Can it be bile reflux or just acid?

Posted , 4 users are following.

Hi I had gallbladder surgery about a month ago and a week and half later I started to have funny feeling in the throat and a bit of indidgestion. Went to GP and diagnosed gastritis due to excess of acid. He prescribed pantoprazole and week later I felt better but then my throat is still hurting with a feeling that something is irritating it. I saw another doctor which then prescribed me lanzoprazole to take for a month. I 've been taking one in the morning but my symptoms of irritated sore throat aren't improving. I also feel indisgestion if I eat anything else rather than fruit smoothies and soup. That is all I have been eating. Has anyone has been through similar case after their gallbladder removal and if yes what was the most suitable treatment for bile reflux. I star to think I haven't got acid reflux but perhaps bile. Did this surgery caused some sort of imbalance in my digestive system and it will take a bit if time to go to normal? Any thoughts will be appreciated

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • Posted

    You probably have burns from the acid in the esophagus so i would suggest boiling some garlic water and drinking it at room temperature 3 x a day. This would heal the esophagus and lower your acid if you are having excess acid. Get some peppermint tea bags and drink those also.
    • Posted

      Peppermint is normally very soothing but mint or peppermint are on every list of problem foods for bile reflux. Mint relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter between the esophagus and the stomach allowing bile to reflex upward. Google bile reflux and diet to see the list of what aggravates bile reflux. Problems with individual foods vary from person to person so you may not have to eliminate everything. I feel for you. This problem is not a lot of fun.
  • Posted

    G,Day Leni75 i had the same thing after having my Gakk Bkadder out the old way ,Go back and write down every thing you eat and Cut out the foods one by one and see if the Reflux stop,s when a drink a few beer,s it gives me reflux and it awfull Try it and let me Know drink milk when i had Bad Reflux .?
    • Posted

      Milk also give reflux, it is dairy... not so good of and idea, like adding fuel to the flame be careful of that explosion and believe it will create a bigger flame so watch that milk.
    • Posted

      The only things I ve been eating are only fruit smoothies and soups and I don't thing it's down to foods in my case. I agree that some type of foods and drinks will make it worse  for some people like red meat and fatty cheese or fizzy drinks. I  believethis surgery cause some sort of imbalance in the digestive system because of a different flow of bile in the body. But to find out I need to do more tests and see a GI specialist. I think milk is ok for me.
    • Posted

      Sorry im just telling you what i take .I have tried some olive oil just half a cup its nice to drink and start going though all the food you have eaten and take one out each day and see if the reflux comes back ,Sorry did not mean to give you a Bum Steer ?
  • Posted

    Then you need to get your digestive system back on track with probiotics and a digestive enzyme.
  • Posted

    I have bile reflux but have not had my gallbladder out. However, I've read on a number of different forums, that bile reflux is sometimes a product of gallbladder surgery. I don't know if the situation eventually rights itself following the surgery. In my case, I haven't yet found a way to relieve my indigestion. I have cut out many foods but still eat balanced meals although I'm beginning to think that I may have to eliminate more foods. It's discouraging. 
  • Posted

    Hi Leni,

    You seem to have experienced a lot of the same issues as me since taking out the gallbladder.  Mine was taken out in November 2015.  My attacks and all started after having my second child and I was diagnosed with gallstones.  It is now 6 months since the surgery.  about 3 weeks after surgery I started experiencing stomach aches, nausea after eating/drinking (even just water), weird chest pressure especially right on the breastbone, burning/searing pain especially on the right side right where the gallbladder used to be.  Since this started I assumed I have a gastritis and so I started slippery elm, DGL licorice, marshmallow root and DExilant.  I was on the dexilant for almost 3 months.  It has been up and down and right when I think it is better the pain gets back.  I have tried sugar, dairy, gluten free, also low carb, bland, ....feels like 100s of different diets and nothing.  It always come back.  I finally had an endoscopy which looked normal, small amount of bile in stomach which the surgeon did not think was signiifcant.  Even though it looked normal the biopsy came back as reactive gastropathy( seems to be a chemical gastritis).  I am really starting to think this is bile reflux gastritis....Did you have a biopsy during your endoscopies?  what did they find?  I was H. pylori negative in both the biopsy as well as the breath test..I never did have the dumping syndrome , I would say I lean more to constipation than diarrhea.....

    It is nice to find a place to talk to someone about this but it also makes me feel bad that so many people are suffering

    • Posted

      Hi Tanja,

      I've been away for a while from this site, but came back recently and saw your message from a while ago. Hope you still can see this.

      It' s been over two years now i'I've had my gb surgery, and I must say it's been the hardest years of my life in terms of my health. So much has happened since but let me tell you first I'm sorry you haven't been as well as it was expected after surgery. Maybe you're better now.

      Well first to answer your questions, I had two endoscopies so far, one just after my surgery in 2014, which wasn't for this but to rule out ulcers before they diagnosed me with gallstones which was normal and a second in January 2016.

      Both were normal, even I thought there was a issue with bile, thinking about all the burning in stomach and chest pain I had for a year after surgery and the fact that all PPIs prescribed didn't helped at all.

      In November 2015 I finally had some improvement with my chest, out of the blue it stopped hurting after a year of tormenting me daily, non stop. I was finally feeling normal again, but then my stomach started hurting a pain I couldn't described and lots of nausea ( I had it for months before too). I couldn't eat almost anything again, I though bile gastritis straight away! It made sense a year after gb surgery. Saw a gastro doctor that I was seeing for my chest pain and sent me to a endoscopy in Jan 16. To my surprise, no one mention bile, but my h pylori biopsy showed positive. It's now almost January 2017, and i still suffered from gastritis! No treatment has worked with me. I just finished a  4 th course of antibiotics, and I have to wait for this result. 

      Anyway, I really hope your body adjusted to bile in stomach and doesn't cause chemical gastritis anymore Please god really hope not. I know all about it, read extensively  about this when I had the chest and burning pain for a long time. 

      All the best

      Helena x

Report or request deletion

Thanks for your help!

We want the community to be a useful resource for our users but it is important to remember that the community are not moderated or reviewed by doctors and so you should not rely on opinions or advice given by other users in respect of any healthcare matters. Always speak to your doctor before acting and in cases of emergency seek appropriate medical assistance immediately. Use of the community is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and steps will be taken to remove posts identified as being in breach of those terms.