Normal testing and still have bad gallbladder/pain?
Posted , 83 users are following.
Is it possible to have all normal testing and still have a bad gallbladder?
Since the 1st week of sept I have been suffering from RUQ pain, nausea after meals, sometimes nausea out of the blue, pain in my right shoulder blade, fatigue, lack to no energy level, 12 lbs weight loss, pain in my right shoulder neck area, mix between constipation and diarrhea but mostly constipation and heartburn! The pain is constant and never goes away.
All of my testing keeps coming back normal. Ultrasound of the gallbladder, Hida scan (my result was 48%), Ct Scan, celiac biopsy, h.pylori, other blood work( amylase/lipase normal), endoscopy, MRI, ct of the head, pelvic ultrasound! We have also had a 2nd opinion with a GI Dr and established with a new GP and spoke to a surgeon (we have another appt 11/12)!
All testing keeps coming back NORMAL!!! (Which is good)
Can all these test still come back normal and you still have a bad gallbladder?
Has this ever happen to anyone?
Certainly I'm not the only one this is happened too! Any help is welcomed!
From the USA
Thanks for reading
5 likes, 151 replies
LauraLaine02 jw454
Posted
It's been almost a year since I was tested for gallbladder issues and everything came back normal yet I still had pain. I eventually gave up and the pain subsided for a while, but then it came back. It did seem to help me to take betaine HCl and digestive enzymes (which were self-prescribed). Anyway, I'm with a new doctor who is a functional doc and she recently ran a comprehensive stool test for several other reasons. In the stool test the following showed up:
high fecal fats
high phospholipids
low cholesterol
high triglycerides
high long chain fatty acids
My understanding is that this points to bile insufficiency and possibly fat malabsorption. My pancreatic enzymes actually tested perfect. So... why on earth would the results have ever been normal last year when I was in agonizing pain? The mystery of this continues, as does my pain....
Gm88 jw454
Posted
I am having same problems, having a endoscopy tomorrow, getting really depressed.
sarah43191 Gm88
Posted
Hang in there! Although all of my tests came back "normal" I knew something was really wrong. As soon as i got it removed 100% better.
SaiHall jw454
Posted
I've been having noticeable gallbladder symptoms for a few months now (7-8).
I suffer from extreme nausea and lethargy, no matter how much rest I get or what I eat, I'm just always tired. As soon as I eat, i start to have a cramp-like pain just below my ribs that sometimes (maybe 2 nights a week) grows into the worst pain I have felt in my life- and believe me, I have withstood excruciating pain before because I suffered an ovarian torsion almost a year ago. This pain is similar in nature, in that it comes in waves and radiates outwards, but the central point is in my gallbladder region. I have pain in my shoulders, and even down my right arm sometimes. The attacks usually awake me from my sleep at night after I've had a heavy meal or something really fatty.
The pain is sometimes set off by bowel movements also. It has happened twice before, where I was fine until I tried to pass stool. It felt like I was straining to get it out, even though the stool was mushy. The pain came on really bad, to the point where I was walking bent over. My stool has been mushy and pale for a few months now and greasy-looking.
The pain is always accompanied by vomiting which is always frothy with a mixed in mustard color.
I've gone to the ER four times in this 7 month period and on all visits, all they did was pump me with analgesics, anti-nausea meds, take blood and urine samples and discharge me. I did ultrasounds on 2 of those occasions. I've also done a KUB ultrasound, pelvic ultrasounds, abdominal ultrasounds and bloodwork with my primary care provider. All testings I've done thus far, have come back normal... My last trip to the ER, the doctor said the ultrasounds showed no gallstones and assumed it's ulcers (this i highly doubt).
Since all these tests have come back normal, my doctors aren't moving forward with a HIDA scan or CT Scan. This is definitely frustrating.
mandy1983 SaiHall
Posted
Anything new? I had a HIDA scan 4 years ago that showed my ejection fracture to be 34% which is low but not extremely low I guess since the norm is 35-65 I think. Anyways, my ultrasound at that time didn't show any stones. I called the other day to get an appointment with a surgeon to get it removed and me wants me to see a gastro to rule out h pylori. I couldn't get in there until November 21.
My symptoms are random sharp pains that take my breath away but only last a few seconds, a lot like a gas pain, and it happens under my rib on the right side. Frequent belching even before I've eaten anything for the day, a full feeling underneath the right rib, bitter taste in my mouth much of the day, pain to the right of my spine in my back between my shoulder blades, random stomach cramps, and aching under the rib that sometimes moves between my right and left side, and right shoulder pain that I'm not sure if it is connected or not. I had a CT scan done a couple of weeks ago but it was without contrast so I don't think that would show much.
SaiHall mandy1983
Posted
I have done a CT Scan with contrast since then. That too, has come back normal.
Reading your symptoms, feels like I was telling my experience. I also did a H Pylori test with came back negative. I have not gotten around to making an appointment with my doctor since the CT Scan to see what's next for me. So right now, I'm pretty much taking omeprazole to help with the nausea, acid reflux and belching. Please keep me updated, maybe we can both find solutions from each other's story.
mandy1983 SaiHall
Posted
I hate that you have the same symptoms that I do but it's also a relief to know that I'm not alone. The bitter taste in my mouth is new, and it's only been happening for about 4 or 5 days. I'm so afraid that it's my liver and they aren't going to catch it in time. I have health anxiety so this stuff that I have going on isn't helping that.
I am glad that your tests are all coming back normal but I know it's frustrating not being able to get to the bottom of what's going on. Keep me posted. I'll keep you updated on what I find out.
SaiHall mandy1983
Posted
I can definitely understand the health anxiety because this experience feels like it's driving me there. I don't experience the bitter taste unless I have what I call an "attack". At that point when I'm having the worst pain ever, I get really nauseous and that's when the bitter taste usually comes about. The gas like-pain I get once I have a meal, has started happening on the left side below my ribs. I am quite worried that my pancreas is now being dragged into this mess. That has me more worried, because while I can remove my gallbladder if it comes to the test, the pancreas is not the same.
mandy1983 SaiHall
Posted
It is so scary not knowing what could be causing all of this. I've even been tempted to go to the chiropractor for the feeling I've been having in my ribs. I just want to get to the bottom of it. In a way. But in a way I'm scared too. Does that make any sense?
I have read that untreated gallbladder and gallstones can cause pancreatitis sometimes. I'm not sure how common that is but I'm sure it happens.
I haven't noticed anything much helping me as of yet. I take Tums for any reflux I have but that's it. Hopefully both of our problems get sorted out soon.
SaiHall mandy1983
Posted
Absolutely! It does make sense! Just like I am sort of hoping for my tests to be normal, but I am also hoping for something to show up on them. No one would understand unless they are facing what we are dealing with. I've gone to 2 different chiropractors about my shoulder pain and back pain, thinking it had something to do with my spine before I knew it could be related to gallbladder issues. Both chiropractors told me that the pain I'm experiencing isn't related to poor posture or back injury- it is something wrong with an abdominal organ. They both told me to join their clinic for 3 visits a week for 6 weeks, but I didn't go through with that because if my back isn't injured, then why waste my money and time?
sheila18527 SaiHall
Posted
h for some reason this just came to my email and I'm not sure why but I wanted to just reply and share my experience I had such bad left upper quadrant pain for a couple of years and I tried everything I had an upper endoscopy colonoscopy HIDA scan proton pump inhibitors probiotics saw a natural path you name it I did it changed my diet and everything kept coming back normal of course and I finally went to see a general surgeon very well respected in a small town here in Vermont and he told me right off it's your gallbladder. you said I've been operating on people for 25 years and I have seen gallbladder pain present itself and all kinds of ways and nine times out of 10 I pulled them out and people feel better and they're filled with microscopic stones or sludge or their scarred as mine was and I have felt better since I had mine out. I did not even need pain meds because the pain before surgery was so much worse then the pain after surgery. my advice to people is do not give up go see a general surgeon if you have to usually the general surgeon will have to order a HIDA scan for insurance reasons and it's a very simple surgery these days for the scope and you'll feel better!
SaiHall sheila18527
Posted
Sheila, thank you so much for sharing this with us. I have read a few blogs and watch some vlogs where persons were saying their tests kept coming back normal and one doctor suggested they remove their gallbladder. Just like you, the symptoms disappeared once they had it taken out. I will definitely try to take this route if all continues as it is right now.
smd2019 mandy1983
Posted
did you end up having surgery to remove it? I'm the same situation and miserable.
mandy1983 smd2019
Posted
I haven't had it removed yet. I went to see the gastro doctor and I'm having an endoscopy on january 6. Hoping to get to the bottom of all of this really soon. I had a CT scan of the abdomen and it didn't show anything but a spot of fat on my liver and a cyst on my spleen and kidney. They said none of that would be causing my pain. It's so frustrating.
sarah98837 jw454
Posted
I've been doing a lot of research lately, and this has probably been the closest thing to what I'm feeling that I've found. If you could comment or reply with any advice/answers you got to a similar thing, that would be highly appreciated.
I've had MULTIPLE tests, and I still haven't gotten any clear answers. I've had an ultrasound, a HIDA scan, 3 rounds of blood tests, stool tests, an endoscopy, a colonoscopy, and a CT scan. The doctors are stumped, and I'm lost. I have a strong feeling that it is my gallbladder, and doctors have said my symptoms match it, but they can't do anything because the tests don't show anything wrong with it.
I'm only 19 and I've been having a lot of pain similar to what you are describing:
*My pain comes and goes, and varies in severity. Most of the time it is a dull pain (5 on a scale from 1-10) But at least once a day, it spikes up to a 7 or 8. I get random, extreme sharp pains in my right side that take my breath away and come and go within a couple seconds.
Please let me know if anyone has experienced this same thing with normal tests and if anything worked for you, I'd like to know. Thank you!
SaiHall sarah98837
Posted
this is pretty much what I've been feeling and dealing with. only difference is i haven't had a colonoscopy or HIDA scan... now I'm wondering if i should even do them because like you, everything has been coming bk normal. 😓😓
sarah98837 SaiHall
Posted
I completely understand. Going through multiple tests and everything being normal definitely makes it more hard. But even though I get my hopes up every time and then it doesn't show anything, I'd say definitely do the tests because it helps rule out things that it could be. The doctors "ruled out" my gallbladder and are moving on. Apparently I'm just too young to do an exploratory surgery that may or may not help. Back to more testing! They're going towards my small intestine, I guess some of the tests showed inflammation, and that's the only lead.