Dealing with symptoms after Gallbladder surgery

I had my gallbladder removed 6 months ago and have had issues since. Did you ever experience any constant pain months after the surgery?

Hello @roisemaire and welcome to Mayo Connect. We are pleased you have joined our online support group!

You mention problems after gallbladder surgery 4 weeks ago. As you know, everyone's recovery from surgery is different. You do not mention your age, nor the type of surgery you had (open or laparoscopy). These are important factors. As we age, recovery is a bit slower than that of a younger person. Here is some general information about gallbladder removal from Mayo Clinic's website, https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/cholecystectomy/home/ovc-20229995

My first thought would be whether you have contacted your doctor's office (either by phone or through My Chart) to let them know of your symptoms? If not, I would certainly do that.

Perhaps some other Members will post about their experiences after gallbladder removal as well.

Will you keep in touch with us and let us know how you are doing?

Teresa

Hello l had my gallbladder removed several years ago but have suffered with bowel problems since and can't eat veggies as they cause diarrhea and my blood work showed fatty liver I always have heartburn too, any advice please 🥺

Hello, I am 28 year old female, I have been battling with a very strange case of chronic pain that the specialists at the hospital cannot seem to diagnose, I have had numerous tests, CAT and MRI scans and have been in intense chronic pain for the last year. The pain I have is a gallbladder pain, intense pain in the stomach and back, when the pains come I also have vomiting.

In October 2021 I had my gallbladder out as they suspected it could be that however since having it out the pains are worse and more frequent, the symptoms seem to appear when I miss a meal or am hungry, 70% of the time when I eat when the pains appear they seem to disappear however on occasions it doesn’t matter how much I eat the pains don’t go away and I end up vomiting, when I have vomited what seems like bile, the pains stop.

My doctors have run tests to see if I have stones lodged in the conduct, sphincter of Oddi, H pylori and they are all negative. Also, the pains appear regardless of what I eat, it’s the quantity that triggers the pains, if I eat a small quantity of food a few hours later if I don’t eat anything else the pains are triggered, since my surgery I have not slept a whole night without waking up with pains. My pains appear around 4 times a day. Does anybody have any suggestions? Thank you in advance

I had my gallbladder removed by laparoscopy in 2012 after having repeated pain in the right upper quadrant especially after eating. Initially they did a HIDA scan and I was told that the function was within the norm. However, over time, things seem to be deteriorating and I still had pain and finally some "sludge" showed on a CAT scan so they did the surgery. Since I had the laparoscopy I found out after the fact that use clamps rather than sutures in the surgery.
Since it has now been a little over 10 years since the surgery I believe getting rid of my gallbladder was a mistake overall but it looks like the medical authorities would have advised it over time no matter what. Since I have had the surgery I often STILL get pain in the upper right quadrant which may or may not due to scar formation from the inflammation of having the surgery done and having clips put in as well. I also seem bloated almost always and have gained a significant amount of weight since then. I also have developed many allergies to many foods I consumed before that time and as a result now have chronic sinus problems which sometimes result in sinus infections. I also now have been diagnosed with GERD and more recently Barrett's esophagus. When I eat I feel like the food does not digest as it should and since I am now prescribed omeprazole indefinitely I believe the situation is exacerbated. I believe that having stomach acid is essential to good digestion and after taking omeprazole I see that my B12 and iron levels are lower than they should be. I have done extensive reading on this topic and many EXPERTS say the problem now is actually too little acid for proper digestion making the stomach work harder than it should cause a spray or pepsin which would otherwise be non-existent.
Interestingly I have a good friend who had her gallbladder removed many, many years ago and since she had and open surgery they used sutures rather than clips to finish the surgery. She has no bloating, has not gained weight, etc. Her dr. , however, did prescribe ox bile salts for her to take indefinitely since she evidently had ongoing diarrhea well after her surgery. I may look into taking these salts myself to see if they can help with overall digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Also per my reading some people have a spasm in their sphincter of Oddi which is labeled as dysfunction of the sphincter of Oddi. This spasm can actually be the source of pain in the upper quadrant as well. If one has that, there are some prescriptive medications one can try to quell the spasm but if that does not work sometimes a sphincterotomy is recommended.

Hello, I am 28 year old female, I have been battling with a very strange case of chronic pain that the specialists at the hospital cannot seem to diagnose, I have had numerous tests, CAT and MRI scans and have been in intense chronic pain for the last year. The pain I have is a gallbladder pain, intense pain in the stomach and back, when the pains come I also have vomiting.

In October 2021 I had my gallbladder out as they suspected it could be that however since having it out the pains are worse and more frequent, the symptoms seem to appear when I miss a meal or am hungry, 70% of the time when I eat when the pains appear they seem to disappear however on occasions it doesn’t matter how much I eat the pains don’t go away and I end up vomiting, when I have vomited what seems like bile, the pains stop.

My doctors have run tests to see if I have stones lodged in the conduct, sphincter of Oddi, H pylori and they are all negative. Also, the pains appear regardless of what I eat, it’s the quantity that triggers the pains, if I eat a small quantity of food a few hours later if I don’t eat anything else the pains are triggered, since my surgery I have not slept a whole night without waking up with pains. My pains appear around 4 times a day. Does anybody have any suggestions? Thank you in advance

I had my gallbladder removed almost a year ago and I suffer with diarrhea every day. I have to make sure I’m by a bathroom at all times. I am going for a colonoscopy and endoscopy at the end of the month to see if there is anything else going on. I’m sorry you’re going through this

Short version: I had my gallbladder removed. Diarrhea for a year now. I have tried a bunch of things to stop the diarrhea (some independently and some with my main doctor). I want to try a bile acid medication like cholestyramine. What kind of specialist should I be consulting? A gastroenterologist? Some other specialty?

Long version:
* I had always had the ability to digest anything. Almost never had an upset stomach.
* I started having a complete loss of appetite some evenings, occasional queasiness, and diarrhea a couple times a week. A scan showed I had gallstones.
* I had my gallbladder removed in March of 2021. So it's been a year since surgery.
* After the surgery things got worse and stayed worse. I’ve had daily diarrhea unless I was constantly taking loperamide and/or Pepto Bismol (and sometimes I’ve had diarrhea even though I was taking anti diarrhea medication).
* I found a daily level of loperamide that made me regular, but at that dosage the side effects were too much. I dropped the loperamide dosage to what I could tolerate, and it’s not enough but helps.
* Tried eating very low fat. Did not help.
* Tried smaller servings, did not help.
* Tried eliminating caffeine. That may have made a very tiny difference, but barely enough to notice.
* My doctor had me try citrucel fiber. Just made my daily diarrhea start earlier in the day with more urgency.
* My doctor had me try hyoscyamine ER 0.375 mg 2x a day. That was awful. Much worse diarrhea and lots of side effects.

Please ask your doctor about trying you on cholestyramine or some kind of bile salt sequestrant.

I was wondering how long you have diarrhea after gallbladder removal. It has been 2 1/2 months since the surgery. My doctors just brush it off when asked.