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Post-cholecystectomy or gallbladder removal surgery
Digestive Health | Last Active: Oct 21 11:40am | Replies (567)Comment receiving replies
This is sort of a last ditch effort to find some idea about what has been plaguing me for years. I had my gallbladder removed after a series of attacks in 2016. I did not have any stones, but my HIDA showed 6% EF and after removal, they said I had a very narrow sphincter.
Since then, I have been to the ER several times for debilitating severe upper abdominal pain. I mean SEVERE. I have a high pain tolerance, and did not experience this level of pain with child birth. Each time they do bloodwork and X-rays, but tell me they cannot find anything wrong. I started noticing that the attacks came on after eating a particularly rich or fatty meal with wine. I got better at avoiding the attacks after awhile.
A few years later, I was having severe GI issues. Pain, extreme bloating (looks 9 months pregnant after eating), severe diarrhea, and daily crippling nausea. This lasted for months. I have struggled with nausea most of my life, but this was impacting my quality of life. They did an ultrasound, emptying scan, and upper and lower GI. They essentially found nothing wrong and said the nausea might be "in my head". I kind of gave up on GI drs after that. I did go GF because that seemed to help some.
Fast forward to 2023. I went to the ER with some abdominal pain and it turned out I had a ruptured diverticula and had most of my colon removed.
I recently started zepbound, and had food/wine in an amount that would not have normally caused one of these attacks, but it caused one of the worst ones yet. They last anywhere from 30 min to 2 hours usually. I cannot express enough how severe the pain is. I didn't go to ER because it is the same thing every time.
If you read this far, thank you. I feel like I am losing my mind. I still live with daily GI issues such as pain and nausea, but I have learned to cope. I wish I knew of at least a direction to point a new doctor in, but I have zero idea what this could be. It is like a gallbladder attack on steroids, but I don't have a gallbladder or appendix anymore. PLEASE HELP!
Replies to "This is sort of a last ditch effort to find some idea about what has been..."
I got my gallbladder removed in April 2019 after almost a year of constant throwing up, stomach pain, etc. as per my HIDA scan it was functioning at 23%. Though it seems since the removal I have had nothing but GI issues since. I’m on my 4th GI Dr now. All the ones that I have seen, all say I must have had some underlying condition prior to the removal to be having all these issues. I’ve had 3 EGD’s and 1 Colonoscopy so far. Colonoscopy came back with no findings. The EGDs show I have an herniated diaphragm (stomach pushing up into my diaphragm) and an Esophageal Ulcer from the stomach acid. I’m on 40mg Omeperzol every morning, but sometimes it seems I need to take more. After years of self experimenting with foods/beverages I’ve realized I ALWAYS have a stomach flare if consume anything that has one of the ingredients. We’ve came to a conclusion, I have an intolerance to acidic food/beverages, Citrus Intolerance (which includes flavored water), and an Alcohol Intolerance.
Though the past 1.5 Months I have been having daily pain in my upper right quadrant where my gallbladder used to be. The pain lasts anywhere from 5min-4hrs, I get nauseous, and feel like I’m burning up, and get a headache when it happens.
I had an Ultrasound on my upper right abdomen, which ruled out Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction.
My new GI wants to start completely fresh and so now I have an MRI scheduled to look at my abdomen, and another EGD/Colonoscopy. It’s a couple weeks out, but I’m still stressing and miserable and trying to plan ahead for my next steps if they don’t find anything. I’m personally leaning towards going to an immunologist, because it also seems (especially the past year or so) I’m getting sick WAY more frequently, or things are healing more slowly.
You are definitely not alone. I hope you get the answers you need, and hope that can help manage or treat your symptoms!
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Sorry if this is long:
I am in the same boat as many on here. April 19, 2012 I had my gallbladder removed the same time they performed a tubal ligation. A few months later, I had my very first episode of pains and nausea. I was doing nothing but laying on the couch watching a movie with my husband. He had to carry me to the truck to drive me to the hospital, but we never made it as he had to pull over so I could throw up and the ambulance had to pick me up from there. I have had so many tests done and they could never find out what was wrong. I was put on bentyl and amitriptyline but none of it helped. I have tried to cut foods and drinks out but I would still go through it. It has happened in the middle of class/exams, at work, when I am sleeping, or just whenever it felt like hitting me. I wish there was an answer for us!