Normal gallbladder tests but severe pain where my Gallbladder is located

Thanks for responding. I'm glad you were able to get yours out. Everyone tells me I'll fell so much better. I'm looking forward to that!

Ive had pain for many years, and its worse after eating. The pain is located around my right upper abdominen raditating to my back. Judging by the locaton, its either my liver, gallbladder or head of pancreas. Last week I nearly went to the ER. Ive had an ultrasound, CT scan, MRCP, bloods, etc, with nothing appearing unremarkable. How did you find out your gallbladder was inflammed? Was it a test or the surgeon told you? Thanks

No, I haven't tried enzymes. I have an appointment with a GI doc in August.

I definitely have a lot of stress and anxiety. I've had many other medical issues so that definitely doesn't help but I've had this issue since I was pregnant with my last child 6 years ago.

It's hard to trust doctors anymore. I've had some of the same symptoms for years. I'm glad you finally were able to get yours out I hope you are feeling better.

I hear you loud and clear on trust issues. It's tough sometimes we experience the worst diagnosis and suffer for years.

dont give up keep trying to find the source of pain if cutting out fried greasy foods eating out and keeping a journal of foods that cause trouble. And  yogurt and probiotics have not helped then stick to finding a solution. 

i hope you are better soon, you have suffered long enough. It's a terrible thing to be stuck in limbow without a diagnosis. I have been there, it's always a struggle. Stay strong and fight for your health.

How do you test its function? What have you done to improve its function? If its inflammed or not functioning, I assume most standard tests will prove unremarkable?

A HIDA (hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid) scan is how they test for functionality. As far as I know, there is no way to improve the function. I was in worsening discomfort (I wouldn't call it pain) as a day would go by for months no matter what I ate (they tried a low fat diet). I would wake up feeling nauseous without the discomfort and then as the day progressed the nausea would go away and the discomfort would come around. Thankfully, it just magically progressively went away. If I did something to make it go away, I wish I knew what it was.

Gallbladders can just stop working correctly. If it's inflamed, it SHOULD show on the Ultrasound as it should pick up the size. If it's not functioning properly, it will not show up on anything but the HIDA scan. A normal gallbladder ejects at 35-65%. Anything drastically outside of that range is considered abnormal (unfortunately not by ALL doctors) and removal is suggested. I've read a lot of success stories about removal after out of range HIDA scan results. Surgery isn't obviously a guarunteed answer and mainly the people posting on forums are looking for answers - they aren't usually the ones that haven't had a problem.

Thanks cm. I dont know what to do. Ive had all the tests, aside from HIDA. Ive had pain for many years, and its worse after eating. The pain is located around my right upper abdominen raditating to my back. Judging by the locaton, its either my liver, gallbladder or head of pancreas. I dont like the idea of cutting out my gallbladder and I dont like the idea of injecting nuclear dye into my blood stream for the HIDA test. Ive tried nearly every diet and supplement so I feel like I dont have much choice. What do you suggest? Im leaning towards getting the HIDA

I personally suggest the HIDA. It's not enough dye to do even minimal damage. It's a good indication if your symptoms reoccur during the test, even if the doctor says the results are "normal". Make sure to ask what the ejection fraction is - I've read many posts that it was high and the doctor didn't think anything of it. I'm afraid of the surgery too, but honestly if they can do it laproscopically, it's one of the simplest surgeries out there and they'll have you gone the same day you went in. At best it solves your problems, at worst you have ruled out one more thing it could be. And you really don't need that pesky gallbladder anyhow. Your body adjusts afterwards.

It sounds to me more and more like gallbladder. Pain after eating is not typically a sign of liver or pancreas from what I've researched. Especially if all your bloodwork came back normal. I've also seen people's surgeons say they see stones that weren't catched on the ultrasound. I'm obviously not a doctor so this is only my opinion based on what I've read around tracking down my problem.

?Keep us updated!

Thanks again cm. Ill see my doc tomorrow, get the HIDA scan done and ask for the results. Im not actually concerned about the procedure to remove it, but Im certainly concerned about any potential complications, especially if my gallbladder isnt the issue and the pain remains. I really want to explore natural routes if possible.

I agree it appears to be the gallbladder, but isnt it strange for me to have this condition? Im a 35 year old male who has had this condition for 15 years (its been slowly getting worse), and who has lived a healthy life. I also have chronic fatgiue and allergies/intolerances which has worsened in direct proportion to the gallbladder/liver/pancreas condition, but Ive always belived that its related, as it dissipates when I fast. Can chronic gallbladder problems manifest in a wide range of debilitating symptoms?

I had a hida scan done 3 years ago with an ejection fraction of 95%. According to the Dr I am seeing now it should have been taken out then.

I've read far too often that some doctor's write off high ejection fractions as "normal". I've also read a lot of people who have gotten relief by getting their GB out with a high EF. Keep us updated!

John,

I've heard/read about so many range of symptoms it would make your head spin. Burping, green diarrhea, headaches over the left eye, allergies (I have ezcema which is technically an allergy), pain on the left side. I'm tired all the time too and I never could tell if it's because I'm overweight or this. I feel like my ezcema and migraines are related to my gallbladder. My ezcema and migraines started before I noticed my gallbladder but I believe that they were precursors. I'm afraid that this isn't necessarily my gallbladder too even though it kind of makes sense. The horror stories I've read are enough to make me want to die from this discomfort before finding out it's something other than my gallbladder. But in all reality, why not find out? It's one step (if not the last one) closer to an answer. Like I said before, the ones you read about on here are typically the ones that ARENT solved. I know and work with so many people who have had their gallbladders out and are perfectly fine, I have to believe the odds are pretty good.

Hi cm, I got the HIDA scan and the doctor declared it a normal hepatobiliary study. He said there was no evidence of any dysfunction,

and the ejection fraction was calcuated at 50%. Im still sure its either my liver, gall or pancreas based on the symptoms and location of the pain, but I dont know what to do now!? What do you recommend?

was just reading the American Journal of Gastroenterology (1998) and it defined results as follows:

1) "Normal" with 60% or more ejection response to stimulation

2) "Borderline" with 50–59% ejection response

3) "Abnormal" with less than 50% ejection fraction after stimulation.

It said In the healthy volunteers of its study, a mean ejection fraction of 81% was observed

I got exaclty 50%, so had I got 49%, my gallbladder function would be considered abnormal. Are these measurements they use correct and relevant for todays testing? If so, I think I found my problem

50% sounds normal to me. Nowdays, I've read that 35-65% is normal and anything above or below that warrants removal. It could still very well be your gallbladder since ultrasounds can miss sludge, but I'm leaning towards not gallbladder anymore. I've never had problems with liver or pancreas so I'm not sure where to tell you to go from here There has to be a reason, though.