still having problems after gall bladder removal

[Babyramone]

Hi have posted about this before.
Had my gall bladder removed in august since then have had 3 attacks similar to when I had gall stones. Had the 3rd atttack on friday and it was awful. Nearly phoned NHS24 but after taking both cocodamol and diclofenac got it under control. Anyway will be visiting G.P tomorrow but wondered if any onw else has experienced this.
I googled (bad idea i know)and there is a condition called Post Cholecystectomy Syndrome.
Has anyone had this?
I seem to remember someone mentioning this on a previous post, may be wrong though.

[ktnanna]

hi, just read all the posts re gallbladder and having just experienced another attack , it seems i need to return to docs, had gallbladder out feb 2007,, was fine after no probs at all, which was a relief after four years of the pain.

three nights ago, i had what i can only say was another attack, well four actually in one night!, took pethedin which i still had , but it didnt even touch the pain of the second attack, was far worse than i had expereicned before, since then ive eaten very little as im very scared it may happen again, the other thing is i notcied in themorning i had some blood in my pants, had only finished period two days prev so dismissed it, but im not sure, trying to get appt at docs, but they are like gold dust here lol. Things can only get better, and on a plus, with not eating, my clothes are getting looser! kate x

[bolshiera]

These posts are so familiar!
I had my gallbladder out in Nov 2007. The pains were intense and caused 9 admissions to A&E b4 surgery. Apparently it is over production of bile and cholestrol during pg that can start this off - my attacks started 2 weeks after the birth of my son. Anyway, i am suffering again lately with backpain and coliky pain too. I saw the surgeon last week who said I need to wait a few motnhs b4 they'll see me again to see if i am still recovering from the op. if not, she said in very rare cases the sludge could be reforming! i have been so feeling so down since. the delay in the surgery, as i was diagnosed quickly, was down to finding a problem with the electrics in my natural heart pacemaker and junction box - seems this delay may hhave caused slow recovery as the gb was stuck to the liver bed. thought this was over and done with but at least i don't have to deal with that awful gb pain again! i reckon its worse than a contraction!!

[LittleBella]

I had mine out 5 years ago but have had 2 attacks since as a result of taking codeine for something else. So maybe those of you getting attacks afterwards should ensure you record what food you ate/ drugs you took beforehand? I now know that there is no way I can ever take codeine without it setting off an attack and perhaps there's something which is the trigger for an attack for some of you guys which you could avoid.

It's a bummer, I was told that the attacks would totally end. They tell patients f*king nothing, do they? I mean, I know there's nothing they can do about it, but I would have appreciated being given correct information.

[fazergirl]

Just back from 3 days in hospital with my 4th post op attack of gall bladder pain. Interesting that someone has said codeine triggered it as my first attack pre the op did follow on only an hour after taking Codeine. Op was Sept 06, one attack later that year, 2 early last year and then nothing until Monday which was the worst of the lot. Bile duct dilated, liver function tests abnormal, amalyze levels up too (sign of panreatitis) and now awaiting a private MRI scan as I was so fed up at the inefficiency of the NHS (it took 2 days just to get the ultrasound done after my emergency admission and I had to fight for every little piece of information which was different from one doctor to another). Hope to have final diagnosis next week and reading this thread has given me plenty of questions to ask the consultant!

[Kimi]

wish I had not read this.... waiting to have mine removed

[Gunnerbean]

"seems this delay may have caused slow recovery as the gb was stuck to the liver bed".

The gall bladder is attached to the liver bed - not just in you, in everyone. It's an anatomical fact.

[bigrob301]

Hi everyone I've been having problems with my gallbladder and was scheduled for surgery on 5/13/08 at the VA hospital in Wash DC. I was so nervous needless to say i got all the down the operating table hooked up to everything and i couldn't go through with it. I did not want to be put to sleep and i freaked out when they restrained my arms it felt as though i was being put to death. It wasn't until I told them to stop did they tell me I could have been sedated first by that time the psychological damage was already done.Now i have been having panic attacks worst then gallbladder attacks. Strangely enough i would rather be awake.Does anyone know if this has been done before thanks.

[shoogirl]

I found a lot of these comments very interesting. I had my gallbladder removed 4 years ago and have suffered a handful of similar attacks since. Initially I went back to the doctor who sent me for another scan to check if any stones were stuck in the bile duct. Everything came back clear but the doctor told me that the brain can sometimes take a while to realise the gallbladder is no longer there and some symtoms can re-appear. Sounded logical at the time but after reading the comment littlebella posted that sounded more realistic. I too have had some issues with taking medication containing codine which I always compared to the same pain as the gallbladder problems. I know realise it was probably due to finishing off the pain killers they gave me for period pain etc. I do find if I eat when taking codine it doesn't affect me in the same way.

I would say to anyone waiting to have their gallbladder removed that it's the best thing to do as I'd rather have attacks 6 times in 4 years than 6 times in one week. I did lose a lot of weight afterwards but unfortunately it did creep back on when my body got used to not having the gallbladder!

[bigrob301]

quick update i just had my gallbladder surgery yesterday at the Southern Maryland hospital in Clinton,Md. My experience was much better than the nightmare at the VA hospital in Wash.,DC. The staff at Southern,MD was professional friendly,understanding and very organized.After my bad mishap at the VA Hosp. I sought out a civilian doc that was great. He still recommended surgery but he gave me avelox (antibiotic) and prescribed xanax for axiety which worked very well. My biggest fear was being put to sleep. I remember moving to the OR table and the anestiaologist saying your going to feel a little sting in your Iv i thought he was putting more medicine to sedate me but it was the real deal the next thing i woke up in the recovery room it was beutiful. The surgeon said it was a good thing i had it done my gallbladder was full of stones. I haven't had any diariah all in all it was ok i recommend anyone in the area to have it done at Southern Md Hosp thanks

[rachgeorge]

I was so glad to find out that others had experienced similar problems to me although very sorry for you all as I know how awful it is!!!
I was suffering gall bladder attacks during the end of my pregnancy and they continued after having my baby. Within 7 weeks of having him I had been in hospital twice and to the doctors more times than I care to remember - I then had my gall bladder removed under the impression that it would take away that awful pain that was a million times worse than labour - it didn't ! You can imagine my shock when just 4 days later I wake up in the middle of the night with that exact same pain! I went to the doctors the next day and they said it could just be after pains from the op! 3 weeks later I had another attack and ended up calling an ambulance - by this time they must have got sick of seeing me in the hospital - I was sick of seeing them! I've had it 4 times since. It just seems to come on from no where the only saving grace is so far it hasn't lasted in as long bursts as before the op so easier to look after a new baby!!!
Get no answers from the doctors they have no idea - all they can come up with is that my liver function tests are still down and need doing to check - again!!!
Hopefully it will ease off in time but you don't know how much better I feel knowing it has happened to others because I was starting to think I was going crazy and it was in my mind as the doctors have no idea what it can be!
Good luck to all about to have the op and hope you have a speedy recovery without any pain!!!!!

[zoem02]

hi, i had my glalbladder removed in november08 ever since then i have suffered from what the doctors r saying is irritable bowel and heart burn still i get mild pain in the area where i had the pain of the gall stones, after reading other comments i feel reasured that im not the only person having these starnge but clearly common after affects of gall bladder romoval, i feel that mayb ppl shud have these 'common affer effects' explained if i new i was going 2 have so many problems im not sure if i wuld have bothered with the surgery, ne body who is having similar problems i culd do with some support!!

[deepat]

Hi my name is diane, i am suffering th exact same pain as before my op every single day it doesn't matter what a eat or don't eat.
My Doctor keeps saying that it just post op but it's been a month since my op a was the same 3 days after getting out of hospital i was in agony, does anyone know what foods to eat to minimise the pain. keep in touch anyone who can help!

[Ettenna00]

Hi,

I googled "back pain after gallbladder removal" and found this thread

I had my gallbladder removed in 2006 and have been on lanzaprozole ever since (great stuff).

Over the last few months I have been getting random twinges in my back. I just put it down to being overweight or needing a new mattress. However in the last week it has been getting worse and is in the upper right quadrant (just as before) but not as severe but enough that I can't reach up for things or bend over, etc. I also have got pain when I eat and when I swallow the pain gets worse in the back.

After reading some of the experiences on here I think I will definitely see the GP asap.

[Chesjay]

Hi, I had my gb removed in Sept 09 since then I've had hardly any trouble - until a month ago! I've been getting the same sort of pain I was having before and after going to see my gp he has put me on Lansoprazole! i;m not sure why though as I'm not having any acid or digestine problems, I've had a blood test to check liver and pancreas and am waiting for results. I'm fed up with the pain and my inconsistent trips to the loo, don't want to go into to much detail but my bowel movements drive me mad and I feel so bloated! My family must think I'm such a mardey cow
I'm thinking of taking my Buscopan again to see if that helps, any advice would be really appreciated

[kirzo]

Hey all, I recently had my gall bladder removed after a drama of misdiagnosis with one hospital and ending up in another one! I looked like something out of the simpsons! However, I haven't really had any pains like I was getting before, however, this is kinda embarrassing! I've noticed I'll go to the toilet to pee and it's really intense; like I've been bursting for hours on end, and it's kinda painful. Also after I've been for a pee, 10 mins later I feel like I'm bursting again but there's nothing. I'm going off my head with it. I'm really embarrassed about talking about this to people. It was bad enough being in hospital having people poking about me! Any ideas?

[EvenBetaDad]

kirzo - I had my gall bladder out last year and have had really intense urinary pain as well as significant 'gall bladder type' pains and acid feelings in my stomach. The bladder pain actually started about ten years ago and was diagnosed a few years ago as interstitial cystitis. I am convinced all these symptoms are related to food I eat and acid production in the stomach/bowel.

I take Gaviscon for the stomach pain which seems to work. Recently I started a gluten free lactose free diet and my symptoms are significanty reduced both in the stomach and my bladder, I have lost a lot of excess weight and I feel great.

You may be suffering from interstitial cystitis which does affect women more than men.

It is a very embarrasing condition and almost ruined my life. It was undiagnosed for years and I gave up my career believing the pain in my bladder was due to stress.

I manage now with diet, working from home and also by occasssonally wearing incontinence pants if I need to go to long meetings. I am not incontinent but the feeling of needing to rush to the loo all the time (even though there is almost no urine in the bladder) is very distressing and wearing the pants just gives me confidence and after that I just live with the pain and reduce that as much as I can by diet. Sadly there is no cure.

I wrote extensively on another thread about it to someone who has a DH suffering from a similar bladder problem that his doctors are telling him is stress.

If I starve myself I get no bladder pain at all. I know it is also linked to IBS - which again suggests it is related to food.

[kirzo]

turns out i've picked up a urine infection from my surgery, nothing too serious though :]

[Pheebe]

evenbetadad sorry to butt in but the symptoms you describe sounds very much to me like a condition called overactive bladder, especially the sense of urgency (need to pee).

I'm not a medic but do work in medical communications and have in the past done lots of work in this area. GPs are startlingly ill informed about the condition and often misdiagnose it as stress or urinary tract infections or indeed cystitis.

It is VERY treatable with a daily tablet (antimuscarinic - can't remember drug names off hand but I think ditropan was one, there are a few approved by NICE now).

Anyway, thought you might appreciate the heads up. Might be worth a trip to your GPs. Personally I'd push for a 3-6 month trial anyway (they can take a few weeks to really kick in)

[EvenBetaDad]

Pheebe - you are right that my condition is very similar symptomtically to overactive bladder. For that reason interstitial cystitis is very difficult to diagnose as it is often confused with several bladder other conditions. I have taken ditropan (oxybutinin) and it stopped my bladder working completley - twice. Being emergency catheterised with an extremely full bladder after 6 hours was pretty close to hell on earth.

The problem I have is inflamation in the bladder wall. No one is really sure why it happens - 'a sort of allergy' or 'acid irritation' is the nearest I can get most doctors to go and that is why I think it is related to gut and gall bladder.

Thank you for the suggestion anyway. Very few GPs know much at all about bladder issues except to say 'its stress' or 'may be prostate'.

[Pheebe]

OK, you seem very clued up. Hope you don't think I was sticking my nose in. I hate to think of people suffering especially when something I might have said might have helped.

[EvenBetaDad]

Pheebe - no you were not sticking your nose in at all. It was very nice and thoughtful of you to respond.

Frankly, I think if MN had been around a decade ago I might well have got to an answer quicker with help from the collective knowledge of people like you. I do now feel I know more than most GPs about bladder conditions and really quite horrid tests that go with each of them .

Thank you again.

[lsuann]

Hi - I had my gallbladder removed over 25 years ago: what i would like to know is: is there an alternative for codeine if you are suffering from sever pain>? Tks

[lsuann]

Hi - I had my gallbladder removed over 25 years ago: what i would like to know is: is there an alternative for codeine if you are suffering from sever pain>? Tks

[stressedbutluvem]

Hi Had mine removed June 07 had an attack of pain Nov 5th 07 then weight loss nausea etc.Remember it made me really really down at the time. Had a gastroscopy -lovely! Consultant explained that because the bile now flows freely instead of being controlled there is a lot of it about and it can reflux back up the common bile duct and cause inflammation I also had gastritis from the bile. He prescribed a very old drug called antepsin which basically coats the lining not nicest med in the world but definately worked. Gp's would probably look at you sidewards if you mentioned it these days but I still get it prescribed. There are probably others that the do the same thing it is just aobut protecting the lining. I would still have a cholecystectomy if I had gall stones now.I wouldnt wnat to go back to gall stone pain again and this has been sortable and now very very rare and only very mild. good luck everyone

[Buba2000]

Hi everyone,

I am new here. I had my gallbladdr removed in March 2003, after years of suffering. Since then I have had pain on and off, sometimes mild sometimes really severe, worse than giving birth and I did'nt think anything could be worse than that. I have been back and forth to GP over the years and the last time I went, he actually asked me if I needed counselling as the pain might be all in my head. To be honest I'm sick of going to see my GP and constently moaning about this bloody pain, its driving me mad. Seem to have it every time I eat now, gets alot worse if I take anything for the pain i.e Gaviscon or Codeine. GP has now given me Lansoprazole, been on it for a few weeks, hasn't really done much. Pain always seems be worse around the time of my period, don't know why. I've had so many test done including a scan a few months ago all came back clear. Don't know what to do anymore just want the pain to go away.