Hope for people with undiagnosed gallbladder issues

Posted , 6 users are following.

Hello,

I wanted to come here and provide some hope for people who have been experiencing gallbladder issues and have had negative tests. I was in pain, I had attacks, nothing was showing. It took an endoscopic ultrasound to diagnose me. Tiny stones and sludge everywhere and blocked ducts. They then did an ERCP to clear the ducts - removal will or will not follow. We'll see. The only advice I can give is that in spite of negative tests, you can still have stones, ultrasound can be negative, blood tests can be negative, MRI can be negative and MRCP. EUS and ERCP are really the only tests that can tell for sure. keep advocating if you know something is wrong with you, it's not in your head...

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • Posted

    I am not sure if you got my last message again what is an RCP and EU SP and ERCP what are those tests please advise I need more test done because the pain is real bad and I lost 40 pounds thank you please respond
    • Posted

      You hit my spot here, I do not like abbreviations, when I don't know what each letter stands for. 

      May I help out:

      ERCP = Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangio-Pancreatography

      endoscopic: via scope inside (endo) body

      retrograde: different than usual, backwards, probably due to usually bile coming out of duct, but dye is inserted into duct.(?)

      cholangio: chole= bile, angio= vessel: bile duct

      pancreat: involving pancreas (bile duct and pancreatic duct end in one and the same opening in duodenum, where the canula plus dye is inserted)

      graphy: to describe, to represent

      with the endoscope docs get into the bile duct, inject dye and is therefore clearly visible on x-ray, how it looks, narrowed, or stones.

    • Posted

      EUS = Endoscopic ultrasonography

      On the tip of endoscope is an unltrasound transducer, which is brought into the digestive tract, so the pics are higher quality than from outside of body being simply closer to them. 

    • Posted

      ah great, I posted the MRCP definition as a reply to alicki73. redface

  • Posted

    Did you have the nuclear med function test,

    scintigraphy called 'HIDA' (Hepatobiliary Iminodiacetic Acid scan)

     it would be one step before invasive tests and would have maybe shown the problem? 

    Just asking out of interest to have another idea.

  • Posted

    MRCP = Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography

    non invasive MRI, that looks at gallbladder, biliary/pancreatic duct (you might get a contrast agent into vein, but that's it)

    MRCP picks up gallbladder stones in 98%. Meaning: not in 2%, very unlucky if not.

    • Posted

      This was for frank09383 redface

    • Posted

      Hi,

      Sorry i didnt explain the abréviations. Yes MRCP is great but wasnt sufficent in my case. We didnt do a HIDA scan because where i live in Europe, They prefer ERCP over HIDA.

      M point was to mention that if you re in pain in that area, you re not crazy, there is Something but Sometimes it takes invasive tests to find it. dont let a doctor tell you otherwise.

      Best

      Alicki

  • Posted

    Hi I've sent you a private message hoping you can give me some advice on my gallbladder issue!

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