So confussed

Digestive health
1

Hi all

Im 40 years old and been having pain for justover a year. The pain is just under my right rib it comes and goes it lasts anywhere from a few seconds to 30 mins its also very tender, it like a burning stinging pain i also get this pain on eitherside of my belly button but not as often maybe 10 times in a day this is also tender i have lower back ache boating feeling sick most of the time never feel hungry but sometimeswakeup with a really bad hunger pain, my right leg from the knee down aso swells change in bowel movements also bladder control has gone a bit, anyway had a ct scan it showed bulky ovarys with several large cysys and that my gallbladder neck is deformed but then they are saying that this is not the cause ofmy symptoms and put me on amitriptyline for pain management im so confussed and they have sent me back to gps care .

Any advice

Thanks lorraine x

2

Lorraine it's your cysts. I had burning pain in my gallbladder last November right under my ribs and also in my back. Was diagnosed with large gallstone and surgeon said it was best to remove the gallbladder as it would get worse. Well had it removed in December and have been going through hell ever since. Diarrhea started straight after the operation and then 8 weeks later started vomiting and horrendous nausea. Was in hospital in February and March and they then told me I had a 3 inch cyst on my ovary which was there last October when they diagnosed the stone! Anyway saw a gynaecologist who was going to remove it but spoke to my surgeon and as I've had previous bowel surgery they said I was high risk of perforation. I asked could the cyst be causing all the problems and they didn't answer me. I've been sick all this time until a few weeks ago. I got dreadful pains in the ovary and then contraction like pains which I've had since. Had a scan a week later and the cyst had partially ruptured and guess what the nausea and vomiting stopped! I still have the pains and now have missed a period as well. I was getting a period every 20 days the last 6 months. Please get milk thistle and start taking it as its what helped me. It helps detox the liver and balance the hormones and is good for gallbladder too. It's good for cysts as well. Im so mad that not one doctor recognised my symptoms. Ovarian cysts can cause dreadful side effects in some people. I'm starting to think that this is what was giving me the pain in the gallbladder and not the stone. I've spoken to a few people who've had cysts and a lot of them had gallbladder pain. Have you breast tenderness and irregular periods and headaches too? All your symptoms are common with cysts. Hope this helps xx

3

WOW Lorraine!  I know you are sick and in pain. I had to have ovaries removeds and my gallbladder. Not at the same time of course, but it sounds like you need surgery.Hope you GP is a good one. Keep me posted what happens with you. I am concerned...

4

Thanks for the quick replies

Ace i do have tender dreasts most of the time and get alot of headaches i was on the depo so didnt have periods stopped getting it in november so only had 3 periods but they seem regular but really heavy,i also have alot of papitations, ill try the milk thistle too.

Angela my docs arnt good hes the type that asks you what you think it could be i have another ultrasound booked for the 12th for my gallbladder going back to see the doc this week so will ask to see a gyneacologist.

Will let you know what the doc says

Thanks again xx

5

Lorraine unfortunately The Depo injection As well as birth control pill and hrt and other hormone drugs increase our estrogen levels. When this happens the liver cant deal with the excess hormones so we can develop cysts, fibroids and unfortunately gallbladder issues. Heavy periods are also a symptom of cysts. Try the milk thistle to see if it helps. It won't work overnight but has helped me greatly. Gynaecologists will remove the cysts if there over 6-7 cm. however removing cysts doesn't prevent them from reoccurring. Some gynaecologists prescribe birth control pills to try and get rid of the cysts but a lot of studies suggest it doesn't work. A lot of cysts go away by themselves after a few months. Also if your gallbladder is not inflamed please don't let them remove it. If you taking any ant acid ppi type medication try and stop it as these drugs can also cause gallbladder problems. Also Apple cider vinegar is also good for gallbladder and cysts. 1 tablespoon 3 times a day in warm water. Good luck xx

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Thank you for the info Ace its been very helpfull im seeing my doctor tomorrow so going to try and get reffered to a gynaecologists what scans will they do.

Im really sick of feeling like this now for a couple of weeks everytime i bend over i go really dizzy i told the docs this and they said they dont know what that is thats all i seem to get told. I have just been diagnosed with laryngopharyngeal reflux and was taking 40mg omeprazole but had to stop as it was making me sick i take gaviscon 4 times a day now. on a letter from the hospital it said existing diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease not one of the docs has told me i had that hopefully i will get sorted soon xx

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Lorraine sorry to hear this. I am also experiencing dizzy spells. This is all connected with your cyst and hormone imbalance probably due to the depo injection. I am glad to hear your off the ppi as they wont help your gallbladder. The milk thistle will also help the fatty liver. By the way your gynaecologist might not admit the symptoms are from the cysts as mine didn't answer me when I asked him however my gp told me cysts can make you very sick. Also if your told we can take your gallbladder out to see if it helps don't let them! Have you had a hida scan yet? That will determine how your gallbladder is functioning. But keep away from the ppis for now. Take the milk thistle if you can. My cyst is still there but it's 1 inch as opposed to 3 inches and I still have side effects headaches dizzy and now no period. Thankfully the nausea and vomiting stopped when it partially ruptured. Take care xx

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No havent had a hida scan can i ask the doc to send me for one, where do i get milk thistle from im defo going to try it

You take care too xx

9

Yes demand a hida scan. You can get the milk thistle in any health store or pharmacy. Are you in the UK? I spoke to a girl who had the same symptoms as me vomiting nausea breast tenderness dizzy spells headaches irregular heavy periods pains in lower back and front and pain in thighs and she also had pain under her ribs. She also had constipation and diarrhea and was told it was IBS! After 2 years she ended up in casualty with a massive cyst which had ruptured and she lost her ovary as it had wrapped around it. All her symptoms disappeared after the operation. Let me know how you get on. Take care xx

10

Yeh im in the uk my doctor tryed to say i had ibs and i told him it wasent that he didnt say anything else about it after that i will demand that he sends me for a hida scan tho ill let you know what he says tomorrow i spent 5 days in hospital in feb they thought it was my gallbladder they put me on iv drugs for 3 days had 2 ultrasounds of my upper abdomen done all they found was that my bile duct was bigger than normal kept me druged up then sent me home they wrote to my doc and said that while i was in there the pain subsided which it hadnt and i told them i was still in pain but the doc in the hospital was horible had me crying he was more or less saying i was lieing because they couldnt find anything xx

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Sorry to be a pain but where i get the pain under my rib it gets very hot to touch sometimes do you get that too xx

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Yes I got that before my op and still get it. It's terrible the way doctors treat you isn't it. I had the cyst last October when they diagnosed the stone and because I had pain there they took out the gallbladder. They never even told me about the cyst until after my operation. After talking to so many people that had cysts that had that pain under the ribs I really think my gallbladder shouldn't have been removed at all and it was the cyst causing me problems all along. I've heard of others who had there gallbladder removed and then were told they had a cyst within a few weeks of operation. Unfortunately we don't speak up for ourselves when we are ill and just take our doctors word for it. I regret the operation and feel it was a mistake. I've never been so sick since having it done. I wish I had of tried the alternative road first. X

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Its just nice knowing that im not crazy i was begining to think it was all in my head i have little faith in doctors now my daughter had her gallbladder removed when she was 17 she had gallstones she said that some of the symptoms im having she had too shes 19 now and periods are 4 days on 4 days off she had blood tests but all came back normal shes got the inplant and her periods seem to have settled, i might get them to check her for cysts too but thank you for all the info i dont think i would of found out any of this from my doc take care xx

14

Oh your poor daughter.Try her with the milk thistle too. She's far too young to be suffering. Did she get any side effects from the gallbladder removal? A friend of mines daughter had her gallbladder Removed last year and she was 10! Bloody crime. She had 2 stones and her gallbladder wasn't inflamed she just had the pains. She's still not right with indigestion and bad constipation and vomited every day for 9 months after the operation. They need to find a way to remove the stones and keep the gallbladder. So many long term side effects of this operation. Take care xx

15

Shes beenfine since apart from her periods she has had a couple of gallbladder like attacks since but not too bad when she got diagnosed i took her to the walk in center the nurse just didnt care and said to her that the op was just putting a tube down your throat and crushing the stones i dont really know if they can do that but we thought she was talking bull cos we had been told what the op was i was scared when i found out i had cysts i thought it might be cancer i had a large benign lump removed from my left breast when i was 15, i went to see the doc at the hospital on the monday then i was in on the thursday having it removed that was scary too can i ask the doc to do a ca-125 blood test just to be sure xxx

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Was going to suggest you ask for the ca125 Test. I had it in March and all ok. Did your daughter have keyhole surgery?can she eat everything ok? I wish they could go down and crush the stones. Would be a whole lot easier! No they just remove the gallbladder as far as I know! Write a list of all your questions that you want to ask in case you forget something! Am so sorry to hear about your lump. Happened to me a few years ago too. Had mammogram and ultrasound but was blocked duct. Thank god. Xx

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Yeh she had keyhole took her a couple of weeks to recover but she can eat anything now thank god all was ok with you too ive had a couple of lumps again had biopsys but thet sais its just scar tissue but yeh will write everything down cos i always come out and ive forgotten to tell him something anyway will let you know what he says tomorrow xx

18

Good luck Lorraine. Will be thinking of you. Xx

19

Hi,

Ive been reading your and another poster's threads for a little while.

Yours caught my eye because of your gyno references.

To briefly recap I had a very bad attack that had the initial dx of severe gastritis, which then became a symptom of either pancreatitis or gb.

Unfortunately, the earliest I could get in for scans was 7 days post attack. My Dr said that often the time delay can see scans come back clear.(including ct with contrast and u/s).

My 2nd Dr (not happy with first) had to leave the practice suddenly due to family reasons was great but he only saw me for 2 weeks prior to his going.

The closest dx ive got is a narrowed cbd from rapid emptying with mixed artefact.

Im nearly in some degree of discomfort to downright pain most days. Ive asked for a hida scan twice and have been told they will leave that to the specialist and due to the 3 month gaps between appt times, I also changed specialists. ( The first specialist insisted on scheduling a gastroscopy/colonoscopy even though I said I felt it was unrelated and it wasnt).

I also had bloodwork indicate some sort of an infection but the Dr said no to abs, and all the while Im feeling worse. Finally, I put myself on abs but only had 4 days worth but feel much improved although still in pain.

Here's the thing, I have fibroids and ? enlarged ovary or fibroid growing on a stalk off it. Im 50 and in perimenopause and in frequent pain on my right ovary area.

Im due for a hysterectomy late next month, but am concerned about the gb? pain being bad post hyster surgery.

I really feel that my gb and gyno issues are feeding off each other but the new gp was dismissive of that. Honestly, sometimes it's hard to tell where the pain kicks off, ovary or gb area! I really think ever since I started peri menopause my gb has gone haywire and I can't be the only person to experience thus so surely Drs would make the connection.

I'm fairly forthright by nature, but trying to get my issues sorted is proving to be a nightmare. Hopefully the new specialist will actually listen and have some answers.

20

Hi jaygf Sorry to hear your suffering. Unfortunately high estrogen seems to be the cause of these issues in most of us. Taking birth control, hrt and other hormone drugs increase estrogen in our body and the liver which filters everything we put into our bodies can't handle the excess estrogen and the bile becomes thicker and more stodgy and eventually gallbladder problems ensue and ovarian cysts and fibroids. My surgeon did tell me that high estrogen causes these issues. Also ant acid ppi medication can also cause the gallbladder to contract and become problematic if taken for a while too. If your taking these try to stop as they may not be helping your gallbladder. A recent study gave healthy people these drugs for a few weeks and there gallbladder function greatly diminished after the few weeks. I've been taking milk thistle to detox my liver and get rid of excess estrogen. It balances the hormones too and is good for the gallbladder. It's worth a try. Try and hold onto your gallbladder if you can. A lot of your symptoms are probably from the cyst and fibroids. I'm sorry you have to have a hysterectomy. I wish you well in your future operation. Take care x