come out. So I had it out and BAM WORSE cramping pain ever. I don't know how I can eat any better. Only thing half way bad is coffee.

[moily]

I had my gall bladder removed through laproscopy,its been 2 months,i often get pain in my abdomen.lately i had a tooth ache the doc gave me some pain killers, my stomach was paining too much.I am very sensitive to pain killers .Is there any food i should avoid or eat .there is also a lot of flatulency.Please help

[CosmicWizard]

Seems like many of you had dealings with incompetent doctors / surgeons / hospitals. Throw em in jail and make them pay for all of your medical bills.

[Roselvr]

Originally Posted by CosmicWizard

Seems like many of you had dealings with incompetent doctors / surgeons / hospitals. Throw em in jail and make them pay for all of your medical bills.

I've had 2 failed spine surgeries.
The doctors I use had decent reputations. I know someone that used one doctor the same as me then used a NY specialist, this person still has pain.

I think everyone heals different.
My body may reject the metals in my back while someone else's might not.