Gallbladder is gone so where is this pain from?

I have had the same pattern of pain that everyone else is describing. My diagnosis is sphincter of oddi dysfunction. It's unfortunately something that some have to deal with post gallbladder removal. It can become severe every so often and result in extreme upper abdominal cramping type of pain. I know this is a old post but I thought I would try to help.

Hello so glad I found this group. I feel alone and not sure what to do..i went into the hospital Sep 6, 2015 with severe pain & vomiting. I was admitted with pancreatitis, obstructed liver and jaundice. I was in the hospital 3 days and as soon as my pancreas healed my gall bladder was removed. Also had a balloon extraction of stones from my liver and in my ducts. I had stones everywhere. I went hone two days later and two weeks later i had pain feeling dizzy went in again and was admitted again and had another balloon eztraction on stones that were left behind in three different areas. Well now the pain ia creeping up again on the right side hurts when i breathe in. I been right twice that i had something wrong. I hate though being at the hospital and what if its in my head. Should i go oe should i wait the laat balloon extraction was 11 days ago. I did feel better there after but the pain is constant? Help! im glad in not alone...sorry so long.

Hi there I had my gallbladder our last November and have had allot of bloating etc and wind pain, but I also have the same type of pain under ribs and also in groin, do you get it in the groin as well, this has been constant apart from after 6 months I thought it had gone and then it came back, its a dull heavy kind of ache and a bit pinchy in groin also I feel some inflamation around these areas, I have heard that there is a meridian nerve that is affected after the gallbladder is removed but it supposed to settle, but mine doesn't seem to be going this.  Stella

Yupp. About two years ago at 16, I got H.Pylori, caused hell and an ulcer. Got H.Pylori knocked out working on the ulcer. After many er visits got confirmed with a hernia. After a couple more months and repeat er and physician visits had a couple more tests done to see the pain and my gallbladder too was too swollen to be on there and working doc said so we took it out. Pathologists found little gallstones in there. Exactly two weeks on the dot woke up to excruciating pain in my back and front, couldn't breath barely could walk. Went to the we and the diagnosed me with severe pancreatitis and admitted me for three days on dialoted every two hours with NOTHING to eat or drink for three days, not even water or ice. I am currently driving two hours to a decent hospital for my constant burning and irritation with the hernia, feeling exactly like the ulcer did but doc swears up and down it's gone, what was the main reason for visit anyways. And now crossed with pancreatic attacks daily, after I drink coffee after I eat fake sugary foods like little Debbie, ANY fast food, and almost everything else. I am too scared to go back to the er in fear of being starved and thirst dehydrated and losing three days of work for something no one knows. Curriently having an attack now and just woke up. Torn between ulcer like symptoms and pancreas.. Any help or home remedies would be greatly appriciated, literally have resorted to going to the nearest dispensary in case of paralyzing attacks.. It angers me to no ends all of you are going through the same things, I am a little comforted to see im not the only one but it as well is ruining my life! Carhopping became too much walking and stress I had to leave my job because of these mystery symptoms...💔

I had my gallbladder removed 18 years ago and I still get that pain under my ribcage and breastbone. I was told years ago that it's probably a rib out of alignment. Now, every time I get that pain, I have my husband pop my back and within minutes it goes away. It's strange how the body works and it sucks that doctors don't have all the answers. But maybe this will help some of you. Good luck!

I thought I should report back about what's been happening with this thing no one seems to have an answer for.

I saw my gastroenterologist this past Wednesday and I was finally able to confirm what I suspected all along.  After weeks going through this (I'm not having any pain on the right side any more as I did earlier - I now have some back pain due to muscular issues) my doc essentially said that the pain almost certainly was due to a build up of sludge that may have been blocking the bilary ducts.  She told me that scans and/or MRIs will NOT pick up the sludge buildup.  The only way to know for sure is to do an endoscopy (ERCP).  She also explained that this is very common post surgery, specially if the recommended diet is not followed.

Being that I no longer have any pain the area where the gallbladder was, she recommended that I do not go through with the ERCP.  She told me that if the pain returns, she would have me do some bloods and then do the procedure.

Of course, I've been doing my part since this all started 8 weeks ago.  I've been excercising regularly (lost 40 pounds already), been eating non-fatty foods and no sweets.  My diet is stringent but not bad once you get used to it.  I'm no longer eating red meats and I'm having plenty of fruits and vegetables.

You all need to ask your doctors if they can check for build up of suldge as this is more likely the issue.

Anyway, I'm hoping everyone here finds a resolution.  I'm happy I no longer have the horrific pains where the gallbladder was that ended up in my back.  I do still have back pains but it's related more so to my current physical activities and posture than anything else.

Take good care all!

18 years and it could be just sludge build up? Wow! My diet isn't the best, but I'm trying. Thanks for that info!

I just found this post.  I had my gall bladder out about 2 and a half years ago.  A week ago I started to have pain in my side where the gall bladder was.  The following day was so bad I could barely move around the house.  I had my wife help me get dressed and we went to an ER facility. They did a CT and X-rays scan with no results.  They thought it may be a broken rib or damaged cartilage between the ribs.  I was told to follow up with my PCP as they did see some spots on my liver.

I got to my PCP the following day.  She ordered an ultrasound.  This too yielded nothing.  Worried about the spots on my liver and the pain she got me in with a gastroenterologist the following day. 

He repeated the rib cage/cartilage diagnosis but sent me for an MRI to be sure.  The MRI came back negative as well.  They state the spots on the liver were collections of blood vessels and nothing that would cause the pain or to be worried about at this time.

A note about my original surgery.  The day after I had my gall bladder out I had severe hiccups just about on the hour for about 12 hours.  They hurt so bad because of the surgery they were causing me to vomit on top of that.  At one point I felt something tear in that area.  My wife called the surgery center and they stated that I was having a reaction to the anesthetic and that it would pass.  They were not concerned about the feeling I tore something.  Ever since then I have had occasional cramping in the area but nothing long lasting.  When I told the gastro doctor about this he just looked at me like I was stupid.  I will keep my language clean here but you can imagine a few choice thoughts I had about that.  How insensitive!!!  This is what I was told.  If I was lied to at the time, which could have happened, that is not my fault.  I am not a medical expert.

I have one more appointment with my PCP this coming Monday.  I will most likely be sent back to work in pain with no resolution.  I have tried to watch what I eat and only eat small portions.  It has not really helped.  If they find a solution, which I doubt, I will post again.

Hi, I've been reading through most of these comments and I feel so bad, I know as most said it's already been a year, maybe you found your cure who knows.

I just wanted to share with everyone my progress so far.

Years ago in highschool I had what I believe now is a gallbladder attack, same old results. "Clean, healthy, no issues" fast fowards years later I'm working as a Security guard in a museum when the pain strikes again after my shift, rush to the ER slanted in the trucks seat because I couldn't sit properlly at all. Same tests, once again "Clean, healthy, no issues" but with an added "Maybe you pinched a nerve" fast forward until two months after my son is born and the pain comes back as hard as it can. I'm hunched over in tears, staggering around my appartment scared for my life, hunch myself over the bed and call the Health Hotline to which I was instructed to go to the ER immediatly. I wait for my ride, leave, the pain comes and goes away randomly on me on the way there. Then when in the waiting room it stops for good, not once came back as I waited 2hrs to see a dr. This time he askes me what I ate and did during the day this happened. 

I was awake, felt tired but hungry, cooked hashbrowns and eggs, ate and went to lay down. Awoke several hours later to a weird upset stomach, figuring I was having a bowel movement I went to the bathroom. Upon sitting down the pain grew so quickly, spread to my back, up my spine and around my rib cage. When I got up and out of the bathroom I staggered myself to the living room by then it blew up and I was in level 10 pain. 

The Dr nodded along and then suggested to me "There a two things it could be, now you've had these pains or 'attacks' a few times now. I'm suggesting it may be Reflux, or your Gallbladder. Mainly because you had greasy food and laid down for awhile. I'm going to have you get an Abominal ultrasound and blood work. A week later and my family dr tells me it was my gallbladder an that he is sending me to meet a surgeon in a few weeks time. Time flies until I meet her, shes nice and informative but I've read so much information about gallbladders, stones, bile ducts, bile, the liver and pancreas along with all the bad horrible stories and side effects after surgery. 

She schedules me for 6months time, I pray for months for no attacks to happen, I watch my diet, take things slow. Surgery day comes and goes, all went well and as expected my gallbladder was full of stones, some large ones and the rest the texture and size of a handful of gravel. I go home and heal quickly in 4 days, but by the end of the week I'm jolted awake at 2am from an intense pain, exactly like a gallbladder attack. I'm crying, panicing, scared and in so much pain. I cry for my bf to wake our room mate up so I could go to the hospital ER. I'm eventually kept over night for 9hrs as they run tests on me, I'm given T3's and strong medication for the pain and told to have an ultrasound done the next day and blood work. I follow along and wait 1 full week in pain which never did go away, it was an everyday constant ache, a dull sharp ache that would make it hard to lay down, to sleep in peace. Sometimes it would be so bad I'd have to take the heavy meds. I couldn't do anything with my 8month baby boy, even when I would take the heavy meds that dull ache was always there, it was so damn annoying that my depression was coming back and clouding my thoughts. I worried what if I had phantom pains, chronic pains, an undiagnosible problem as I read about happening to other people. I cried that my life was over or ending, that the pains would never go away and I couldn't live a healthy life with my boy. When the week came to an end my dr got all my results and found there was a blockage in my lower bile duct of some sort, it was cutting off a regular flow and backing up my liver. I developed Jaundice and lets say my liver needs to be around 6-8 to be heathly. My tests came back at 796, 568, 649. Three different enzymes came back like that compared to healthy 5's, 7's or 10's.

I was sent back to the hospital I had my surgery, I was admitted and given more medication, the next day I had ERCP on thanksgiving weekend. I was on heavy sedation so I fell asleep instantly, I only woke up when they were pulling out the stones, it hurt and they knew because I started struggling until the moment they got the stones out. After that, the dull ache, the constant pain went away immediatly. I felt so much better, I thanked everyone and had to wait two more nights as they waited for my liver to recover, I was put on a liquid diet until I was discharged.

That was October 10, 2015 I had ERCP.

My Gallbladder surgery was September 21, 2015.

Something extra, during my recovery of my ERCP my mother came to stay with me and help until one night, she had what I knew right away was a Gallbladder attack. The only difference was she had hers removed the next day. 

I hope to those still suffering years later, who have not been checked for a blockage will consider it as a possible solution. Sometimes after removal of the GB, there is a small wedge in the bile duct where a stone can sit out of the way, only ever becoming a problem after maybe some meals, exercise or whatever. Then it fits back into the spot without showing up as a blockage anymore. 

I really hope one day you all can be pain free again some day!!