HIDA SCAN
Posted , 6 users are following.
I had a HIDA scan 3 weeks ago and it showed that my EF is 23%, ( I do not have stones) I'm having digestive issues for almost 4 years, basically diarrhea but now I started to have nauseas not much pain, I had an appointment with a general surgeon yesterday and he thinks that surgery could not stop my symptoms and it could even make it worst, I'm going for a second opinion bc I'm really scared and I don't think it's a good idea to leave a "sick Gallbladder" in my body , anyone in the same situation
0 likes, 21 replies
matthew62041 s503
Posted
I'm sorry you're suffering with this. I am not exactly in the same situation, but I can relate. I had my HIDA scan last week and it came back at 20%. I don't have stones either. The only real symptom I'm having is diarrhea. I met with my surgeon today, but she is putting off talking about operating until I get my anxiety situation under control. So, it will be a little while before I get back to her as I need to start on an anxiety med, etc. Anyway, I understand what you mean when you say you're afraid of having a "sick gallbladder" in your body. I personally think you are making a great decision by getting a second opinion. Good luck with everything.
s503 matthew62041
Posted
Hi! I also have anxiety and I think that's the reason that I'm having nauseas lately, Diarrhea has always been my main symptom and it's not fun! I'm on a very low fat diet and also no dairy, and still I'm having diarrhea.I wish there was a miracle pill that we could take to make this Gallbladder start to work properly! Good luck to you! I hope you can control your anxiety soon.
carol02471 s503
Posted
Hello
My daughter was 21 in April & like you she had been ill for 3 years , her GB on Hyda was 14%.
They took it out and her life has been ruined. She has been unable to work since January 29/17 since the op as 3 days after it her pain got worse sickness is constant with the pain & she has dropped to 7st4lbs as she cantveat ir drink properly.
Since the HB removal she has now got Sphincter of Oddi type3.
She had Botox into the Oddi in March it helped a bit but not a lot, she is on Tramadol, Oramorph, paracetamol anti acid and Amitriptylne.
She thought after it came out she would be ok & she has said her life is ruined as they can't fix this is pain management only but that doesn't work well enough to enable her to live a normal life. Can't work still & cant go out with friends .
It really seems when they remove a gallbladder youbate either very much ok or you really are not, but no one can tell you how you will be, if we knew the risks she would have carried on as long as possible with it in and totally changed her lifestyle to help the gallbladder as in fat free diet and everything else you can do.
I don't want to scare you or anyone else but I promise you she has asked if there is anyway she could go on a transplant list to get another one put back in, she can't.
She is going to see the 4th specialist on Tuesday for another opinion but more on a stronger pain management to see if she could get back to work as she stands to lose her job at the end of the month if she can't get a proven pain management plan in place that enables her to actually function due to the amount of drugs she can't drive obviously & is tired all the time, they also make her feel sick 24/7.
So your surgeon has been very honest to be fair it's not always the fix.
You might be one of the many lucky ones, but at 20 when she had it done none of us ever thought this would happen.
Wishing you well x
s503 carol02471
Posted
Hi! I'm so sorry about what happened to your daughter , I know a lady that had hers removed and the exactly same thing happen to her and it's so sad and not fair, I know another one that has now chronic diarrhea. It's really hard to decide what to do bc a sick gallbladder can get infected and things can get ugly but then we can remove it and things can also get ugly,my Mom had hers out at 69 years old and she's fine, she can eat and drink anything she wants. I pray to God all day long for a miracle, I pray for him to guide me in the right direction. I hope from the bottom of my heart that your daughter can find a great doctor that will help her to get better so she can have her life back
Star42 carol02471
Posted
What were her symptoms before the surgery if she was ill for 3 yrs?
Unfortunately I have tried diet, naturopaths, herbal remedies and still lost weight, dropped from just over 10stone ( gained weight slowly over the year prior, likely due to digestive issues unknown at the time, to 7st 12lb, now a UK size 6)
I still have nausea, still bloated, still get stomach pains, still get random spells of explosive IBS D. So my surgery is booked and I am terrified of ending up worse like your daughter, but scans and cameras have ruled out all other causes, so I have no idea what to do
did they suspect SOD issues prior to surgery? or was it def caused by surgery as I have read some showed symptoms prior, so could of had it anyway?
I truly hope they find something that works for her and helps her live a normal life.
carol02471 Star42
Posted
Hi All,
She had nothing wrong with her prior to a knee op,3 years ago, then the Codeine for pain after 3 days caused her to have constant sickness, this led to acid reflux & Hiatus hernia. Then hernia fixed and linx implant to stop the acid and then things got worse slowly month by month then weekly issues then daily, so they did the testing and found the GB not working, removed and bang all went wrong right away.
Its so horrible for all of you going through it & there is no right or wrong decision on this just a risk and if your very ill already its a risk most will take as you could be lucky and be ok as many are. But also if it goes wrong it really does, and its not something that can be fixed as we are finding out .
If we get more information on Tuesdays appointment we will share with you all.
Kindest regards
Carol
lynda20916 s503
Posted
Sorry to learn you're going through this. I need to ask about the diarrhea. If your stools are floating in yellow liquid, the yellow liquid is bile. You might have the excess bile because your gallbladder is malfunctioning, but you could also have bile acid malabsorption.
Bile is released directly into the small intestine during digestion by the gallbladder. Then, at the end of the process, the body makes a hormone that allows the bile acid to be reabsorbed. In some instances, the body stops making this hormone, and you end up with excess bile, which causes diarrhea and can also cause GERD.
There is medication for this issue, so you don't have to suffer with the diarrhea.
s503 lynda20916
Posted
Hi! Yes most of the time it's yellow and float, the surgeon also said that my pancreas could not be producing digestive enzymes , I'm having a second opinion next week and I'm going to ask the doctor about bile acid malfunction , thank you so much!!!!
lynda20916 s503
Posted
Glad to be of help. If you have a GP he may not be familiar with it, a surgeon, probably not at all. GP's and surgeons are usually clueless about digestive functions. A gastroenterologist should be, but they usually lump sufferers into the category of IBS-D.
The pancreas does not produce bile! There is a bile acid malabsorption group on this site. Make sure you say bile acid malabsorption. One of the medications is called cholestyramine, which is a resin that absorbs the excess bile. I know about this because I have it, even after having my gallbladder removed.
Best of luck to you, and please let me know how you get on!
s503 lynda20916
Posted
Thank you again! Yes I'm going to see a Gastro and yes mine always told me I have IBS-D ( BS) lol , I just knew it wasn't IBS. Is there a test to check for it? How did you found it out? and why does this happen? ( sorry if it too many questions) what was your symptoms prior to surgery?
lynda20916 s503
Posted
Well, the diagnosis IBS-D is just doctor's language essentially meaning, "you get diarrhea lots and we don't know why." A more formal diagnosis would be, "ideopathic" IBS-D. Ideopathic means it can't be traced to a specific cause. Lots of disorders that result in the patient having diarrhea are lumped into this classification, IBS-D. Some people have food allergies, others have stress. It's pretty stupid to be told to meditate when you have it--especially if there's a physical cause that the doc is too lazy to find.
Some people get bile acid malabsorption because their gallbladder is pumping out too much bile. The gallbladder acts as a storage tank and valve so that the proper amount of bile can be released during digestion. But, when the gallbladder's removed, the liver can just keep pumping out too much bile and the gastric system gets overwhelmed and you get diarrhea.
As for bile salt malabsorption caused by the lack of the specific hormone, the mayo clinic in the US formulated a blood test to check for the hormone that allows reabsorption of the bile. I don't know if it's widely available. I've never had it. No one really knows why the body stops producing the hormone, that I know of. It's just "ideopathic."
. Sorry, I have to laugh about it because if I didn't I'd get angry.
Before I had my gallbladder surgery, a few stones were visible on the ultrasounds. But ultrasounds don't pick up small stones and sludge. It's like liquid mud. I had lost 30 pounds and had mild pain where my gallbladder was. Also nausea, dizziness and felt like crap. I was desperate to have my gallbladder removed. The docs wanted me to be in pain--so I told them I was and they took it out. It was filled to the brim with small stones and sludge. As I recall, the walls of my gallbladder hadn't thickened at all. I am so glad I didn't wait, gallbladders can rupture and become cancerous.
Hope this helps! xx
katherine42413 s503
Posted
Usually ibs-d is the general heading if you have crohns or diverticulititis where ibs is just a general term where they don't know what causes it and all your tests come back as normal as mine did years ago. When I had a gastroscopy they took biopsies which where tests for crohns and diverticulititis, minee came back as normal. luckily as crohns is a lifelong disease.
s503 lynda20916
Posted
Thank you! I don't want to keep my Galbladder but I'm going to get a second opinion first
lynda20916 s503
Posted
It's a wise thing to do...please le me know how you get on and what you decide! Remember, if you have bile salt malabsorption, they can give you medication now. At least that might help. xx
katherine42413 s503
Posted
Hi, I didn't have gallstones and my hida scan was 16 %, they did tell me they didn't think all my pain was due to my gallbladder but I couldn't function at all so I had it removed in March unfortunately after a private consulation with a gastro, he thinks I have anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment syndrome which may or may not be due to the surgery and they're also doing a stomach emptying test as that maybe causing some problems too.
I',ve now got an appointment at the Pain Clinic for this syndrome and hope they can help, its usually injections.
I was the same as you and I don't think you should leave a diseased organ in your body as that can get alot worse and cause even more problems. I was in pain all the time, as well as nausea which is why I opted to have mine out but if you're able to function and it hasn't taken over your life then possibly wait. Your gallbladder will only get worse so it is only time I'm afraid and I know from this site people do wait until the pain gets worse and they can't function properly anymore.
I always knew it wouldn't take all my pain away but at the moment I don't know if its from the surgery or it could be from car accidents I had years ago from everything I've read about it.
Its not an easy decision and lots of people have this and are fine and the same with removing the gallbladder with gallstones most are fine but others have side effects afterwards. I'm afraid its a leap of faith.
Let me know what you decide. Take care
s503 katherine42413
Posted
Thank you Katherine! What symptoms did you have prior to surgery? and did you feel any better after ? I don't have too much pain but I'm having a second opinion any way. How was surgery and recovery? Is it bad? I hope you feel better soon!
katherine42413 s503
Posted
Hi, I felt nauseous soon after eating and vomiting early on if I had any rich or spicy food, once I stuck to a low fat diet I didn't vomit as much but still felt sick. I have pain under my ribs on the right hand side which went through to my back and upto my shoulder blades.
Thesurgery itself was fine, I was nervous and scared as most are but I was very well looked after and the nurses brought me extra pain relief as I needed it and they wouldn't let me go home as my blood pressure went really low and I kept being sick because of the meds. I was sore for a few days afterwards as you would expect and my pains that I have now didn't start until I started eating more which for the first few days is very little. To be honest the surgery is much better than I expected and then I just rested for a month before I started to drive and going back to work.
Thank you, once I've been to the pain clinic I hope everything will turn around.
Let me know how you get on with your second opinion.
s503 katherine42413
Posted
Thank you! You made me feel better about surgery, I have had surgery in the past but I always feel nervous about medical precedures, I do feel very sick with anesthesia but I will do it and get it over with and hopefully feel better again😃👍
s503 katherine42413
Posted
katherine42413 s503
Posted
Thank you.
What ever you decide has to be right for you but I've nothing but praise for the hospital I was in, the nurses were great. I actually thought I'd be in more pain but I wasn't. I did take pain relief while recovering but thats what they advise to do initially anyway.
Keep me informed with how you get on with the second opinion. x
s503 katherine42413
Posted
I will! 👍