Abdominal pain - not gallstones (but similar area)

A good friend of mine has been in pain the last couple of days, and it was REALLY bad 2 nights ago. She went to the doctor yesterday and the doctor thought it was gallstones, so she had an ultrasound today.

I went along with her just in case the pain got worse and she couldn't drive, and to look after her baby while she was getting her u/s.

She asked the tech if she could see any gallstones and the tech said "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that" while raising her eyebrows and shaking her head (indicating that no she couldn't see any).

The poor thing has been in constant dull pain for 2 days which occasionally gets agonising.

Apparently she has to wait now until the doctor gets the results before they do anything which they said could take 2 days

Anyone know what else can present as gallstones?

Abdomen, pain on lower right: could be appendix. Mine came out in emergency surgery when I was 35 years old. It was first misdiagnosed as colitis! It started as a dull, constant pain, and got worse and worse over two days until I was in agony and couldn't stand on my own - that's when my bf of the time called 911.

She may need a second opinion - mine was extremely close to bursting when they excised it.

Pain on the lower right can be gall bladder. Does she eat fatty, greasy foods?

Originally Posted by GingersMom

Abdomen, pain on lower right: could be appendix. Mine came out in emergency surgery when I was 35 years old. It was first misdiagnosed as colitis! It started as a dull, constant pain, and got worse and worse over two days until I was in agony and couldn't stand on my own - that's when my bf of the time called 911.

She may need a second opinion - mine was extremely close to bursting when they excised it.

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Would it show up in an ultrasound?

Originally Posted by Crazyforinfo

Pain on the lower right can be gall bladder. Does she eat fatty, greasy foods?

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It's the lower right, but she just had an ultrasound and they didn't see any gall stones. She's very fit and healthy, and eats well.

Originally Posted by sarahp

Would it show up in an ultrasound?

It's the lower right, but she just had an ultrasound and they didn't see any gall stones. She's very fit and healthy, and eats well.

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No. It has to be diagnosed by cat scan (and I don't mean waving a kittycat over the area) and/or surgery. When they went in on mine they only thought it MIGHT be my appendix, and they were really iffy about the surgery, but I was in so much pain at that point I yelled at them to cut me open!

They kept saying that they wouldn't know for sure until they got in there, but afterward, the surgeon told me that we were lucky because if we'd waited much longer it would definitely have burst.

It could also be the gall bladder not functioning properly. A nuclear radiology test is required to determine whether or not the gall bladder is functioning in conjunction with the liver. It's a pretty neat test. Your gal bladder can quit on you without producing stones, and if the bile production is inhibited, then processing food becomes painful.

Definitely encourage your friend to seek additional opinions.

Originally Posted by GingersMom

It could also be the gall bladder not functioning properly. A nuclear radiology test is required to determine whether or not the gall bladder is functioning in conjunction with the liver. It's a pretty neat test. Your gal bladder can quit on you without producing stones, and if the bile production is inhibited, then processing food becomes painful.

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I hope they find a solution soon for your friend.

Originally Posted by sarahp

She asked the tech if she could see any gallstones and the tech said "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you that" while raising her eyebrows and shaking her head (indicating that no she couldn't see any).

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What the tech meant was that she was not allowed to tell her the test results and that it's up to the doctor to inform her of them. Your friend could still have gallstones.

Originally Posted by sarahp

It's the lower right, but she just had an ultrasound and they didn't see any gall stones. She's very fit and healthy, and eats well.

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Lower right portion of her abdomen? That sounds like appendix, not gallstones.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

What the tech meant was that she was not allowed to tell her the test results and that it's up to the doctor to inform her of them. Your friend could still have gallstones.

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My friend said she was definitely saying that she wasn't allowed to say anything, but indicating that she didn't see any gall stones without actually "saying" that she didn't have any.

Originally Posted by Natalie_ca

Lower right portion of her abdomen? That sounds like appendix, not gallstones.

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Too high for appendix according to her doctor and her father in law who just turned up and is an ER doc. Her father in law thinks it's gall bladder related, but not gall stones.

She's doing blood and urine samples at the moment. Fun fun

Thanks for trying to help, it's appreciated!!!!

Originally Posted by sarahp

My friend said she was definitely saying that she wasn't allowed to say anything, but indicating that she didn't see any gall stones without actually "saying" that she didn't have any.



Too high for appendix according to her doctor and her father in law who just turned up and is an ER doc. Her father in law thinks it's gall bladder related, but not gall stones.

She's doing blood and urine samples at the moment. Fun fun

Thanks for trying to help, it's appreciated!!!!

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Is the pain just under the ribs? When my gall bladder was acting up it was just under the ribs. I also had pain in the back area but they said it wasn't common.

Originally Posted by Crazyforinfo

Is the pain just under the ribs? When my gall bladder was acting up it was just under the ribs. I also had pain in the back area but they said it wasn't common.

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Mmmm that seems to be where she was pointing to. I've been letting her know what you guys think

Pain can show up in the weirdest places and not even be caused by anything in that general area - not exactly helpful info.

Hopefully blood test will show something. If her white blood count is up it could even be an infected stone in the duct or just an infection in the gallbladder. Not something to ignore, but hopefully a round of antibiotics is the worst she has to go through.