Anyone had "mild" gallstone issues?

sarahp

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Sorry this is kinda long, but it's kinda complex.


I started getting intense pain a week ago on Saturday – it woke me at 4:30am, and it was so bad I couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t get back to sleep. I went into the ER, and they thought it was an infection related to some minor surgery I had a couple of weeks ago (an area looked very inflamed), so they opened that bit of the incision up, and gave me some antibiotics and sent me on my way. That night we ate a kind of greasy tri tip, and that night the pain started again, and by 1am I was in excruciating pain again – worse than the night before. We went back to the ER where they admitted me and ran a heap of tests.

Blood tests and a culture of my incision area showed staph infection, and also showed my gall bladder is full of gallstones, but otherwise everything was normal. The strongest IV pain meds they could give werenâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t helping, but it was only sore when I moved. If I lay still I was fine.

There was pain in the centre of my chest where the incision area was, but the worst of it was to the right, just below my right breast under my ribs, and the pain went around to my back, and thatâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s what had my almost screaming in pain whenever I moved.

I ended up spending 4 days in hospital while they ran a bunch of other tests and tried to deal with my symptoms. I also had ongoing nausea, and threw up a couple of times despite being pumped full of anti-nausea meds. They did an ultrasound and confirmed my gall bladder is full of stones - my cardiologist said it looks like a pebble graveyard, but there was nothing indicating any of the usual cholecystitis (or whatever gall bladder problems are called) signs. I had been on antibiotics for 2 days by this stage.

I got a PICC line “installedâ€, which is an IV line that can stay in for up to a month or so and it goes into your upper arm, then through a vein until it hits the superior vena cava, and then I could get released. The point of this is to deliver 24 x 7 antibiotics from home to deal with the staph infection that they believe is in my blood. Because Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]ve had previous heart surgery, they treat any potential blood infections aggressively as the risk of an infection damaging the repair they did is increased.

Anyway, so I had one doctor saying he couldnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t be sure if it was staph in my blood because they only took a blood sample from one site, and thereâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s a risk of cross-contamination of the sample from the needle going through your skin as staph lives on your skin. Another doctor said that didnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t matter because it also showed up in the wound culture they did, and they are going to treat aggressively anyway because of the heart surgery. Then yet another doctor said sheâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s not convinced that gallstones had nothing to do with my pain since the majority of the pain was just a little higher than typical gallstone pain.

Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m still getting pain at night. If I wake up in the night, my side area hurts, and rolling over is uncomfortable, and when I wake up, it still hurts a bit, but goes away not long after I get up. The pain is nowhere near as bad, but I am wondering if it could still be gallstone related?

Anyone had similar problems? Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m going to get all my test results tomorrow if I can and take them to my regular doctor – having a cardiac team diagnosing abdomen problems isnâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]t the most useful
 

mews2much

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I hope you feel better.
I do know about taht terrible pain you got.
Its the same pain I get and posted about.
Try night to eat greasy foods.
Write down everything you eat when the pain comes.
The dr told me to do that
When I get that terrible pain it is in between my shouldars and by my breast bone.
It sounds like the pain I get you are talking about.
I am always scared it will come back.
My Dad and sister had to have their gall bladders removed becase of that same pain and stones.
I hope the incision from your heart surgery heals.
My dads healed good.
I notice if I throw up alot the pain will go away.


Read my post from the last time I got taht pain.
I think some of the people that replied t me can help you.
http://www.thecatsite.com/forums/sho...=terrible+pain
 

mbjerkness

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I had my gallbladder removed about 30 years ago. From what I remember the pain was right where you described it. i also had a lot of nausea. It went on for about 18 months. Finally they decided to remove my gallbladder. only a few stones had shown up on xrays. but when they removed it it looked like it was covered in coarsely ground pepper. It was definately my gallbladder, I felt so much better afterwards.
 

strange_wings

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Pain is different for every person, but if your gallbladder is full of stones it's only a matter of time till that will be an issue for you.

I never had vomiting, or even very much right sided pain. Nausea was minimal and only if food was not passing into my small intestine (note, I have dysautonomia so there's more at play than just GB). Mine was mostly on the left and it caused GERD. Only occasionally would I get a stabbing pain on my right, but that was pass after a few minutes.
One of the biggest tips that my GB was involved was diarrhea.

How did your liver enzymes look?

In the meantime. If it makes you sick and causes pain, don't eat it. If this really is your gallbladder you may be able to get some relief by cutting back to a low or no fat diet - especially for the next few days.
 

catkiki

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I had my gallbladder removed in 2004 and the pain you are describing is exactly what I had. My gallbladder was also full of stones. Stay away from greasy foods as that tends to inflame the gallbladder more.
 

katachtig

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It sounds exactly like what I felt when I had my gallbladder out. I had been having pain for about a year and the doctor kept saying it was GERD. One night, I had just flown back from a business trip and woke up with the most intense pain just right of my breast bone with lots of vomiting. DH took me to the hospital and they found my gallbladder stuffed with stones. Surgery was done that morning.

I haven't had any pain since. I wish it had been better diagnosed earlier because I was beginning to think my whole digestive system was bad.
 

strange_wings

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Originally Posted by Catkiki

Stay away from greasy foods as that tends to inflame the gallbladder more.
It isn't grease and it doesn't actually inflame the gallbladder.
Your gallbladder serves the purpose of storing some bile to help with digesting fats. (greasy foods tend to be fattier to begin with -ie, bacon) Raw vegetables that are harder to digest can cause problems, too. When you eat something that requires extra bile to be released to digest it the gallbladder contracts and to squeeze that out. It's the squeezing on the stones that becomes the problem and possibly squeezing a stone out into the bile duct that is dangerous.
 

laureen227

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my gallbladder problems went misdiagnosed for about 6 months. my pain was in my back, just about where my bra strap goes. the doctor thought it was a muscle strain of some sort - put me on muscle relaxants. didn't help that much [imagine that!] but we couldn't determine any other causes. this began about this time of the year - february.

in june, i went to italy for a week - still having some pain, but not too terrible [of course, i'm a migraineur - i'm used to pain]. but when i got back, i actually ended up w/an acute gallbladder attack. intense pain, nothing helped - still in approximately the same area. i tried back exercises, deep breathing [like biofeedback or yoga breathing], etc. i thought i might have to call for an ambulance - i could barely walk, so i didn't figure i could drive. anyway, it passed w/in an hour of onset.

so, the next day, i called the doctor. he asked me some questions [how long after eating? how long did it last? etc.] & told me he thought it was gallbladder & to schedule an ultrasound, which i did.

the ultrasound showed gallstones - to quote the tech, it was 'packed' with stones. he couldn't understand why i hadn't had it done before - he said i had to be in pain.
anyway, they did the removal lap - but the gallbladder burst open when the surgeon tried to remove it. he said he spent some extra time fishing loose stones out.

upside/silver lining - this was the first surgery i'd had since i was 3 [i was 42 at the time] & the ease of my recovery encourage me to actively pursue having gastric bypass surgery done [which it was, 3.5 years later].
 
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sarahp

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

How did your liver enzymes look?

In the meantime. If it makes you sick and causes pain, don't eat it. If this really is your gallbladder you may be able to get some relief by cutting back to a low or no fat diet - especially for the next few days.
I don't know if they did liver enzymes. All the blood tests were clear - no sign of infection (except for the staph), and everything else was fine. They were saying in the ER "Abdominal pain", but I was saying "no, it's pain related to the incision" because I was worried about them misdiagnosing my staph infection, but I may have caused them to miss something else.

I don't eat a lot of fat to start with. Breakfast is generally a combination of yoghurt, banana and/or plain oatmeal, but occasionally I will have a muffin/pastry if I drop DH at work early and go to Safeway on the way home.

Lunch I generally have some sort of sandwich or noodle/pasta thing, and dinner is generally meat and vegies. Sometimes the meat has a bit of extra grease.

Like I said, I don't really get the pain during the day, it's only middle of the night, and it's not too bad. At the moment it's a bit sore when I take a deep breath in


Originally Posted by strange_wings

It isn't grease and it doesn't actually inflame the gallbladder.
Your gallbladder serves the purpose of storing some bile to help with digesting fats. (greasy foods tend to be fattier to begin with -ie, bacon) Raw vegetables that are harder to digest can cause problems, too. When you eat something that requires extra bile to be released to digest it the gallbladder contracts and to squeeze that out. It's the squeezing on the stones that becomes the problem and possibly squeezing a stone out into the bile duct that is dangerous.
That's interesting. So it may be just the squeezing that's causing the pain? There's not necessarily a stone stuck, but the fact that my gallbladder is full of stones?

I'll definitely be following up with my family doctor.
 
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sarahp

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Hmmm... just thinking. Friends were just over, and we were eating brie. It will be interesting to see if that causes issues.
 

strange_wings

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So, you usually don't get this pain? Your main diet could explain that.


And yes, that could make it hurt. If there are a lot of stones and they're rubbing around on the gallbladder lining that can cause inflammation. I had several stones, but oddly not much sign of inflammation despite how often I had GI pain.
It's likely that everything else has just mixed up your body lately - it doesn't take much for some people to have their GI thrown off and maybe that's why you GB is acting up now?

The problem with GB inflammation is that is can affect the liver and/or cause acute pancreatitis. Pancreatitis can be very painful, but tends to cause left sided pain, iirc, though some people are different.

I had a GB attack while in the hospital back in August. They happened to be checking liver enzymes at that time to try to figure out what was making me so sick and caught that on the test. That looked bad apparently. My GP wanted me to have my GB out the next morning
, but the surgeon wanted to wait till my infection was better.

It's a relatively simple surgery compared to what you've been through, though you'd gain a few more scars.
 

kittkatt

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Originally Posted by mbjerkness

I had my gallbladder removed about 30 years ago. From what I remember the pain was right where you described it. i also had a lot of nausea. It went on for about 18 months. Finally they decided to remove my gallbladder. only a few stones had shown up on xrays. but when they removed it it looked like it was covered in coarsely ground pepper. It was definately my gallbladder, I felt so much better afterwards.

I had my gallbladder removed about 30 years ago, too: same symptoms, pain, & nausea. When they took it out, it was filled with pebble-sized stones. I felt a million times better afterwards.

 
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sarahp

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

So, you usually don't get this pain? Your main diet could explain that.
What do you mean? My diet hasn't changed, and yes, the pain only started a week or so ago. That's why the doc thought it couldn't be GB. My hormones have been all over the place though, and I know that can make it worse.

Originally Posted by strange_wings

It's a relatively simple surgery compared to what you've been through, though you'd gain a few more scars.
Yeah, but I'm sick of surgery!!!!
I'm trying to get pregnant too, so everytime something like this happens, those plans have to be put back - I'm over waiting!
 

kluchetta

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Originally Posted by sarahp

What do you mean? My diet hasn't changed, and yes, the pain only started a week or so ago. That's why the doc thought it couldn't be GB. My hormones have been all over the place though, and I know that can make it worse.
I think she meant because you eat a relatively low fat diet, you don't get this all the time. Only when you "indulge" a little.

My sister used to ALWAYS get sick on her birthday. It was very strange. Her husband even said, "maybe you're just excited about your birthday." Yeah. Like you're 25 and "excited" about your birthday. So it turns out that every birthday she would go out and have a big meal with prime rib or something, and she actually was having gall bladder attacks that whole time.
 

strange_wings

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Yes, that's exactly what I meant.


Originally Posted by sarahp

Yeah, but I'm sick of surgery!!!!
I'm trying to get pregnant too, so everytime something like this happens, those plans have to be put back - I'm over waiting!
That would definitely set you back a bit. They may not make very large incisions, but they'll still be cutting through abdominal muscle. That takes a while to fully heal.
Of course if you put off dealing with you GB and get pregnant it could leave you with a lot of pain for several months as that causes bile to get more sludgy.

Ultimately, the decision will probably have to be made depending on how your liver enzymes look.
 

addiebee

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Oh, man, Sarah! I am sorry to hear that! I hope that everything goes well for you!
 
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sarahp

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Originally Posted by kluchetta

I think she meant because you eat a relatively low fat diet, you don't get this all the time. Only when you "indulge" a little.
Originally Posted by strange_wings

Yes, that's exactly what I meant.


That would definitely set you back a bit. They may not make very large incisions, but they'll still be cutting through abdominal muscle. That takes a while to fully heal.
Of course if you put off dealing with you GB and get pregnant it could leave you with a lot of pain for several months as that causes bile to get more sludgy.

Ultimately, the decision will probably have to be made depending on how your liver enzymes look.
Ohhhh I thought there was something odd in my diet that was causing it


Now, next question - should I go to my family doctor about it, or just go straight to some sort of gall bladder type specialist to see what they say (I can self refer with my insurance).
 

strange_wings

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There's no such thing as a gallbladder specialist. There's GI docs and surgeons. However, you already have the diagnosis - stones in your gallbladder, figuring that out is half the work. If you're comfortable with you GP and that doctor is willing to listen and work with you (test wise), IMO that would probably be easier. Less chance of a waiting list. Gallstones are also common enough that a GP should have experience with them - they may have even had them too! (mine did)


Does anyone else in your family have gallstones? Apparently that's one major contributing factor for most people - especially in those that their only other risk factor is being female. (other causes are being overweight, poor diet, and other GI problems like celiacs)
 
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sarahp

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Originally Posted by strange_wings

There's no such thing as a gallbladder specialist. There's GI docs and surgeons. However, you already have the diagnosis - stones in your gallbladder, figuring that out is half the work. If you're comfortable with you GP and that doctor is willing to listen and work with you (test wise), IMO that would probably be easier. Less chance of a waiting list. Gallstones are also common enough that a GP should have experience with them - they may have even had them too! (mine did)


Does anyone else in your family have gallstones? Apparently that's one major contributing factor for most people - especially in those that their only other risk factor is being female. (other causes are being overweight, poor diet, and other GI problems like celiacs)
Well, I didn't mean a "gallbladder" specialist - just whatever specialty it is that deals with that sort of thing. Whoever is most qualified to look at scans and say "yes that is the problem". So that's a gastrointestinal person?

My family doc is fine, but I don't know how much more he will be able to tell me. I guess I'll start there.
 

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Oh, my sympathies...I had my gall bladder out about 13 years ago...oy the pain. Right under my ribs and nausea...usually after a greasy/heavy meal. I had one particularly nasty attack and woke up jaundiced a day or so after--stone had wedged itself in my bile duct.



Doctors didn't want to believe a 21 year old had gallbladder issues, but almost every woman on my mother's side of the family does. They told me I probably had liver cancer, lupis, hepatitis A,B,C--take your pick. Finally an ultrasound confirmed the stone --by this point I was almost in liver failure. Had a quick laproscopic surgery and aside from some trouble digesting heavy diary, I've been fantastic! Went home with a few band-aids on my stomach --of course as a kid I healed pretty fast.

Anyway to answer the question --I had mild attacks off and on for probably a year and being young and invincible I put off seeing a doctor until I was yellow. It was the ultrasound that diagnosed and a GI specialist that removed my ailing gallbladder.
 
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