Ongoing post GB removal issues

These are the symptoms you feel before having a gallbladder removed !!. Good luck with your investigations keep us posted with your results.

These are symptoms that 1 in 3 people have after gallbladder removal. I had my gallbladder removed 1 year ago, I have all those symptoms and more. This surgery, has disabled me. Dr just keeps giving me meds for acid reflux, and had a scope, I have bile reflux, from the gallbladder removal. There is no meds to control this, it is miserable. I pray for all of us with these problems. I hope as time goes on we will heal. Good luck to you.

I'm sorry you are having these issues after surgery. You naturally assume there will be no further issues after the gallbladder is removed. It is one of the risks surgeons point out when you consent to surgery I'm afraid.

If you have stones in the bile duct ERCP procedure may be able to remove them without the need for further surgery. It really depends on the size of the stones. Deranged LFTs would back up the theory that there is at least one stone in the bile duct affecting your liver.

You really need to push harder for an ERCP. Next time you have these pains, present yourself at A&E. The hospital doctors are otherwise unaware of how severe your symptoms are and will assume that you're able to cope with them and be happy to leave you on the waiting list. They may be able to bring forward your treatment, otherwise you are stuck on what I assume is a fairly long waiting list. Don't do as I did and just grit your teeth and pray.

You sound as though you are already eating a low fat diet and avoiding spicy food and alcohol etc so don't think there's much else you can do other than take some pain killers when these attacks happen.

The ERCP procedure is unpleasant but not painful and they do sedate you. It is usually performed as a day patient.

Unfortunately there are a lot of us out there with these issues and not enough resources. I hope you get your treatment soon.

I also have some of the problems you mentioned , do not have nausea except a little and no vomiting, but have more including dizzyness , blurred vision, shakes when in need of food, though blood sugar shows OK, also anxiety and various other things, none of which I had before the gall bladder came out 6 years ago

Hi Moira, I was the same after surgery and the pain steadily got worse and it was like my gallbladder was still there. I didn't have gallstones but a gallbladder that wasn't working properly. They said to me originally that they didn't think that all my pain was down to my gallbladder. They thought I might have sphincter of oddi syndrome but after surgery I decided to have a private consultation and saw a doctor that believed I had anterior cutaneous nerve entrapment, which is trapped nerves in the abdominal wall and it mimics gallbladder pain. I had to go to the pain clinic and they thought the same as I was positive for carnetts sign. Nearly 3 weeks ago now I had a nerve block put into a couple of places in my abdomen, it has reduced the amount of pain but I still have some but this treatment confirms diagnosis so I'm waiting for another appointment to see what the next step will be.

This condition is underdiagnosed when you look it up on the internet and could be the cause of more abdominal pain that what is diagnosed. 

If you don't have gallstones then look along these lines and get a referral to the pain clinic, you gp can do that for you.

I hope you hear what is causing your problems soon, let me know how you get on. Good luck x