Hello-
Not sure if anyone can relate but i need some insight.. 3 months ago i started having some toght upper quadrant pain under the breast bone that felt like muscle cramp (like if you run too hard) very excrutiating.. went to ER was ruled it was muscle pull.. saw several doctors since then who continued to say the same thing .. told me could take 12 wks to heal.. here we are 14 wks later and my symptoms have worsened.. went to ER x 2 last weekend with new GI symptoms now ..
- increased horrible acid reflux with burping and feeling like something is stuck in my chest with horrible what feels like esophageal spasms
- right upper abdominal pain that comes and goes but never goes away permanently can be burning.. dull .. sharp.. crampy its diff all the time
- light clay to light yellowish stool soft or diarrhea sometimeS
- sour taste in my mouth
- pain in chest
- pain in back
- itching
I have had HIDA 58% normal.. US of gallbladder normal.. CT of abdomen normal… EGD with US is normal.. blood work x3 normal.. i have seen a general surgeon who says it all sounds like gallbldder and is willing to take it out but says he cannot guarantee anything or that i will feel better. My GI doctor advised me not to remove after EGD he says i will have diarrhea but what i am dealing with right now is causing me so much angst and anxiety .. i havent been feeling myself.. im becoming depressed and i cannot exercise or eat without reflux or feeling like im going to burp it up.. idk what to do anymore.. should im torn in if i should remove gallbladder.. i dont want worse problems.. anyone going thru this same thing???
What I find is incredible & no doubt you do too is the fact that no doctors seem to be able to resolve your problem! I should write a letter to the doctor you have the most trust in (if any).
It is important in my opinion that your issues are in writing.
I am amazed one said he'd remove your gall bladder but he said it might not help in so many words! Clearly you need resolution as soon as possible. Cannot they MRI scan you or CT scan?
You do need an expert in your issues which needs an astute doctor.
I hope you find a doctor that is able to do what is necessary for you.
the symptoms your having are related to gallbladder, the acid reflux also can be bought on my gallbladder issues, the itching can be from liver problems, but your gallbladder is attach to your liver so it would make sense that your liver maybe getting affected by this. your not alone, i had the surgery and i can tell you that the diarrhea for me when away 90% unless i eat something like fatty or chocolate which i do not, my issues is i still have bad acid reflux that hasnt left me its a nightmare, because i refuse to take medication for it, i still get the burning feeling, i develop IBS once my Gallbadder stop working, surgery or not i would of still have ibs, i honestly didnt regret the surgery, i was so sick and losing alot weight, severe diarrhea, i also had to change my diet, it was also affecting my liver as well, i was very depressed and severe anxiety, i still suffer with mental illness because of this
get a second opinion from another doctor as well
I totally agree , when this initially happened i felt as though they poo poo'd me like i was jus being a big baby but I always felt like it was more because i had GI symptoms at first when all this started but then i got to a point where i was like well they think its muscle so i guess i will jus leave it alone. now its out of control. the general surgeon said it all sounds like gallbladder but he gives 50-60% chance i might feel better hut anything has to feel better than what im currently feeling. im willing to take the chance and pray it helps. i had CT done and it was normal and a EGD with ultrasound and they found nothing. the surgeon says that happens but all my symptoms point to gallbladder.
im so sorry you are going thru that. i can totally relate to how you are feeling. but it sounds like the surgery helped in some ways. i cant even eat a half of plain ham sandwich without pain. its terrible. i hope me having my gallbladder removed helps the pain im experiencing. did any of your tests come back normal before you made the decision to remove ur gallbladder?
i have an appt sched with one in st louis i live in a smaller town in illinois. but as far as im concerned ive had several second opinions.. ive seen ortho.. GI x 2 .. my PCP.. and general surgery.. this doctor in stl is one of the best in gastroenterology in the st louis area. idk all my symptoms point to gallbladder per the general surgeon. im at a loss on taking the leap of faith and jus removing the gallbladder to see if anything resolves. -thank u so much for ur insight u really helped
i went with leap of faith because the only thing that pointed out gallbladder issues were my ultrasound, no blood test could find anything but i was always ill, my liver test were showing signs of something been wrong but only thing my doctor pointed out was probably gallbladder my test didnt start getting better until a few months after removing my gallbladder, no there were always something negative with my test, they found abnormalties in my heart test, they thought it was bile reflux causing it, i feel you would get better, i waited until i couldnt take the sickness no more and then i do the surgery,
yes the surgery did definetly help me, i no longer get weak and have diarrhea, lets say most my symptoms went away except for my acid reflux and IBS those are the 2 am dealing with and its stressful dealing with them both
I am surprised that a specialist in the USA cannot explain exactly what is happening in your digestive system. It seems all too often that out with the gall bladder is often advised lightly. Any one observing the multitude of patients on this forum still have many adverse issues after their gall bladder is removed. This last sentence has been rubbished on a few occasions by those who have had no adverse symptoms after their cholestectomy. It is excellent when a person has an operation that renders them healthy because no one in their right mind would have an operation if they were not going to feel OK after it?
I would have thought these days there are experts in the Gastroenterology field who know all there is to know and are able to predict what is going to transpire.
No wonder I was told = 'removal of your gall baldder' is the only option to eradicate gall stones when that registrars' superior surgeon confirmed she was wrong to say that. He gave me a prescription for Ursodeoxycholic acid which dissolved my gall stones in 2015. If no gall stones can be seen by ultrasound then that is another matter and needs further investigations but taking a gall bladder out with not an exact diagnosis I think is appalling and is none other than 'hit and miss' The worst scenario is if 'they' do not get it right. However everyone signs the waiver document that absolves any problems for the surgeon.
I must say that the engineers saying measure twice and cut once does not seem to apply to thousands of doctors. An engineer knows full well that if he cuts a lump off something it's difficult to overcome that problem but our bodies I would have thought are far more important than any electromechanical device that ever existed........ I would have thought that it is imperative to research every exacting detail if a problem occurs with our extremely complex bodily systems. One item that is sometimes crucial and that is the lack of attention by doctors to our historical medical history notes. You may be as surprised as I was in respect that 28 doctors never ever read my previous medical notes for years & yet there was clinical data that was not seen that affected me adversely since 1978 to date 2020.
It's all about the money......... In the States its all about making it and over here its all about the polar opposite.... Saving it or more to the point not having any.
It's amazing that the OP has had this for three months and had all the tests...... Over here would be a minimum of six months just to see a consultant.
Agreed. That is a truly fantastic array of tests. I have had one ultrasound so far, which showed small gallstones of unknown composition (but statistically most likely cholesterol-based). Unfortunately, the full results are not visible to my GP, as it was done after a trip to A&E in another NHS PCT, mid-Nov. The PCT's don't seem talk to eachother, and don't pass on blood results, or scan results, even months later. Their computer systems seem to be entirely separate. I'm now getting a second opinion via my own GP & PCT, but am having to get another ultrasound first, so they can actually see the results, and what they are dealing with. I am hoping, given my stone size & probable type, I can get a course of Urso, rather than surgery... but I'm not holding my breath. Suspect the answer will be the same - removal or nothing - but I have to try.
Pathetic isn't it. You would think any medical professional could see absolutely everything from your medical history at any time, sadly NOT.
Can't believe everything is also still done by post in 2020!
The NHS just doesn't function as it should, INFACT it's a million miles away.
your symptoms do sound like gallbladder problems, i had to go through an ultrasound( useless for me, it did not detect anything abnormal with my gallbladder) it found a mass in my liver ( thanks God when i went for a CT scan, it was just a calcified granuloma) endoscopy and colonoscopy, everything checked out good except a tiny little ulcer and H Pylori. My problems continued, the pain used to wake me up at night, and the frequency and pain level kept on increasing as time went by. The day of my colonoscopy when i left the clinic i was super hungry and went to an Ihop for some fatty food, that was the nail in the coffin, about two hours later the pain in my upper right quadrant started again, but this time it was extremely strong, radiating to the middle of my back like a band, it was very tough, after a few hours i could not take it anymore and told my wife to take me to the hospital, as soon as the guy did the ultrasound he told me your gallbladder is in pretty bad shape, very very swollen, he said if they gave me the option to do the surgery right away, not to think it twice, because it was so inflamed he was afraid it could rupture and then more seirous problems could arise. As soon as the surgeon saw the ultrasound findings, he gave me the option to do the surgery right away, i accepted and that same night i was getting that crap organ out of my body. next day i was already home, and for the most part i am doing very good, no more excruciating pain and my digestion has been good, even though i am not taking care of what i eat. So if they find out its your gallbladder and its giving you a lot of pain, dont think twice and get it out. Hope everything works out for you.
Thank you so much .. i am happy to hear you are recovering great!! i just wish i knew 100% that it was my gallbladder before removing it.
you definitely need to be sure, but the whole point of my story is that sometimes specially with ultrasounds they miss it, remember ultrasounds are highly dependent on their operator. if its the gallbladder sooner or later the pain will let you know, they say kidney stones are horrible, i have never had those , but i can tell you gallbladder pain is bad, would not wish it to anybody. keep on trying until they come out with a diagnostic, the digestive system is complicated since there are a bunch of organs involved.
I was under a misconception where I thought patients in the USA had access to many experts but a pal of mine who lived Philli told me the insurance costs the earth!
He passed away 2018 so he must have been 77 then same as me but it must have been dire due to the big C but he never smoked....... You are right it is about money and here in the UK it seems that even if you pay the consultants it does not mean you get better quality attention because they are basically NHS consultants. Making a mint of course on the side!
It has always been understood here that if you spend money on a private consultation you get an op if required 3 months sooner! It happened to me re an inguinal hernia but I needed it SAP due to my lifting heavy boilers etc.
I know a urologist who must make loads of money but I would not pay him in buttons..... He is one of the thousands of medical professionals who do not read a patients medical history. I would believe all those of his mindset are a s thick as a barrow load of tripe.
I think if you pay privately to see a consultant your really only cutting out the waiting time for your 1st NHS consultation, if you're going to be treated thereafter on the NHS your just back to normal.
It really is frustrating that pretty much any speciality within my trust is a minimum of a six month wait, BUT you can pay to see most consultants at my hospital at a private hospital within days. As far as I'm concerned they either work for one or the other NOT both.
It's not just that though it's the admin/clerical side of things which cost nothing to be run efficiently...... Just this week and no word of a lie my 80 Father has been in A&E with breathing difficulties, he phoned for a phone GP appt last week as he had a chesty cough that he couldn't shake, his GP NEVER called and he ends up in hospital. My 6 year old is under the bowel and bladder paediatric dept as 10 months ago he was severely constipated, his stomach stomach got all infected and he started vomiting blood, this week his stool turned green and mucousy, we have constantly left messages, nobody has bothered to return our calls and his specialist nurses mobile message still says she is on annual leave until December 30th.... how unprofessional is that! That was 7 weeks ago! Oh and they've lost something of my PARTNERS, FOR THE SECOND TIME!
The NHS, backbone of Britain! God help us!
The OP has had all the tests possible in the space of months since his misery started and over here we'd still be waiting twice that length of time just for a 1st consultation which lasts what...... 10mins?
Must be a nightmare with no insurance in the States but it's full of lovely little, clean, calming and efficient hospitals.
Yikes! I guess I am "lucky" in that my symptoms were so acute, it was hard to miss (although the ED still misdiagnosed). If the surgeon thinks that it's gallbladder and is willing to remove it, and you feel miserable, I'd definitely consider having it done. EGD wouldn't likely show gallbladder disease unless you were in the midst of an attack/inflammation/infection - which would show on labs. CT can show some GBD but frequently misses stones. Ultrasound is most sensitive for stones - but still only picks up 85% of them in symptomatic patients. AND you can have GBD without having any stones as well.
It's odd to me that the GI doc isn't recommending it given that a laproscopic choly is one of the most frequently performed operations especially among women. Curious question - any of these docs women? I ask this because there are a number of studies that show GBD and other digestive disorders tend to present differently in women than in men, yet most of the symptoms that doctors learn about in med school and in practice are those that stem from research done primarily on men. It's not sexism per se, just that women present the same disorders differently from men because we have very different anatomies. You hear about it a lot with heart disease, but it's true with many conditions.
I'd have it out. I had significant nerve damage and daily migraines after a car crash three years ago, and had numerous specialists tell me that I shouldn't be having the pain I was having. Finally, I used family connections to get in to see one of the top neuros in the US. He said it would be 50-50 if surgery would improve my condition since many of the damaged nerves wouldn't regenerate. I realized I couldn't have much of a life with the pain and loss of function I was living with - so I went for it. 12 week recovery, still living with chronic pain, but a million times better and no regrets.
Risk of diarrhea post-cholecystectomy is less than 1%. Other side effects and risks are less than 7%. Risk of not getting better if you don't do it - 100%.
Good luck!