Gallbladder is gone so where is this pain from?
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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
mary21564 happyalien
Posted
Hi, had gall bladder removed and I to am getting pain I'm my right side where the gall bladder was, under my ribs and going round to the back. Don't know if this is normal or not and I have no one to ask about it.
stef1950 mary21564
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I know 6 people who had this op and not one of them had this pain. I had the op and have had that pain every day since, sometimes it's worse than pre op...there are hundreds of people on this site who have it - and no one knows why!!
mary21564 stef1950
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mary21564
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RaetooHaru happyalien
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I had this same problem. In fact I was so convinced that it was because they screwed up during my surgery, I went into the ER several times but got zero answers.
I got in to see a really good Gastro doc and here's what he found
H.pylori bacteria infection - treated with 3 antibiotics at once
Two horrible ulcers - caused by the h.pylori infection and healed on their own after some time.
But then the pain came back & I had a new symptom to go along with it. My food would seemingly just sit in my stomach for hours. 6 hours after a meal I still felt like I had JUST eaten. And then with only about 2-3 seconds warning, I would throw it all up. The food also looked as though I just ate it also. Nothing was digesting.
It didn't happen all the time, but would go in waves.
Another endoscopy confirmed ulcers were gone and retested for h.pylori and it was gone also.
So I was diagnosed with something called gastroparesis. It is being controlled now with the use of a drug called "Reglan" (its name in the USA), which speeds up the digestion problems. If I feel full for awhile after a meal, I take it and avoid all that awful pain and vomiting.
So for anyone else with this problem, I hope my post helps you out. I didn't have answers for years after my surgery and suffered a lot.
But there is ONE MORE THING. It happened again, that weird stomach and upper back pain, but this time it even hurt to BREATHE. Kinda panicked and thought pancreatic issues or worse.
A trip to my chiropractor fixed this. Apparently there are these "ridges" in your thoracic spine that can get misaligned & it will cause this kind of pain and wreak havoc on digestion because nerve roots are shared.
I will tell you what he did but please do not try and have a friend or family member do this for you. I'm only telling you so you can pass it on to a chiropractor of your own, in case they are unsure what I mean. After treating me with heat and very powerful tens for over 30mins, he basically had my put my hands on the opposite shoulder (arms crossed) and bear hugged and squeezed. I did not even know that part of the spine was capable of being "popped" that intensely (& loudly, wow!). But I could instantly breathe without pain after. Back still hurt and I was sore for a few days from the treatment but quickly started feeling more normal. It took one more time of that to correctly align those ridges (he said 1-3 times is average). He's the best chirp I have ever seen and he always seems to know how to fix whatever is causing me issues. The third visit he did some heavy pressing on two trigger points in my neck/upper back area and it hurt so bad for days I thought I had bruises (I didn't) but that completed my resolution of all of this upper back/digestion madness.
I still need the reglan here and there for the gastroparesis. But for the most part I'm pretty normal now.
Time from surgery to this point- about 9 years, it took that long. But I did lose hope from time to time and gave up for awhile thinking nothing could be done.
I really hope my post helps some of you.
lisa48688 happyalien
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alberta9626 happyalien
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Hello I too have had my gallbladder taken out.. not that long ago. I had it taken out back in November of 2016 and it is now 2017.. and I have pain just like you and some of the other people on here and I don't know what to do. The pain hurts so much it makes me feel like getting sick.. it's kinda like the same pain I had when I still had the gallstones. . Has anything helped with it? Right now I get my partner to massage my back
BarbaraKemR happyalien
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alyce111 happyalien
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BarbaraKemR alyce111
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Bouncymounsey happyalien
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Ive got exactly the same problem. Severe pain, bouts of sickness and diahereoa. I've had scans, blood tests and yesterday the camera down my throat which all have come back normal and showing nothing. I don't know what is causing the pain but i wish there was a solution and something that could be done.
So glad I'm not alone and others are suffering, felt like I was going mad. I want to get back to some sort of normality.
Valray6426 happyalien
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Hi. Had my gallbladder out 1 1/2 months ago. I just had an attack like everyone is describing here. The pain even went up into my jowls. I had just finished my evening meal. But then I had a small burp. Ahhh. Some relief but the the pressure pain built again. Another burp, not large and relief. And then pain returning. So similar to the bladder attach but across the abdomen.
And then I needed to go to the toilet. I had had a substantial movement before the meal. Both the movements were a prolonged process of waiting but it ended in complete relief of the pain.
So I am supposing that maybe my colon has gotten lazy and pressure back into the stomach caused pain.
I still suffer what I believe to be acid reflux but somewhere I read that without the gall bladder storing bile that there is a good chance there is not enough bile in the stomach and the food starts puttification in the stomach before it is all worked over by the acids. Tums stops this supposed reflux as does activated charcoal that works better and instantly. Taking apple cider vinegar issues unmerciful burning.
This is my experience. Perhaps it might help some of you figure out your problems. Good luck and health and happiness.
tomdee happyalien
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I had my Gallbladder out back in 1989 and I still have what the doctor calls "Phantom pains". He said it's like people who lose a limb, but can still feel it. Weird I know!
I had the laparoscopy version of the removal after I was put in the hospital for emergency surgery the day I visited the surgeon, as my eyes were yellow, I had a high fever and the surgeon said my gallbladder almost burst, which wouldn't have been a good thing. He almost didn't get it out through the small hole but was finally able which after all these years, I have absolutely no scars whatsoever.
Now for the fun part. I don't remember the surgery that well after all these years except for the extreme abdominal pain and not being given anything for it. I also had an out of control 15 year old son who caused me pain when I tried, unsuccessfully, to discipline him, but not being able to barely move without pain, was impossible.
After I was finally able to return to a somewhat normal schedule, the IBS took over and I was miserable! I was told that I wouldn’t have any side effects living without a gallbladder, but I did and it was horrible. Other people have told me they had no side effects whatsoever. Lucky them!
The doctor prescribed Choelstral, a can of yellow powder which I was supposed to take a teaspoon full 3 times a day. Well, after the first day I was so bound up I ended up in the emergency room from severe constipation. No more of that! I think that’s about the time Imodium came out and I ended up using that with success BUT I HAD to take 2 before each meal or it was a mad dash to the bathroom. It’s now 2017 and not much has changed except I have learned to control the IBS and live with it. Oh well.
As far as the pain, I get it sometimes for absolutely no reason at all, but I have found a way, similar to the lady who uses a tennis ball, which is to press up under my right ribcage and push in as much as I can several times which seems to get whatever is causing the discomfort to stop. I can’t say it’s an excruciating pain, but it is extremely uncomfortable and it makes me wonder what’s wrong. The doctor said my ultrasound is normal and all my blood work comes back fine too. I don’t know what else to say? I also get acid reflux, sometimes so severe that I thought it would kill me from not being able to breathe as I must have inhaled bile into my lungs, but I’m not sure if that’s related as that didn’t start until 2001-2002.
I hope this helps some of you. I have just learned to live with it, and recognize the symptoms when I am in trouble and need to take more Imodium.
Good luck to all!
Tom
tomdee happyalien
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One more thing. I have gotten severe pains when moving or straining my abdomen and it feels like something is tearing inside. I spoke with the doctor about this and he said it was scar tissue which might be pulling loose but as long as it goes away quickly, it's not a problem. He also said the ultrasound didn't show anything abnormal. Tom
Lelly4464 happyalien
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sandy59857 Lelly4464
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