To ask for gallbladder advice?

[ninesixteen]

Anyone with gallbladder issues?
Doctor thinks I may have them.
A dull pain for a few months under my right rib.
Feels like a heavy dragging feeling and throbbing at times.
Sometimes no pain, sometimes throbbing, sometimes a dragging ache.
Sometimes progresses to a niggle in my back behind the aching area at the front.
Not had an “attack” though, that people always talk about.
My mum said when she had gallbladder issues she only had pain in her back?
Got a scan booked, but does this sound familiar?

@crazyforspn ahhhhh that must be why my Dr has sent me for a CT with dye. Similar situation and I'm in the UK. Loads of low niggles, but I had a nasty attack last year, pretty continuous now - nowhere near the scale of going to A&E but it is draining. Same here nothing on the ultrasound but everything points to gallbladder symptoms.

@itstheweekend Yeah i thought i was imagining things to start with because the docs couldnt find anything. Hopefully the scan will show it

I’m starting to join the dots with other symptoms too. I’ve had IBS (or what I thought) for a number of years now. Self diagnosed, I could never pinpoint the food that would start the cramps and loose stools. I have sort of realised that my bowel often needs to empty very quickly after meals. Some days I can go to the loo up to 6 times, always copoius and loose stools, sometimes I have to go so urgently I don’t make it and have an accident.
I’m now wondering if this is all linked to bile acid malabsorption or Habba Syndrome which is where bile floods the intestines as the gallbladder is dysfunctional.
I’m still waiting for a scan and I’ve not had much pain, just niggles now and again.
I’m actually worried that if I do have the gallbladder out the diarrhoea will get worse.
It affects my life now, I get anxious about it too so that often starts it off - it’s a vicious circle

Had mine out in 1994 aged 32 as an emergency op on holiday in Spain!!! I had an odd acute pain in fits and starts for about a year between shoulder blades ,and what felt like bouts of indigestion. but it was just unpleasant now and then and stupidly I didn't see the doctor. Went on holiday to Spain and 3 days in I suddenly had very acute pain and started being sick and couldn't stop. Partner called a taxi and took me to the nearest big clinic (had insurance luckily) had keyhole about 8 hours later, woke up with NATO gastric tube, antibiotic and anti stemetic drips and was catheterised with a huge wound as they attempted keyhole 3 times. Was all very frightening.on reflection mine seemed to come on at a time when my partner at that time lived on crap and didn't like me cooking, far too many takeaways and pizzas etc and I out on 2 stone in 18 months. The only lasting thing is that I do struggle to lose weight compared to before the surgery.

@oncloudten I was EXACTLY the same. Horrendous.

Post gallbladder op it's amazing. No awful rushing to the loo, and everything is normal. It's so liberating.

@missmarplesknitting that is very reassuring to hear, I’d be over the moon if it solved my bowel issues too. I have read that it can make it worse though, I’d never cope if it was.

Can I ask, did you have stones? Did your blood results show anything and did your scan show anything? I haven’t had any huge ‘attack’ just a feeling of indigestion, burping and abdominal pains that go into my back. Nothing the excruciating, just uncomfortable.

One huge one and sludge.

But I think for 8 years before my proper attacks started I had the burping, indigestion, dodgy tummy you describe. Pain but thought it was iBS/wind and it went with a bath and buscopan. Assumed I had gut issues.

Turned out it was my gallbladder. I honestly could not believe the difference, I had no idea that how I feel now was how normal people felt.

I had the same scenario as @deecrepid; no bother at all until I ended up in hospital on IV antibiotics and then surgery three months later. However, upon attempting keyhole it was discovered that my gallbladder was very infected and the gallstone spotted on the ultrasound was 5cm in diameter. I was one of the unlucky 5% that have to have open surgery. Not a barrel of laughs, but if it had been left much longer could have proved fatal. My advice is to have surgery as soon as you can if offered.

Get rid of it- I had mine taken out 2 months after giving birth. Best thing I ever did. I had 2 severe attack’s of pancreatitis whilst pregnant and after months of mild symptoms and restricted diet and honestly I’d rather give birth than have that again.

I have gallstones. I had really bad issues, with a hospital stay. Lots of gallstones sludge confirmed. Biliary colic too, and for quite a few more weeks the colic continued to come and go. I know my gallbladder was very inflamed.

However, once I moved to a fat free diet it slowly stopped, and then when my gallbladder had settled down I reintroduced some healthy fat (but not a lot-40g daily on average, some times 50g. I've been fine for well over a year now.

This post is from my wife, who does not have an account-
Over to you, wife
I had digestive problems for months which gradually got worse. Each time I went to the GP I was fobbed off with :"it's a stomach bug. It takes a long time to clear". Even after repeated bouts of unexplained vomiting (always at night), traces of blood in my urine (which didn't show in samples I brought to the surgery), I was still sent off with the usual "it's a bug". Eventually, a GP took notice and referred me to a hospital for investigation. The specialist I saw there said he suspected there might be something wrong with my pancreas. As my husband and I were due to go to France on a short holiday in the next few days, he told me he'd see me and have a scan done when I came back. So off we went, end of October 2018. I was feeling quite unwell, but thought a holiday might do me good! Three days in the holiday, I became quite ill, with acute pain in the right side, (and the left as well!) and had bouts of violent vomiting. I went to the local french chemist to ask whether they had Omeprazole as I had forgotten to take mine with me. They sell them over the counter in France, so I got some, but the chemist strongly advised me to see a doctor as my symptoms sounded alarming to her. The next day, I got worse, the pain was so intense that I couldn't bear for my husband to touch me. I went to see the landlady of the place we stayed at and asked her to call a doctor for me. Her husband took one look at me and said: " It's not a doctor you need, it's an ambulance" and he took it upon himself to call one. By that time, my breathing had become very shallow because breathing was causing me so much pain. By the time the ambulance arrived, my blood pressure had dropped dramatically and I had started to feel very weird, like everything was going further away from me. I was rushed to hospital, nearly had an accident getting there, they were going so fast. Once there, I was told that an extremely serious infection was attacking my entire body and that they needed a urine sample in order to locate it. I couldn't produce one at first because my organs had started shutting down. They had pumped me full of antibiotics, and eventually, I was able to produce something the colour of rust. From that they were able to conclude that it was my gallbladder. It turned out that it had, literally, exploded in the abdominal cavity, spilling all its content. Once they removed it, it turned out to be gangrenous!!! The French surgeon saved my life but I was in hospital for 10 days! So, my advice is, whatever symptoms you have, DON'T IGNORE THEM! Make sure they are thoroughly investigated!

@Oncloudten i know this is an old post but did you ever get to the bottom of your issues? Did you have a scan? I have the exact same symptoms as you but no painful attack as such