Horrendous gallbladder pain, no gallbladder

[CrankyPoet]

It’s been 48 hours and it’s one long agonising gallbladder stones attack with little let up but mine was removed 3 years ago.

GP is sending me for urgent bloods tomorrow to test for things like full blood count, lipase, urea etc.

However, he says it’s unlikely liver related because I am young and a non smoker and drinker. He said he can’t explain why the pain is the same as gallbladder attacks because I don’t have one

I said to him that I had read you can get a stone stuck in the bile duct. He said no because I don’t have a gallbladder, and they don’t do that type of surgery where anything would be left behind. So it can’t be a stone

I have been sick four times in the last 48 hours, like my stomach is being squeezed. I feel awful, it’s just so bloody sore.

A CT has been requested but he said that’ll take a few weeks.

The actual type of pain feels ‘worrying’ and very unsettling, if that makes sense. Again though, exactly like a gallbladder attack oain

I have heard of spinster of Odi? Basically where you don’t have a gallbladder anymore but get muscle related pains - but I am in absolute agony with these attacks and I vomit if I eat a small meal

I’ve been given buscopan and omoprazole. Told to keep my fluids up. And that’s it for now :(

I am a carer and live a very stressful life. He asked if it could be psychologically linked. I said I don’t think so - I can do the care. But I can’t if I’m in agony. It makes my life impossible.

Any advice at all would be great. I know I’ve already seen a Doctor but just can’t afford not to be aware if I’m missing something here

I feel completely lost in a mental type of way - I can’t think about anything else! The pain is bloody awful and of course it’s hard when you aren’t eating properly and have a non stop lifestyle

GP did say that if tests are normal, an investigative laparoscopic surgery might help diagnose whatever it is but he said you’d have a hard time convincing a surgeon to do it if the tests are normal

Forgot to mention also that I’ve had a faint, weird sore feeling for a few weeks before the full on attacks within the last few days

Sounds awful, hope you get to see a consultant soon, I'm sure they'll have a better idea based on the symptoms, they won't refuse diagnostic tests until they have a better understanding, most probably cameras and scans before any surgery. Make a note of any particular food is aggravating the pain and sickness, there are lots of possibilities such as stomach ulcer is similar to gallbladder pain.

I'm so sorry, I'm waiting to have my gallbladder removed so I understand the pain, it is horrendous beyond words. I don't know what may be causing this pain but I wonder if going to A&E may be helpful in the long run? X

Raptured appendix?

It sounds like pancreatitis to me based on the pain and symptoms you've described. You can get it even without a gallbladder so I'd push to be heard on that as your GP sounds somewhat dismissive. I feel for you. I'm awaiting gallbladder removal but I know of two friends who have experienced pain like you've described following removal. It's rare but does happen. I hope you have answers soon.

I would go to A&E. A friend of mine had a stone in her bile duct after gall bladder removal and had similar symptoms to you.

I had this, it was exactly the condition you described and I was prescribed amitryptiline 30mg daily

I've had two attacks in 2 years, so I'm happy with the medicine management

Hope you get similar result, I attended hospital and sat 12hrs in our urgent care centre biting my arm to stop screaming with pain to be told I was being prescribed medicine (no tests at all)

Didn't think it would work, but it did

Do I'd you have keyhole surgery? This is a known problem with that.

Your GP is wrong. I had my gallbladder removed in November 2023. I had to go back for an MRI scan 6 weeks later to make sure there were no stones or sludge in the bile duct which remains in place.

I don’t have one 😞

It was keyhole, yes

Hopefully it’ll be the same for me. It has honestly left me lost for words at times

I have had some 'attacks' since removal too. I'm pissed off because I can't even get to CT scans or endoscopy , just round in circles with ultrasounds and omeprazole.

The various FB support groups do suggest a small proportion of us do not have issues resolved by removal and in some people matters actually become worse.

I've had pancreatitis and it feels exactly the same as gallbladder pain only worse. Was blue lighted to hospital and they told me it was gallstones but I'd had my gall bladder out years before. Finally diagnosed pancreatitis triggered by codeine allergy. Hope you get answers soon.

I also have amitriptyline but don't often take it because it interacts with allergy meds and BP tablets, annoyingly. My attacks come on with lack of sleep so I take the amitryptyline at weekends.

The Guts UK website is excellent OP and does mention sphincter of oddi (which has a different name now iirc)

Go to A+E. Sounds like pancreatitis, which is very serious. It is easy to rule out with a blood test, but if it is, you need immediate treatment.
What is your poo and wee like?

I was told a stone can still get stuck after surgery (gps often get stuff like this wrong I find).

When I lasthad an attack, I was told to lie out straight and raise my right arm above my head. Stay like that for as long as you can and it often helps (sounds weird but it worked for me!)

Quite honestly if you are in that much pain go to A and E.

It isn’t acceptable to expect people to wait weeks in horrific pain.

Definitely go to A&E, you can't wait that long in pain

Your liver continues secreting bile, even after the gall bladder is removed. It just goes directly into the bile duct. The tiny tubes which transported the bile from the liver to the gall bladder now open directly into the bile duct. You can get gallstones in those tubes.

I am not a HCP. I'm the niece of someone who has had their gall bladder removed, and still gets gallstones. But the gallstones make them ill well before the pain begins, so they're usually treated before they're in severe pain.

Could be pancreatitis, bile duct blockage or hepatic blockage. Could be post-cholecystectomy syndrome. Are the whites of your eyes yellowed at all? How is your wee and poo?
Honestly I would go to A&E, at the very least you will get some decent pain relief and a referral back to gastroenterology. Your GP doesn’t sound very well informed on this subject.

This happened to me after gall bladder removal (keyhole as well). It was some months later. It was a small stray stone that had been caught in the bile duct and missed.

I would like to say that I no longer use codeine after my first attack was after using codeine, and they told me it can trigger this so avoid that painkiller