Posted , 8 users are following.
Hi everyone,
I was sent in for an emergency ultrasound today to check if I had gallstones, but to no surprise it came back clear. The pain started last week; It was an onset attack; I vomited, had chills (no fever), felt faint, and had severe crippling pain in abdomen which was mainly in upper right side under the ribs. (This excruciating pain lasted about 5-6 hours.) I have yellow stools and during this unpleasant time have orange/ yellow oil in my stool as well, it has a really fatty smell (fatty stool?), excessive gas and bloating, full sensation in right side of abdomen, sore/ tender right arm and shoulder blade, excessive phlegm in throat, but the pain in my right upper abdomen under the ribs and back is still severe and always there. Laying down also hurts and so does moving around, it feels as if something is under there. Does this sound like a dysfunctional gallbladder or gallstones, because my home doctor certainly thinks it is, but my ultra sound detected squat. Are there other ways to determine if this is gallbladder related? I was diagnosed with IBS a while ago because they can't find where my pain is coming from, attacks seem to have improved after giving up gluten completely. Any help & insight would be greatly appreciated! 🙃
0 likes, 20 replies
Beenthruit hanna56544
Posted
Hi Hanna
Those are almost exactly the symptoms I had before i had my gallbladder removed. Often ultrasound doesn't pick up small stones and sludge, so it's still possible you have them.
I also had MRI scan which showed stones and this was followed by two ERCPs.
Try to eat a low fat diet, avoid alcohol and spicy foods. Eat smaller meals so you don't overload your stomach. This will help with the severity, duration and frequency of attacks.
As your stools seem to be affected, be aware of the symptoms of jaundice: yellowing of whites of eyes and skin, itching, pale chalky stools and dark urine. You also feel very unwell. I actually fainted and was on the verge of septic shock due to jaundice and the pain was very bad.
It's very common that patients' ultrasounds don't show up gallstones on ultrasound. This scan is a very easy and quick way of picking up the presence of gallstones which is why it's used, but doesn't always show them as in your case. Ask doctor to be referred for blood tests and MRI.
hanna56544 Beenthruit
Posted
Thank you, I actually broke down crying at the hospital yesterday after the technician said everything looked normal. I don't get it, I have an appointment with my GP tomorrow so I'm going to ask about getting a CT scan and HIDA scan. Do MRI's work as well for this? I'm really going to push this because I believe it's my gallbladder! I have had these type of horrible attacks before which last about 6 hours, usually during the middle of the night but since having to give up gluten I have only experienced bad abdominal pain which doctor says is IBS. But last week I got this horrible attack during the morning and the pain in my upper right quadrant under the ribs has stayed. This is also the first time I have vomited from pain!
Sgt.lindalee hanna56544
Posted
I had my gall bladder out a few yrs ago, I had gb packed with little stones....I really feel for you (the pain was so bad)along with all your other symptoms🤢My husband had problems(mostly like yours) and pain that he would pass out from...our family Dr and we insisted it was gall bladder but couldn't get a surgeon to do anything as tests showed nothing on ultrasound or MRI...HE FOUGHT FOR 10 YRS finally he was hospitalized and they did the open (non laparascopic)procedure...the Dr said it was the worse diseased gall bladder he had ever seen and could have ruptured or abscessed, he could have NOT recovered, the Dr said he had no idea how he lived with the pain, he had it out and even having an incision, he immediately felt better...your further testing should help but, you definitely need to keep pushing until you get an answer...so sorry you have to go through this..Best Wishes & Hope you feel better ASAP💟
hanna56544 Sgt.lindalee
Posted
Hi, thank you for your reply. My GP has referred me to a specialist for my stomach/ gallbladder etc. I will be getting a call today and hopefully get an appointment asap, but supposedly there's a long waiting list. I showed photos of my stool to her and that's what convinced her that there's something that's not right. What were your symptoms and what were your husbands symptoms? I'm curious, I still have bad pain under my right rib and arm. Does the pain go away and come back at times?
msclieb85 hanna56544
Posted
Did you ever find out what was causing this? I am having similar but not exact symptoms and doctors are saying there is nothing wrong with me at the emergency room. So I am waiting to be seen by a primary care doctor to hopefully get a referral to a gastroenterologist. I hope all went well.
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