My life is a nightmare since GB surgery

Digestive health
21

Hi I'm taking a PPI that helps but I still get stomach pain and nausea. It improves a little after I eat. I don't get heartburn or reflux up my throat. I had after my op but it settled down It took many months for the burning to cease. I think that might be the cause of my abdominal pain now. It weakened the stomach so much I got inflammation. 

I'll have to wait and see what doctor wants to do next, he already sent me for a MRI scan which came back normal. No stones stuck in bile duct. I'm not sure what else could have showed. 

Do you have/ had bile gastritis because of your reflux. I've read about many natural things that can help but I only drink chamomile tea. I'm not sure about the other things  I think if it's bile gastritis the only effective treatment  is another surgery for what I searched.

22

I had my gallbladder removed in August 2013.  It wasn't a routine procedure for me.  I nearly died in the surgery and was also told if I hadn't had it removed I would have died too.  My recovery was good, albeit a bit slow as I'd had larger incisions, and I'd lost blood.  All was well for a year or so.  The last year has been horrendous.  It started with what I thought was originally stomach flu.  Basically my stomach and abdomden swelled and I was in pain.  I went between diarrhea (which had never been an issue for me) vomiting, constipation, or all three in a day.  I was tired all the time and unable to function properly, and sometimes not at all.  All the while feeling immense pain where my gallbladder used to be.  From the beginning of March 2015 I've had so many scans, seen various Consultants and been on a cocktail of medication.  I too have gastritis.  They don't know the cause but I find lansoprazole helps with that.  I awaiting imminent surgery to have a look at and remove a post operative mass where my gallbladder used to be.  Despite numerous tests and scans, they do not know what it is.  Best guess is it could be part of the gallbladder that was left behind in the difficult surgery.  They do not know if removing the mass will help with the pain and the other symptoms.  But it is my only hope so I have to try.  Once that is done and I have a diagnosis, after it is all settled down, we can see what is what and take it from there in terms of what symptoms I have and what can be done going forward.  I'm literally living day by day.  It is horrible, simply horrible.  But stressing isn't going to help.  In fact stress just makes the pain worse.  As I say I'm on a cocktail of medication - pain relief, anti nausea, constipation relief the works.  I cannot continue this existance anymore.  It is soul destroying.

23

Hi I feel for all of us that are suffering from this terrible weird symptoms.

one question: have you ever did an endoscopy to find out what cause your gastritis? It's a good way to know the cause and I'll be surprised if any doctor never sent you. 

If it's bile causing your issues they would found out with an endoscopy. 

Hope you feel better soon

24

Read my post from 5 days ago again.

The reason I know I have a hiatus hernia is I had a gastroscopy which is similar to endoscopy.

Sarah

25

I've had 9 different scans and things over the last 9 months and one of those was a gastroscopy which Sarah talks about below.  That was the camera down the throat and into the stomach which confirmed the gastristis.  The particular Surgeon who did that said at the time that he didn't know what was causing this and whether it was related to the issues in my gallbladder region.  Once the post operative mass from the gallbladder site is removed and it's known what it is, time will tell as to what effect that will have and has had on the stomach and other subsequent issues.  Remaining undiagnosed at present is causing all sorts of issues as I'm now suffering swelling in most parts of my body and dizzyiness and extreme tiredness, all to various differning levels at certain times.  Plus because I'm undiagnosed I cannot undergo proper pain managment.  But my GP is brilliant and I'm on a cocktail of medication that works in the main! 

26

Hi I saw the gastro doctor today and he sent me for an endoscopy. I dont have one for over a year.

Im so tired of this, today's app might as well  have been on skype or face time because they make us wait for so long for an app, then they talk 5 minutes with us, dont reassured us at all , didnt examined me or suggested anything when I asked about being bile or not. Its really a waste of time. He could have sent me to an endo on the phone with me!

Its interesting your situation, i've never heard about a mass developed where gb was before. I'm sure thats not my case because i had a MRI and it showed all normal. I hope you can get rid of it and be well once for all.

27

Ok. I know now its two different tests but similar.

 

28

You are so right, it does get tiring being messed about and having unproductive hospital visits.  When we are struggling we build ourselves up to these appointments hoping that they will provide answers and they rarely do.  Back in October they lost me in a hospital.  Apparently it isn't as uncommon as it sounds being lost in a hospital!

Whilst I would love to know what is the cause of the post operative mass, I would happily forgo that to be well.  I would give anything to be well and to lead a normal life. 

Here's to us all being sorted and healthy!

29

So sorry to hear about your issue. I had gastruck bypass15 years ago. Last fall I started with the constant nausea and throwing up. Phenergan is my friend. Finally after numerous tests they found that I have a small gastric fistula and motility issues. And today I was told I have bile reflux. They are starting me on baclofan, a muscle relaxer that seems to work with bile reflux, not acid reflux. There is also an antidepresant that appears to help. If the baclofan doesn't work or needs some assistance, they will put my on a very low dose of liquid (has to be liquid) erythromycin which they say can help with the motility. I know your frustration. It's gotten to the point that I can't even walk into a grocery store without getting nauseous. Good luck with this because I know you're exhausted.

30

Leni do you still have the burning in your stomach?

31

Hi Casey, sorry about the delay in relpying to your message. I now suffer from chronic gastritis. My chest stopped hurting, I rarely get burning in my stomach now I have stomach pain and daily nausea I was diagnosed with gastritis. I was also h pylori positive in the  last endoscopie I I'be tried several times to treat it but I couldn't get rid of the bacteria in my stomach, but is it what is just causing my gastritis? I'm still not 100% sure. Life has been really hard last 2 and half years with health. I'm just 41 with a 2 1/2 years old child. God give me strength PLEASE!

32

I started taking dexilant and carafate and have had a lot of improvement from my constant nausea that I had for 6 weeks after my surgery and the burning in my chest! I saw a top gi dr in Dallas who said i did have bile reflux but she believes it will settle with time after the liver adjusts to no gallbladder and that can take up to a year. I believe you will get better I think it takes time for your stomach to heal with the meds and eating bland. This whole thing has caused me severe anxiety and I'm starting antidepressants and taking Ativan as needed. I too have 2 small children and it's so hard to take care of them when you are going through this but I don't believe it will last forever! If you have made it this far you are very brave! If it is bile reflux they do have surgery for that now so there is hope!

33

Do you still get the globular sensation and acid taste in mouth?

34

This is the newest forum I've seen for gallbladder issues. Everything else I've found has been from years ago.

I had my gallbladder removed 12 years ago when I was 18. Since then I've had IBS and horrible reflux. In the past few years though, the reflux has gotten so much worse. I've tried every reflux medication and Dexliant is the only one that works, but my insurance decided last summer not to cover it anymore because it's not "generic". My doctor has been providing me with samples since September 2016 but obviously I can't live off of those forever.

I've had 2 upper endos and had the beta testing which all confirmed reflux. When I don't take the Dexilant I have debilitating nausea. It's unreal how bad it is. I just went to the doctor yesterday and had to suggest, could this be realted to my gallbladder. He said he didn't think so, but I never had ANY of these issues before it was removed. He's prescribed me Welchol so I'm going to try that for a few weeks and see if I can't ween myself off of the Dexilant. I don't know what I'll do if that doesn't work. I can't function on a daily basis with the nausea. I had to self pay for 5 Dexilant pills last week and with Rite Aid's "discount" it was a total of $50.

35

hello Sarah, 

same situation for me here... Did Welchol work for you? thanks

36

Hi LittleMissDolly.

I'm hoping this has been resolved since your post, but has anyone checked you for adverse reactions to the PPI ?

I was on them for a few weeks and developed a heap of side effects. Swollen feet, hands, numbness, painful swallowing, tiredness, massive diarrhea, and headaches.

I've had to go off them and am still waiting for the gastric endoscope.

Hoping to get answers soon on alternative medicine that won't cause so many issues.

Good luck and healthy wishes to all fellow sufferers.

37

Hang in there, you’re not alone.  MDs now call this collection of symptoms  Postcholecystectomy Syndrome (read the wiki page). The younger you have the surgery, and if you’re female the greater your chances are to develop it (3x). An average of 10-14% will develop some or all of the  symptoms post-op.

I will share what my doctors did, what WORKED and what didn’t next. (Sorry for the length in advance). 

I had my surgery in 2000 , before they knew all these symptoms were related (and real) and suffered 3 years. I had  diarrhea , constipation , stomach acid (now know it’s stomach bile), stomach & GI pains, burning throat, hiatal hernia, coughing at night, severe weight loss (looked like a famine victim) and unable to gain weight. 

Healing was slow , to solve the middle and lower stomach pains, GI tract pains, constipation, diarrhea: 

-no dairy 2 months (didn’t solve it)

-no fatty foods 2 months (didn’t solve it)

-no dairy or fat 2 months (didn’t solve it)

-an antidepressant for 3-6 months while avoiding dairy and fat. IT WORKED! The doctor had seen this post-op symptom before and had success with a short term antidepressant when diet alone didn’t resolve it. His logic was the GI tract gets stressed-out/anxious trying to function without the necessary gallbladder, and so to help the muscles  and GI tract relax and eat a minimally taxing diet while it heals and finds a new way to process your food.  It worked in 4 months, but stayed with it for 6 months. 

= follow up see last Paragraph

Healing was slower for the hiatal hernia, bile/acid reflux, coughing, upper stomach pains: 

-acid heartburn purple pill 18 months (didn’t help at all because it actually is liver/pancreas bile not stomach acid causing the burn)

-cough suppressant pill because the doc thought I had psychosomatic coughing - jerk (didn’t help at all) 

-sleeping with 4-5 pillows to raise my head ( helped reduce night time burn/cough, but didn’t heal it)

- not eating 4 hours before bed (helped reduce bile reflux experienced at night as food in the stomach has been processed)

-minimized greasy, heavy, rich, sugary, fatty foods, and alcohol (reduced bile reflux and stomach pains a lot)

- 2.5 years of time HEALED the hiatal sphincter (muscle at the top of the stomach that keeps acid and bile from going up the throat) and the coughing and burning stopped.

Summary I believe the hiatal  muscle gets stretched out when the surgeon over inflates the stomach cavity during the operation to make it easier to perform. Which means a smaller younger female would get over inflated the most. The bile, liver, pancreas, GI tract may also be a casualty of over inflating during kathriscooic surgery as this syndrome does not happen with tradition surgery when they cut open the body.  

The  Follow-Up 2018 - I’m feeling good and regular (ha ha).  Ice ceam and cheese are once a month instead of daily, and deep fried foods are always avoided.  Gained weight and returned to a healthy size after 18 months with weights and exercise.

Because it is the pancreas/liver bile  causing the upper stomach pains and reflux I am kind to my pancreas and liver, which I now call my  “party” organs. They process sugar, fat and alcohol so I try to minimize all three.  I want a long and healthy pain free life,  and I will need a happy liver and pancreas to succeed without a gallbladder.  The End 

38

Hi LakerGirl, your story give me the hope back to see the light at the end of the tunnel. I have all this issues after my GB was removed in Dec 2016. I´d love to hear more details about the antidepressant treatment in order to try if that may work for me. I´m from Mexico so not sure if I can find a doctor here that takes or accept the take that approach but definitely would like to know about your sucesss story. I´d really apprecite if you can email me at or willing to share your contact data with me so I can contact you.

Thanks in advance!! 

Emmanuel

Moderator comment: I have removed the email address as we do not publish these in the forums. If users wish to exchange contact details please use the Private Message service.

39

Leni75. How are you today? I had surgery7 months ago and going through what you went through.

40

Hi did you get better? I am going through so much pain and nausea after 7 months gallbladder surgery please did things improve?