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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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  • Fred_Flintstone
    Fred_Flintstone

    Posted

    Marketa,

    When you had an MRI I take it they have ruled out any stone in the liver and pancreas?

  • fay80328
    fay80328

    Posted

    i had my gallbladder removed august 2012, since october 2012 i had the same pain as b4 my gallbladder

    removal. recently went to gastrologist and im having a endoscopy and colonoscopy next month. meanwhile she put me on a med, something that help with pancreas and bile removal. it has helped. i also have pain in my right shoulder. im just so sick of all the pain as i suffered with the gallbladder for 2 and a half years before i went to a dr to see what it was all about. i had 6 stones in there!!

    • beepbop88
      beepbop88 fay80328

      Posted

      You might want to try prilosec or another acid reducer for two months to give your small intestine time to heal.  You might be scalding the lining of your intesting with stomach acid that is no longer neutralized by the bile squirting.  I feel much better since I have been doing this for a couple of weeks. Ultra sound did not show any internal organ problems.
    • OrangePoppy
      OrangePoppy fay80328

      Posted

      Hello Fay,

      How are you doing now? What medicine did you take to help with the bile?

    • trish74375
      trish74375 beepbop88

      Posted

      Thanks for the tip, I'm willing to try, luckyly I have some

      in the house.

  • Fred_Flintstone
    Fred_Flintstone

    Posted

    fay80328,

    Best of luck with that.

    Have you found when you lie on your side, particularly the left that the shoulder pain allievates a little?

  • fay80328
    fay80328

    Edited

    i never noticed im so focused on the abdominal pain. ill check it out.

    • brenda50140914
      brenda50140914 fay80328

      Edited

      Hi everyone! Just doing a follow up here and to let you that ever since I changed my diet I no longer feel pain. I went gluten free, no diary, no sugars, and no red meat. I use olive oil raw or cooking and coconut oil for cooking. I eat more veggies and fruit. Teas and detox es.

      So basically I went veggitarian. I will sneak in chicken no hormones or additives, salmon (wild caught), and albacore tuna. If I need to have eggs I eat cage free. I've been doing this also for eradicating fibroids. So in doings this I no longer have pain. I hope this helps. I'm trying to shoot for three months straight so when I've completed it I will let you know my progress.

    • Guest
      Guest brenda50140914

      Posted

      Thank you brenda50140914,

      I have been a vegetarian for 40 years and had my GB out  almost 30 years ago and still have this pain. But over the many years doing colon treatments and the such has helped to some degree.

      I know that when they remove the GB they have to attach the duct somewhere it gets attached to the colon and the same similar place as we feel the pain.... under right lower rib on top of the Liver. They did an ultrasound on me to find that I have a Fatty Liver not the kind attached to alcohol, but Non-Alcohol Fatty Liver.... So this is what I notice almost everytime I have Gas or possibly a stool passing by that area it hurts really bad like being stabbed, after massageing the area - I pass gas or use the bathroom #2 and it subsides. There is a dull ache there all the time, but Drs don't seem to be concerned about it. Also when I get a massage - she works deeply there -- similar to the tennis Ball but I think that technique would be too painful to lay on it. I know my diet is headed to a more Vegan style and that seems to help -- also taking digestive enzymes or Apple Cider Vinegar (ACV with the "Mother"wink helps with digesting fats (some eggs and some cheeses) when I do have them. Warm moist compresses help as well. Oh and I do get that little nerve flutter like someone else had mentioned -- I think it is Nerve sensations, massage and slight pressure seems to settle it down. I hope this helps someone. Thanks to all for your input.

  • pmoultrie
    pmoultrie

    Posted

    Thanks for the info, I had my Gall Bladder out over 6 months ago, and the pain is real and constant. I complained to the doc that the pain was minor, but annoying, because it never seems to go way. You have reassured me that it is not my imagination or phantom pain.

    My question is does this ever stop hurting? And what about the pain with normal motion and activity, there are days when it is a strain to lift a pot from the stove or fold a load of towels. Even walking seems to aggravate it.

    • bebe33104
      bebe33104 pmoultrie

      Posted

      I think I can help you with the back pain!  I had my gallbladder removed (cholecystectomy) two years ago and still have pain after eating foods high in cholesterol and hydrogenated fats and other processed foods.  I try to only eat whole foods but sometimes I mess up.  When I get my "phantom gallbladder pain" I can get rid of it almost instantly by lying on my stomach on the floor and placing a tennis ball below my right breast (not ON the breast but BELOW it).  It will feel like it's on a rib.  I gently place some of my body weight on the ball and rib and roll my body around so that the tennis ball massages the crampy area.  I came up with this on my own and I know it sounds weird but it works for me instantly!  My pain refers to the back and shoulder blade but after I do this massage technique it goes away completely.  I also will turn over onto my back and place the tennis ball near my shoulder blade and spine and put a lot of my body weight on it and roll around so the tennis ball loosens up all those muscles.  This seems to help too, but not as much as massaging front rib area with the ball.  I hope you get this comment and get some instant relief!    Please copy and paste this to other people suffering.  NO doctor has ever been able to help me.  My surgeon was NOT helpful either after he removed my gallbladder and acted like I was imagining it.  Go get yourself a tennis ball.  Let me know if it works for you too.

    • trish74375
      trish74375 bebe33104

      Posted

      This is very interesting, just got over a 17 hr attack,

      not looking forward to another, but will give this a try.

  • Fred_Flintstone
    Fred_Flintstone

    Posted

    Funny thing is that only within the last couple of days I felt a pull at the top incision whenever I bent down slightly, then later I felt the same kind of main from within the back upper quadrant, this would be intermittent, before I went to bed I took a tramadol to relax any pain I may have but normally when lying down it would be fine.

    So goodness knows why I was starting to feel this pain after 19 months of having the gall bladder removed.

    The day after taking one tramadol the pull feeling at the front seems to vanish but I would still feel the intermittent pain at upper back from inside, this seems to have eased and hopefully this will be the case from now on.

  • Marketa
    Marketa

    Posted

    The doctor prescribed me antidepressants, supposedly they work on nerve pain. I feel like they think I'm "crazy"!
    • bebe33104
      bebe33104 Marketa

      Posted

      You are not crazy.  There is a "gut brain connection" they are just discovering.  Google it.  There is a direct connection between the brain and the gut.  The gut needs the brain to function normally....if you read about it youll understand more.

      Antidepressents didn't work for me but here is what I've been copying to everyone because I think it works!  Here is my text:

      I think I can help you with the back pain!  I had my gallbladder removed (cholecystectomy) two years ago and still have pain after eating foods high in cholesterol and hydrogenated fats and other processed foods.  I try to only eat whole foods but sometimes I mess up.  When I get my "phantom gallbladder pain" I can get rid of it almost instantly by lying on my stomach on the floor and placing a tennis ball below my right breast (not ON the breast but BELOW it).  It will feel like it's on a rib.  I gently place some of my body weight on the ball and rib and roll my body around so that the tennis ball massages the crampy area.  I came up with this on my own and I know it sounds weird but it works for me instantly!  My pain refers to the back and shoulder blade but after I do this massage technique it goes away completely.  I also will turn over onto my back and place the tennis ball near my shoulder blade and spine and put a lot of my body weight on it and roll around so the tennis ball loosens up all those muscles.  This seems to help too, but not as much as massaging front rib area with the ball.  I hope you get this comment and get some instant relief!    Please copy and paste this to other people suffering.  NO doctor has ever been able to help me.  My surgeon was NOT helpful either after he removed my gallbladder and acted like I was imagining it.  Go get yourself a tennis ball.  Let me know if it works for you too.

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