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Gallbladder is gone so where is this pain from?

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happyalien
happyalien

HI

Had the dreaded gallbladder removed last June after only 7 months of pain (so I'm pretty lucky).

Everything went well, home the same day - took a good 4 weeks to feel totally better after the op but eating was ok and I don't seem to be affected by bowel issues like some people.

Only problem is I have dull ache in exactly the same place I used to get the gallbladder pain. It's not intense pain but it's in the front RUQ under my ribs and moves round the side and to my back.

It doesn't seem to appear after anything in particular and most of the time it's there constantly. Suppose it's more of an annoyance than anything else because I'm always aware of this ache. I'm quite reluctant to go to my GP because after spending about 7 months constantly in the surgery last year updating painkillers and nausea pills I don't want them to think I'm addicted to medical attention.

Just wondered if anyone had anything similar or if it's just a by-product of surgery that I'll have to get on with?

Thanks

34 likes, 1357 replies

1357 Replies

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  • kevin63756
    kevin63756 happyalien

    Posted

    I had my gallbladder removed in July 2014, the last thing the nurse said to me when I left was 'low fat diet for you from now on'. Did I take any notice? well sometimes I do but about every three months or so I have bit of a binge and do I pay for it. It feels as if im have a gallbladder attack along with stomach pains and sharp pain in my left side as the right side. The weekend just gone, I had a curry on Friday night (not meant to eat spicy foods), Saturday lunch time it was a buger and chips with all the trimmings when I got home I had cheese. Sunday morning was a fried breakfast and lasange for dinner. Work up Monday morning and it felt as if someone had punched me in the back and I was of work for the day. For me sometimes these attacks can last for 3-4 weeks, this is when Im back on the salads and low fat foods, I also find that orange juice and tomatoes can give me pain.
    • robert57384
      robert57384 kevin63756

      Posted

      THANK YOU KEVIN!!!  You've given me SOME hope!  The bad eating habits yoiu're describing are EXACTLY like mine.  I too remember my surgeon telling me to avoid fatty foods when I left the hospital.  The thing is, I completely forgot to follow a low-fat diet and just ate what I wanted for four year (had mine removed in 2011).  Now, I have the pains everyone here describes.  It has been  1 1/2 weeks since mine started so I guess I need to just live with it until it subsides.  I hope mine lasts only 3-4 weeks as I'm in agony at the moment.

      Thanks again!

    • natalie09657
      natalie09657 kevin63756

      Posted

      HI Kevin, yes you are exactly right it has to be a low fat diet. I was fine for qbout 18 months as i ahve to ahve a careful diet due to diverticulitis, But with out warning I had a complete attack. and also vomited as well. On my trip nopw to LA I ahve ahd hafd three attacks so far tho' I have been careful. But yes it is very much fatty food acidy food/drinks related.
    • robert57384
      robert57384 kevin63756

      Posted

      I thought I'd report back on this.  As Kevin explained, my overall pain seems to be subsiding.  The sharp pain to the right side of the back and where the GB was has pretty much disspated.  My back is still sore, hwever, but I attribuite that to the weeks having the sharp pain.  This is my third week with this so, for the most part, what Kevin wrote above regarding enduring this for 3/4 weeks seems to be about right for me.  Now, I DRASTICALLY changed my eating habits and have been excersing like crazy, trying to lose some very, VERY, unhealthy weight.  Since this all started 2 1/2 weeks ago, I've dropped close to 15lbs and have been earting non-fatty foods.  No more pizzas, hamburgers, chips, etc.  I've also stopp drinking most canned/bottled jiuces and have, instead, made my own using kale, cucumbers, green apples, celery, and ginger.  In fact, I drink this combo almost every morning as breakfast.  For lunch, it's mostly salads and/or low fat chicken soup.  Probiatics yogurts are also good.

      My doctor did go ahead and scheduled an MRI/MRCP for me on Sept 30th just to see if I have any stones in the bile ducts so we'll see what comes of that (I'll report back on that as well).

      The bottom line is that for those of us who no longer have a GB, following a low-fat/no-fat diet is simply a MUST.  There's no way around it.  We're missing a very important organ in our bodies so we must adjust.  I was perfectly fine for 4 years before I started to get the pains.  I know I'll never go back to what I was eating before all this started.  I wouldn't wish these pains and feelings in my worse enemy,  

      Hope the rest of you are getting better.

  • fay80328
    fay80328 happyalien

    Posted

    After 3 years of going to doctors and gastologists plus all kinds of tests they finally agreet to do a CT. Found out i had two hernias that were causing all the pain. If they had let me do a CT at the beginning of all this i wouldnt have been suffering all this time.
  • ycimari
    ycimari happyalien

    Posted

    I had this pain for 10 years. We live in a small town and every time I went to the ER, they would turn me away because the pain was gone by the time I arrived.

    I don't even remember how or which physician found the root of the problem about 4 years ago. It's been 3 years since my gallbladder was removed. My largest gallstone was the size of a golf ball.

    I have 3 children and the last two I had natural. No meds, no nothin. Let's say, I'd rather have triplets without medication than to keep living with this pain.

    When I get this pain, it slowly creeps up. As soon as I feel it, I know I'd better find something to hold onto. After a few minutes, I feel nausea with the sensation to poo. I know, gross, but that's what happens. After I vomit, it relieves some of the pain but it slowly crawls back up on me 30 minutes to an hour later. An intense burn goes from my stomach up to my chest and through my shoulders. I know if I don't at least attempt to control my breathing, I will faint. I sweat like I have been hand fishing in a Louisiana river in the middle of the day. For the record, I've never been there but I can imagine what it's like. After all of this, I burp a lot. I've never had any back problems related with this pain. I know after drinking water in the mornings, even something that simple has set it off. I hate it. I know for sure that I can't eat fettuccini sauce because I pay for it after.

    I have heard a few times that there may be build up or left behind stones in the duct that leads to the gallbladder after removal.

    It saddens me that so many of you live with this but such as others, a tiny bit of comfort knowing I'm not alone.

    My pain started in 2003 after I gave birth. I've now had it 12 yrs. right after my surgery, I had it a couple times and then no sign for six months. Best months of my life.

    • natalie09657
      natalie09657 ycimari

      Posted

      Hi,  the pain is all food/drink related.  I now know that I cannot eat fatty foods or acidic drinks, and I have to eat slowly and really chew each mouthful And I now wait if I want something further to eat.  If you just have stomach cramps you should be able to buy or get prescribed a cramp release pill. This does help. also the pain should pass after about 40 mins as it is to do with digestion which takes about this long.

       

  • natalie09657
    natalie09657 happyalien

    Posted

    Hi Happy Alien,

    I was quite interested to read all the pain that people have post  gb op' However, I have stomach cramps BUT it is entirely to do with certain foods. Remember ones GB has gone which processed a lot of fatty foods. Now the liver has to do it all, so ones diet really needs to be fairly fat free. For me fried foods and too mucvh creammy foods do it for me and I vomit as well. I hope that this helps. Also, you can get the pain either about half an hour after eating OR 6hours.

    Hope that this helps. I was put on the lanzopranzol to stop the acid, but it is not something one can stay on for that long a time.

    Good luck

     

  • meaghan07476
    meaghan07476 happyalien

    Posted

    Hey all, So I had my gall bladder removed in Nov 2012, it was only 3.5 of hospital bound pain attacks for them to realize how bad it was. Didn't even make it to my scheduled consult date.

    And that's when my life went down the tube. Couldn't get through 2 weeks without being back in the emergency room due to the pain. Sometimes it would be less then 24 hrs between visits. I had ultrasounds, xrays, CT scans, urine tests, blood tests, all came clean, but SOMETIMES my enzyme levels would be elevated. They finally called a gastrointestinal specialist, they're in short supply here apparently, ordered an MRI, clean, came back saying maybe it's Gerd, ibs, or a few other things.

    Not one thing I ate or drank or did would trigger my pain and I could tell that the drs and nurses either felt for me, or thought I was a drug addict.

    Finally after 3 years of this, and literally nothing else, the specialist came back (my gp had been sending him everything everytime I ended up in hospital), my liver enzymes were through the roof, he finally did an ERCP on me. Guess what he found that literally everything else failed to find, I had leftover stones and sludge stuck in the duct that used to connect to my gall bladder and it had twisted and knotted itself. And to top it off, I now have something called "Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction " which may require more ERCPs down the road.

    Since doing that procedure I still get mild attacks now that I'm back at work. Just quick stabs that take my breath away for a moment and I have to pause whatever I'm doing and breathe my way through it.

    After 3 years of crap leaching into my system and the hardcore pain meds, I'm now allergic to morphine, dilauded, many random chemicals used in cleaners and detergents, can't have anything remotely spicy, and added tidbit, a lot of people who have their gall bladder removed cannot process codeine anymore, so try to stay away from that. I am writing this after being up all night due to my random pains, it's been 5 months since my ercp and these minor attacks haven't gone away. I can go a week without, but they always come back. I've learnt to just deal, as long as I can stay out of hospital I am happy. Though I am missing work because of this. First time since starting in June though, so I'd say that's good.

    I hope my story provides comfort, relief you're not alone, and maybe some insight to answers, and just generally helps in some way.

    • robert57384
      robert57384 meaghan07476

      Posted

      So sorry to read this, Meaghan.  This is also what I'm affraid of (left-over stones/sludge in the ducts).  My overall pain has become less since all of this started 5 weeks ago for me but it's still there.  It hasn't completely gone.  I'd say its a 2 out ot 10.  My back has not recovered yet and the pain comes and goes.  Excersising daily has done me wonders though.  I'm very overweight and losing some of it has helped.  My MRI is on Wednesday so I'm intrigue as to what they may find.  I may have to have that ERCP proceedure as well as some point.
  • bamagirl
    bamagirl happyalien

    Posted

    Hi. My name is Diane. I'm 39 years old. I had gallstones when I was 15 years old and my gallbladder was removed. (back then there was no laparoscopic surgery). After the operation my gallbladder attacks stopped for about a month. Then, unfortunately the pain can back. I was prescribed different kinds of meds for my stomach pain, which didn't help. To this day I still have the pain under my right rib cage and around to my back. When this pain occurs, sometimes drinking ice cold water helps and the pain stops. (weird) But sometimes I throw up before the pain stops. It's a puzzle to me. If you find something that works and helps your pain, please by all means inform me. I'm gonna call my doc today and make another appointment for this problem. I've dealt with this pain off and on for the past 24 years! What is it??!! It's horrible!! Maybe a mystery diagnosis? I hope your better soon. Thank you and have a blessed day.
  • natalie09657
    natalie09657 happyalien

    Posted

    Dear Everyone, 

    The bottom line in most of this,  is,  after a gall bladder removal there is no way that we can eat exactly what we want. The G B played an important roll in our digestion. That MUST beremembered. I have realised after two years that this is so,  and now am careful what I eat. I have to be any way due to diverticulitis. Heavy cheesey foods, fried foods and red meat are out.Even salmon. It is too rich to be digested. Even mince. And I also leave about half an hour  if I want something after the main course. Yes its a bit frustrating, but I am prepared to do all this to avoid the awful stromach cramps and vomiting.  Good luck everyone.

    • tommy70938
      tommy70938 natalie09657

      Posted

      What about beer? I've yet to get mine taken out but I know it's probably going to have to happen. As of now I know I have sludge via ultrasound. I'm taking ursodiol for 6 months to try and clean it out. Im completely fine with avoiding terrible food but I do enjoy a cold beer or two especially when I'm gigging with my band. Just curious if anyone has had any issues with drinking after removal
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