Normal testing and still have bad gallbladder/pain?

Digestive health
1

Is it possible to have all normal testing and still have a bad gallbladder? 

Since the 1st week of sept I have been suffering from RUQ pain, nausea after meals, sometimes nausea out of the blue, pain in my right shoulder blade, fatigue, lack to no energy level, 12 lbs weight loss, pain in my right shoulder neck area, mix between constipation and diarrhea but mostly constipation and heartburn! The pain is constant and never goes away. 

All of my testing keeps coming back normal. Ultrasound of the gallbladder, Hida scan (my result was 48%), Ct Scan, celiac biopsy, h.pylori, other blood work( amylase/lipase normal), endoscopy, MRI, ct of the head, pelvic ultrasound! We have also had a 2nd opinion with a GI Dr and established with a new GP and spoke to a surgeon (we have another appt 11/12)! 

All testing keeps coming back NORMAL!!! (Which is good) 

Can all these test still come back normal and you still have a bad gallbladder? 

Has this ever happen to anyone? 

Certainly I'm not the only one this is happened too! Any help is welcomed! 

From the USA

Thanks for reading

2

Yes it is i have had my gallbladder removed for almost 2 weeks now but yes all my blood work etc came back normal you need a hidascan to actually check your gallbladder 

3

Thanks for responding! Hopefully you are recovering well and feeling better! 

  I did have a hida scan done about a month ago. My result was 48%!!! 

  How long did you have your symptoms for? Did your dr give you a 50/50 chance b/c all your testing was coming back normal? 

4

My gallbladder wasn't functional at all but only the hidascan helped me granted i had to fight 4 different hospitals because my other test came back normal when the charity hospital finally did my surgery turned out my gallbladder was huge larger than my liver but the hospitals didnt like my insurance so they wouldn't do sh*t it took me a month and losing 40 lbs in a month upper and lower gi hidascan etc... i do have an ulcer and horrible acid reflux as well but i had to fight for my health it almost killed me really they dont like to do the surgery if they can find an alternative reason for your symptoms you have to push im still having problems after the surgery so weigh your options heavily because they don't tell you how much you go through after

5

Update: I had my gallbladder removed in Dec 2014. It took about 4-6 months for everything to feel better and get back to normal! To all out there please know it is possible to keep having normal results and still have gallbladder symptoms.

6

I too have been going through all of this for almost 4 years.  Ultrasound, 2 rounds of blood tests, CT scan, colonoscopy, endoscopy, and HIDA scan (89%).  Everything normal.  I'm about to take a MRI but it's getting very frustrating.  What finally prompted you to do that surgery?  Also, now that you feel better is that particular pain gone?  Thank you.  

7

Yes, I had the exact thing happen to me. It took 9 months before I was referred to a general surgeon who agreed to do exploratory surgery .  When inside he found my gall bladder to be covered in scar tissue from chronic inflammation, cholecystitis, it was removed.  A few hours after being home from the out patient surgery I had a new pain, similar to pre surgery pain but different.  I've had it ever since. I was diagnosed with type 3 Spinchter of oddi dysfunction just last week after 10 months of more doctors and tests that come back normal.  Now, they say there is nothing they can do, I have to live this way.  Well, it's no life, that's for sure. I suggest you do everything to SAVE your gall bladder. Detox, do flushes whatever it takes but don't buy into the hooey that you "don't need" your gall bladder. God gave it to us for a reason, and I'm living proof that things don't work right without it.  It can heal if given the right nutrients and remove the toxins that are causing it to malfunction.  I wish I had learned this before, I would not have had the removal.  Good luck. 

8

I am refreshing my gallbladder discussion. This Dec 2016 I will be 2 years post having my gallbladder removed. I had all normal testing with extreme pain.

Everything is back to normal...

9

Thanks for starting this thread and fir your detailed posts. I'm in a similar situation to you pre-surgery - CT, US, endoscope and xray clear. Hida at 67 percent. Keep getting extreme upper rq pain and was hospitalized for suspected pancreatitis last week. My usysl surgeon was on leave so I saw another one and a GI - both suspected gall-bladder at first given my classic symptoms - yet are now saying taking out GB won't help. Anyway, great to hear you're going so well. It gives me hope! Trying to get an appointment soon with my usual surgeon (in Australia).

10

Hi chris. Have you had any progress? I'm going through the same thing and it's so frustrating.

11

I've been reading this as the closest to my situation. I too have had bloods, ultrasound, CT scan which have come back normal. My consultant now thinks that my gallbladder isn't working properly so I've got to have a HIDA scan and a MRCP scan in the next few weeks. I've been in pain for 5 months which hasn't been long compared to alot of you on this forum. Most of my pain seems to be in my back and shoulder blades and is constant and gets worse after eating. Every so often the pain seems to moves up a stage and starts to feel worse than before. Glad it all worked out for you.

12

Hello.. I'm in the same boat!! I've had RUQ pain for about 6 years now. I've been to 4 doctors, had 4 US, 1 CT scan, all the bloodwork and everything always comes back fine. I've had regular women's wellness exams, too, to rule out the possibility of female reproductive disorders. Results came back fine, of course. It's great to have good results but can be very frustrating when you don't know what's wrong, what to do next, or even how to begin relieving the symptoms.

My symptoms include RUQ pain that comes and goes, that is mild and achy, and tends to happen more at night. I've had nausea a couple of times but very rarely does my pain happen in conjunction with nausea or indigestion or irregularities of the bowels. Still, I'm a young and healthy female (32) with pain and an unknown cause.

I am scheduled to have an upper endoscopy and I may request a HIDA.

After much research, my thoughts are that I may have small or microscopic stones or sludge in my gallbladder. Given the symptoms that I have and the numerous amount of times that I have read that this is common, I do not doubt that stones can be so small that they are undetectable.

One other option that my doctor suggested is costochondritis which is an inflammation of the cartilage that attaches to the to cage due to previous injury. I've researched that and I don't think that's my answer.

I hope this helps! Good luck to everyone in finding their answers.

13

Hi Ash!

Please get back to us once you have had your Hidascan (if you decide to have one) and ofc. keep us updated on how you are doing!

My situation is very similar to yours. Symptoms for 7 years now, 3x ultrasounds, 2x endoscopies, 1x colonoscopy and 1x CT with and without contrast.. All negative. I am waiting to have my Hidascan done.

Hope you will get better soon!

14

I am going through same thing here! I have had horrible RUQ pain!

First and second dr thought it was my appendix.

Hospital told me 3 years ago they though I had a gallstone that passed!

Last dr sent me for a C scan with contrast.

Present Dr really listened and said he really feels like my gallbladder is the issue!

He said it's great news that my blood work was fine but he is sending me for ultra sound in next couple weeks and from there if they don't find anything they are gonna do hida scan!

I have been eating an extremely low fat diet and it really reduces the pain!

I am doing a lot of holistic stuff in mean time... drinking dandelion root tea (actually tastes good) I am also taking milk thistle and bike salt!

Tomorrow is thanksgiving sonInmay cheat on my diet a bit and hopefully not in a ton of pain!

15

Hello!

I am an 18yr old female and I had to drop out of my first semester at university because my gallbladder made me so sick.

I experienced all of this as well! RUQ pain that was twice so extreme that I had to go to the ER. I lost 20 pounds (I currently weigh about 100 now). Nausea, no vomiting. Only to be sent home because all tests seemed to be normal. I had a huge blood work up done anywhere from 5-10 times. Only thing abnormal was something in my liver called bilirubin and I was told I had Gilbert's Syndrome, I've been told it causes bilirubin to increase when something is wrong in your body.

This is the only thing that kept the dr's going.

First go around at my first dr;

I had CT with contrast- normal

Ultrasound- only showed sludge (they said that they can't do anything about sludge)

HIDA- normal (52%)

I went for a second opinion. I knew something was wrong and I was not going to let someone give up on me. This doctor ordered blood test and ultrasound.

Blood tests came back with my bilirubin lower than before.

My ultrasound came back NORMAL. No sludge!

I was devastated because I thought There was now not even a little bit of evidence that it's my gallbladder causing all of this.

This dr didn't give up. He sent me for another HIDA scan. (Mind you, it's only been two months since my first HIDA)

Today, I got a call from my Dr. I was told this HIDA scan came back very abnormal, gave me the number to a surgeon and told me I need to call them asap.

Guys, please do not give up. Almost all of my tests were normal up until a week ago. Push for repeat tests if it's been awhile. I don't know why the first HIDA was normal and now this one, two months later, is very abnormal.

Keep pushing.

16

I'm in the same boat as a lot of these other people. Nausea and vomitting has been going on for 2 1/2 months now as well as heartburn, on and off pain urq with low back pain. Also constipation or diarrhea. Blood test, ultra sound, CT with contrast and HIDA scan all came back normal.

It's taken me months to get in to have testing and the symptoms have defiantly slackened but couldn't get in for testing when things were very bad.

I have no appetite, fatigue and take zofran 8mg 3 times a day to keep down a bland mushy diet. I've lost 20 lbs and don't know where to go from here.

I talk to my Dr Monday to go over results and where to go.

I'm hesitant to go thru with gallbladder removal as a gamble to try and make this better. My GI keeps sashaying gastritis. Has anyone had symptoms like this for this long from chronic gastritis?? 32 yo female and don't know what to do. Please anyone advise.

17

I recently went to the ER with left upper abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting.

All my blood work and x ray came back normal but my ultrasound said I have a good amount of gallstones and they wanted to remove my gallbladder

I declined and said I will check in with my Primary care Dr the following week.

I've been drinking lots of water and trying to be more conscious of what I'm eating and feel better but depending on what I eat I feel the need to throw up

My Dr said everything looks fine ..And just want to clarify that I've never had excruciating

Dr said everything is fine he doesn't see a reason for surgery but I should follow up with the surgeon just in case to look around

It's been a week now and depending on what I eat I have a feeling of throwing up ... Not sure if that's gallbladder gallstone issues ..I never actually throw up it's just always in my throat feeling

I want to avoid surgery if at all possible but does this feeling the need to throw up go away??

18

I've been having same pain and problems for a very long time. I do have ibs and acid reflux but things have gotten much worse pain radiating to my back. Dr. thought was my gallbladder so had sonagram in November. It showed stones but said were so tiny that she didn't think were causing problems. Also blood test didn't show problems either. They ordered Hida scan yesterday. I never had cck though cause layed there for the hour so had to inject morphine and gallbladder finally showed up. The technician said cause it hadn't showed up that my gallbladder was bad and not taking in any bile and what it showing up after morphine met it was chronic. Called dr. today and told her still felt terrible and she put me on a liquid diet and then after 48 hours go on the brat diet. The doctor assistant also told me that my scan was normal so Im very confused. I don't understand everything I have read says if they have to give morphine to open gallbladder then its bad. Help please?

 

19

Hi, when I went for my hida scan they were going to use morphine but they decided to use the fatty drink method to get the gallbladder from working. Did they only give you the one injection which is the radioactive tracer and then nothing, as that won't do anything on its own. All the morphine is another way of getting the gallbladder to work. Did they tell you the ejection fraction as that is the reason why they do this procedure to see if your gallbladder is working properly or not. I would ask for your ejection fraction. They seem to have given you contradictory advice saying the gallbladder was normal and chronic.  A liquid diet is quite common to check gallbladder pain as generally gallbladder get worse when you eat so this way they can see if they're in pain without food. Blood tests don't always show anything hence the tests you are having to rule things out as there's alot of organs in one place that give similar symptoms. 

I don't have gallstones but from everything I've read quite often its the small stones that can cause the problems.

 Is your doctor a gastroenterologist that specializes in biliary problems as I believe that helps. I'm in the UK and I've been passed to physician and surgeon who are specialist in this area. Let us know how you are getting on and get that ejection fraction that will explain alot.

20

Hi all, i've been having gastric problems for multiple years now. i've had a colonoscopy, endoscopy, hida scan, test for celiac multiple blood tests.

The symptoms im having is everytime i eat i can literally feel my food hit my stomach because it's super gurgly and crampy. i get acid reflux every now and then and no matter what i eat i'm gassy and bloated. it's super uncomfortable and i'm sick of living like this.

When i had my colonoscopy the doctor said i had a twisted colon. when i had my endoscopy he couldn't take any biopsies because he said i had too much bile in my stomach. (i hadn't ate anything since 7pm the night before) The last test i had was the hida with kineva scan. it took my gallbladder a long time to show up 77 minutes to show up. according to the technician this usually means your gallbladder has to come out. however my ejection fraction was 77% and says that's normal. and also no evidence of cholytitis.

I just really don't know what to do at this point because when i went to see my doctor he was like "well we think it's your gallbladder because everything else came back negative so you have a sick gallbladder" but according to the tests everything's normal? can anyone shed some light on this situation i'm just highly confused because all the symptoms im reading people have back pain and things of that nature and i don't have any of that. i'm also worried about post gallbladder and that i'll get it out and still have the same issues?