Depressed!!

Hiya I'm the same as you the bloating and wind is bloody awful I'm un decided yet to have the operation hard decision to make today I've been fab yesterday was in a mess so undecided 😢😣😞

All I can say is hang in there, I know how you feel it was 3 months of negative tests before I took hida scan and it came back positive only 9% functioning for 3 months all I would do is worry and stress out like I was crazy but finally got some results to get me moving in the right direction. Ask for a HIDA scan.

Hi, I totally understand. I went to the GP in November and have had blood tests, colonoscopy all clear, ultrasound showed gallstone. Eventually got to see a GI consultant but he's not convinced all my symptoms are all gallbladder related ( bloating, pain under right rib, shoulder pain, continual tiredness, feeling very sick and unwell). Now wants a stomach endoscopy which I'm having on Monday. I understand the depressed feelings. Keep with it, enjoy the moments that you might feel a bit better and ask for all the help you can get. It seems to take a very long time to resolve these problems.

Hi Joanna,

Sorry you're going through this.  Having symptoms and not knowing what's going on is the worst! Sometmes ultrasounds don't pick up extremely small stones and sludge--which is basically like mud.  A CT scan often does better.  And your symptoms do sound like a malfunctioning gallbladder--though the usual symptoms are pain the same as you described, nausea and vomiting--every one's different.  There are lots of us on this site who have had your symptoms.

But, as your doctor said, you will need to have additional tests before they can make a diagnosis.  Waiting for tests to be performed and then waiting for results can be very stressful.  

At the minimum you may have blood tests to test your liver and pandreatic functions and a HIDA scan to check how much bile is being excreted by your gallbladder.  The consultant might also want to perform an endoscopy and a colonoscopy, though it's my understanding that colonoscopies aren't usually performed in the UK if there are no symptoms of problems in the large intestine.  The endoscopy will check conditions in your esophagus, stomach and on to your duodenum, where your small intestine begins.

Please try to take it as easy as you can.  In addition to eating low fat, you can try small frequent meals, and avoid acidic drink and foods.  Some people cannot tolerate dairy or coffee.  

Best of luck to you, and please let me know how you get on! 

  

Hi Joanna, I'm sorry you're going through this as it is a nightmare. I had the following tests which all came back as normal, gastroscopy, CT scan, MRCP and there was only a slight abnormality in my blood result so not enough to ring any alarm bells. They also gave me a test for addison's disease due to the amount of pain in my back and luckily that came back as negative. At that point I was loosing all hope and wondering if I was imagining my pain which was gradually getting worse so that it was constant in my right side going upto my shoulder blade and hardly eating anything. Everything was low fat, no take aways (not that we had many, about 2 a month) small amounts of food, nothing spicy or too rich. Early on my husband and I went out for a really expensive meal for his birthday and it ended up going down the toilet! 

I had a HIDA scan just before Christmas and I couldn't believe it, it actually came back as abnormal with an ejection fraction of 14% so I was very pleased. Due to Christmas I didn't get to see the surgeon until the beginning of the new year and he was more than willing to go ahead with taking the gallbladder out due to it not functioning properly but because I would wake up in pain and it was constant he did say that it was unlikely to take all the pain away.

Before surgery I ended up missing lots of work and being self employed this wasn't easy. My weight dropped dramatically and I wasn't over weight or needed to loose any so this caused me problems as I needed to eat something otherwise I'd end up in hospital due to the weight loss. 

I had surgery at the beginning of March and unfortunately as the surgeon said it hasn't taken all the pain away.

I know you probably don't want the surgery but once your gallbladder starts to malfunction its not going to get better and will need to come out. The surgery itself was really easy, the staff at the hospital were fantastic and looked after me really well. It is generally only a day case, I was there first thing and then released in the early evening as my blood pressure dropped very low.

Do you know when your going to be seen yet and which tests?

I know its a really bad time but speaking to people on here has really helped as people understand when perhaps those closest to you don't, even though they try.

I didn't really have bloating but lots of pain, front, back, shoulders and it was never bad enough to to go to a&e but wasn't far off a few times.

Sorry this is a bit long winded but unfortunately none of this is quick.

Keep me updated with your progress x