Asking for medical advice either personal experience or maybe psychic impressions

I have been very sick for over two months. After tons of tests the doctors feel it must be my gallbladder. One test showed it was not functioning correctly, and they feel this is causing a lot of the sickness. My problem is some of my symptoms are not normally recognized as gallbladder associated problems.
I have had nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, fever, and extreme weight loss to name a few. I weighed 107 and now only weigh 91lbs. I just wonder if this is really the problem, or if something else is wrong. I am asking any psychic friends out there, or anyone who has had their gallbladder remove to offer me advice. Maybe tell me if you had similar symptoms etc. I am scheduled for surgery next Friday so any advice would be greatly appreciated. This is my first post so I hope I have done everything correctly.

If i have posted this in the wrong area mod please let me know.

It would be highly irresponsible of anyone, even those of us trained in medicine, to offer you any sort of advice over an internet messageboard. Giving such advice requires, at minimum, at physical examination, as well as confirmatory/exploratory lab tests.

Your best bet would be to follow-up with whatever your physicians are telling you. If they aren't giving you a satisfactory, try a new doctor/hospital.

I really would like to hear from others the symptoms they had from having a gallbladder problem. After much research on the net there are lots of symptoms that it can cause if it is not working correctly. I love my doctor, but he also states that 20% of the time even after it has been removed not everyone's symptoms completely go away. So I am not asking for medical advice, I am asking for personal experiences with the surgery and how they felt afterward.

I have already been through two entire days of medical testing. cat scans etc, so that is not something I am questioning or asking advice about.

[edit on 3-6-2010 by tinkytink1207]

If your ejection fraction is low, yes it can cause a lot of discomfort, painful attacks after eating, sometimes as long as 8 - 12 hours later, sometimes just within a few hours. (mine was only 14%)

The first thing to do is avoid the foods that trigger attacks. Mine were eggs, chicken, steak and chocolate.

After my surgery, I had an attack two weeks later, which turned out to be chronic pancreatitis due to the longterm inflammation of the biliary system. This went on for 5 years. Going on the Atkins diet finally helped me, as not eating carbs gave my pancreas a much needed rest.

I got over the chronic pancreatitis, and a post op complication known as billiary dyskenesia, where the entire billiary system remains inflamed for some time.

My advice is to eat whatever foods are gentle to you.

Post op, since the gall bladder stored your bile, you will then have a constant drip through the billiary system and into your instestines. This can cause bathroom troubles because if you produce a lot of bile, it can irritate your skin upon passing. If this happens, you will find Desitin or something of the like to protect the skin comforting.

Pancreatic/gall bladder pain is some of the worst pain a human can endure. The pain will radiate to the center of the back and up to the shoulder. It can even cause difficulty in breathing, because of the movement of the ribs over the area.

It is also not uncommon to have some liver inflammation, hepatomegally, as a result. This may feel like your liver is bulging out from under the ribs.

You can have gall bladder issues and not have stones, cholesterol buildup called sludge, or any of the more common problems. Simply, inflammation, which causes spasms, contractile issues and a decreased ejection fraction can be debilitating. Seeing as they are not doing en emergency surgery, it is safe to say you do not have a blockage.

It can be disconcerting, because the pain is alarming, and you can be convinced you are going to die, it feels like you are. It is also bad enough to convince you that something is much more terribly wrong, and thoughts of cancer may come into your mind.

If they recommend the surgery, I would follow their advice.

As for the symptoms, do what you need to be comfortable until your surgery, and I have given you some post op advice, as well. You will be alright. They also will send the gall bladder to pathology just in case, so you can rest your worries, if they find something, they will tell you.

Usually though, the cause of the inflammation is never found, and later in life you may find you have a type of immune arthritis or something like that, but until then, worrying will only hamper your getting better. Stress causes more acid and bile, so try to relax.

Best of wishes to you, and I hope for your speedy recovery!

reply to post by tinkytink1207


Tinkytink1207.....

VneZonyDostupa is correct.

You cannot obtain meaningful specific medical advice in this manner.

If you are not satisfied with the medical you have received, you should seek a 2nd or even a 3rd opinion, as medical specialists have different levels of knowledge & skill regarding different situations.

Notwithstanding that, it has been my experience that gall bladder oriented problems are not usually too difficult to diagnose or resolve.

Kind regards
Maybe...maybe not

reply to post by tinkytink1207


I can tell you how an attack would hit me, and what I experienced. You may or may not have the same type of symptoms.

My attacks would come on quite suddenly. For instance, I was standing in the doorway to the kitchen, and my husband was making some tea. My knees literally buckled, and within seconds, I was drenched in sweat, so bad it was dripping from my face.

The pain was horrible. I was disconcerted, confused, and all I could do was try to escape the pain. I immediately stripped of my clothes and dropped to me knees. I thought I was dying.

Soon after, I was overcome with violent waves of nausea and diarrhea, both ends going at the same time. After 20-40 minutes of this horrible pain, it would start to ease, and I would feel literally exhausted, and pass out - sleeping for many hours, sometimes as much as 8 hours.

When I awoke, it felt like someone had beaten me with a 2x4. I felt tender in the abdomen and back, from my neck to my groin. I was convinced I had bruising, but looking in the mirror I could see nothing.

Every attack that I had was like this, the oddest part was how the pain was so bad, I was out of my mind, out of sorts. In the hospital, I didn't care who was around, who saw me, or who anything, all I cared about was escaping the pain.

On Christmas Eve I awoke at 2 in the morning having the worst attack ever, and screamed for my husband to call 911. I went by ambulance to the Emergency room and was given Dilaudid for the pain, and Toradol for the inflammation, and something called Bentil, which is an intestinal antispasmodic.

This was when I was finally diagnosed, but it took me another two years to find anyone who would treat me. They were all convinced I had an ulcer, or not enough fiber, because all they were looking for was stones or blockages. It was not until I begged for a Hida Scan with Kinevac that it was finally diagnosed. My gall bladder was literally in a constant state of contraction.

I felt amazing post op, my labs returned to normal for the most part, except I went on to have chronic pancreatitis for 5 years. It was still nowhere near as bad as the gall bladder attacks themselves.

Hope this helps.

2 things I would check is pituitary & celiac.

Sorry you are not feeling well.

I just googled gall bladder symptoms and you seem to have the classic case.

You should feel much better after your surgery.

[edit on 3-6-2010 by dizziedame]

Originally posted by VneZonyDostupa
It would be highly irresponsible of anyone, even those of us trained in medicine, to offer you any sort of advice over an internet messageboard. Giving such advice requires, at minimum, at physical examination, as well as confirmatory/exploratory lab tests.

Your best bet would be to follow-up with whatever your physicians are telling you. If they aren't giving you a satisfactory, try a new doctor/hospital.

It would be silly if he did this instead of getting help from someone properly trained, or if he accepted a diagnosis without getting medical confirmation.

However doctors aren't gods, few of them can think of every possibility, and sometimes a stranger might come up with an idea worth getting checked out.

For years I wondered about my youngest son. I'd taken him to doctors, but they couldn't see what I was talking about. Then a complete stranger pointed her old bony finger at him and said,"that child has Asperger's Syndrome."

I took him to Dr. Philip Graves, the best paediatrician in the world, (in my opinion ) who checked him out and declared him a classic case.


Some doctors can be wonderful, but it doesn't hurt to use your own brains and community knowledge too.

Your cure may be hiding in your garden or your lawn lurking and poking it's yellow head out. As you stare down at it with a gloomy glare, and wanting to hack away at it with a stick.

But before you go crazy. Dandelions help with gallbladder alignments. Look into it. You'll find some neat stuff about the different kind of herbs that are out there that will help you.


www.umm.edu...

******A word of caution do a *Universal Edibility Test first* because people react differently to different things. So it's important to keep it in mind. So please read this first before you eat the dandelions. Although dandelions are generally safe. Avoid dandelions in parks or in your backyards that might have been sprayed with pesticides and/or herbicides.

www.yourdiscovery.com...

Hope you feel better!

[edit on 3-6-2010 by Shrukin89]

reply to post by tinkytink1207


Gall bladder problems usually cause extreme pain, as has been described above, but things manifest in different ways in different people.
If you need a gall bladder removed, I can tell you that having it done myself (by keyhole surgery) caused no problems. I was better in a few days, (able to ride my bicycle again,) and have not had any problems in that area in the years since.

If you're in a position to choose doctors for an operation, ask a good doctor who he would see if he needed that done.

If you continue to lose weight and don't find an answer to that, get a doctor to check you for celiac disease. That's a problem some doctors overlook, and once it's diagnosed you just have to cut out gluten from your diet to stay healthy. So it's no biggie either.

As a nurse and based on my own personal gallbladder nightmare, I will share.

The gallbladder is not as cut and dry as you think. My pain started as ovarian, accompanied with sweats and nausea. This was not consistent at first, the pain was very intermittent. My blood work would fluctuate from the white blood cell count being high to the count being normal. Low grade fever, from time to time and fatigue.

My ultrasounds as well as my Cat Scans were always normal. Over 3 months time my symptoms changed. Extreme epigastric pain. sweating fever of 102. Again ultrasounds and blood work all normal. The pain was so intense they were checking for an aortic aneurysm.

All and all 3 hospitalizations to medicate for severe pain to have doctors comeback and say "There is absolutely nothing going on in your abdomen that would be causing this."

Now it gets interesting. A week following last hospital discharge, I still felt like crap and by now depression had set in. As a nurse I knew something was really wrong. I contacted a friend who also happened to be one of the best docs at Vanderbilt explained situation and was scheduled for an EGD
(Esophagealgastroduodenoscopy) This is the test where you swallow the tube with a camera and they take pictures of esophagus, stomach and small intestine. A procedure I was not looking forward to.

Being unable to work and completely worn out, I needed some time away, so spur of the moment I decided to visit my folks in the rural North Ga. mountains.

I had spent 7 days symptom free, really feeling well, and was planning on driving back to Tn. the next morning. It was around 12:30 AM and I awoke with sudden epigastric pain. I tried to play it down and pretend like it wasn't happening, that I must be imagining this, that was one hell of a sleepless night!

By 7:30 AM I was sicker than I had ever been in my life. Temp. was close to 104, sweating, vomiting pure bright green bile continuously, severe pain that was now directly over both kidneys. I could not walk and i was turning gray!

The closet decent hospital was 45 mins. away. So with my mom's help we took off to see her internist who was excellent but not able to see me. I saw one of her assistants who was completely baffled by my symptoms and ran to get the specialists. This rinky dink hosp. was right next door and they rushed me over for ultrasounds, CT scans, anything they thought pertinent.

The results shocked me my white blood count normal range being 5-10,000
was 27,000! My gallbladder was so infected it was about to rupture! It had some how balled up so tightly that it was hidden behind my liver and had been undetected on ultrasound

But the nurse in me protested I didn't want to have surgery there I needed to go home. At that moment the Dr. got right down in my face and said these words " Hon, you won't make it home you'll be dead in a few hours if we dont get this out NOW!! " It was gangrenous and had already started leaking into my gut!!

So in a hosp. that housed no more than 45 patients, I underwent emergency surgery to have my GB removed. Terrified of where I was, and what was going to be the outcome, I experienced Devine intervention.

My surgeon had spent most of his medical career working in the Mayo clinic in MN. He had grown tired of the hub bub and moved to this tiny mountain town to get away from it all. That man saved my life!

After undergoing the laparoscopic procedure I was discharged the next morning!! never felt better in my life.

I truly feel for you, I know it is frightening and frustrating. The weight loss really concerns me. You need to go ahead and have your gallbladder taken out. This Dr. told me based on Mayo studies, that the gallbladder does not really serve a purpose. Yes, I know it breaks down bile, however I was told to my surprise, it doesn't really do that, that well and it's not needed.

This is the truth from that day I have been able to eat whatever I want does not matter how greasy or fatty, I have never had another problem. Onion Rings are my guilty pleasure, and I can tolerate them better than most!! For the record I don't eat greasy or high fat foods except the rings Occas.

Remember medicine is not an exact science, most diagnosis are determined by Ruling out what it isn't. Unless it is clear cut obvious. Pain is a symptom of a problem, An alarm that lets us know something isn't right. Don't ignore the alarm.

Best to you, I am sorry for my long post, but I can really relate to what you are going through. If you have questions or need anything please feel free to u2u me.

Kindly,
Pax

reply to post by tinkytink1207


Before I had my gallbladder removed I had the same symptoms you mention plus one: severe pain. I felt like I had a stake driven through my abdomen. I was back to work in 2 weeks after the removal. One of the best decisions I've made.

If you're interested in another opinion before surgery, I recommend visiting a Nathuropath. They treat disease with vitamins, minerals and other supplements. They won't talk you out of surgery, just offer their own opinion for treatment.

My thoughts and prayers are with you, and I hope that you recover quickly!

My mom is going through gallbladder issues. She is trying to avoid surgery, so she is exploring the natural route. Her gb isn't so diseased that it required surgery asap.She just went to a nutritionist today. He said, NO fats, no beans, no corn, no milk, no dairy , no wheat/ gluten(Bread, Pasta), no potatoes,no sugar, no fried foods, no eggs, no beef , But she could try a little really cooked soft broccoli.

She needs to eat fish or chicken, banana, tomatoes, sweet potatoes, beets, green beans, lettuce, spinach, a little rice or oats

This is just for a little while to give her gb a rest. This is just what she's going through. She didn't have the exact same symptoms as you, and maybe her conditions isn't as urgent, but i would try to avoid surgery if possible.

Wow...Thanks to everyone for all of their stories and advice. I feel a lot better that so many of you have had the same symptoms.
It seems that the gallbladder can cause such a variety of symptoms that it can be scary. And as one poster stated, I too have worried that I have cancer etc. It really makes you feel so sick.. you feel like you are dying. Since mine is not functioning correctly there seem to be so many varied symptoms. Since I have had fever the doctor would not do the emergency surgery to remove it. I am on antibiotics to clear up infection, and hopefully remove the fever before next Friday's surgery. So it does sounds like the gallbladder is now infected.
Every time I am off the antibiotics the fever etc returns. Again, thanks so much for the stories. Doctors are a great asset, but hearing from others who have had the same problems helps even more!!!

Hey tinky,

just want to reassure you, that the surgery is routine, 5 small incisions will be made on your abdomen, and they will remove it that way.

It is minimal pain, you will not believe how much better you will feel immediately.

Your in my prayers,

Pax

Dear OP, I'm not sure if this information will help, but just throwing it out there, take whatever is useful to you and discard the rest.

I cant give any medical advice, I can only offer my opinion and If I was in the same situation, I would seek a second and third medical opinion. If only one test showed a deficient gall bladder, I would request a second test be performed if possible. Ask about the efficacy of the test, and the frequency of false positives or false negatives. Don't take any information as 'gospel' without questioning it - and you have a right to question everything – it is your health and your body.

Have you come across any information about "liver/gall flushes"?
I'm not sure if these may be helpful in your case, as they can be stressful for the body, but google it and have a read and decide if it is worth looking further into.

I tried a liver flush a few weeks ago and I did notice some good results immediately afterwards for my health, and I intend to repeat the flush in a few weeks.

Also last week I was speaking with a nurse at the clinic that I am seeking some treatment and she told me that she regularly performs liver flushes on herself, and that her husband had recently been diagnosed with gall stones, with his doctors recommending that he have the gall removed. I was surprised when she then told me that he opted to to a couple of liver/gall flushes over surgery. I then searched google for similar cases of people choosing the liver flush over surgery and came across quite a few (www.earthclinic.com... is one source)

While I again stress that I cannot give a medical opinion, and your decision about your health must be your own, I believe the gall bladder is an important organ in the body, with a function that cannot be replaced. Surgery is a final step which cannot be undone, so arm yourself with as much information as you can, and weigh up your options.

Whatever decision to arrive at will be the right one for you to follow.

kind regards

[edit on 5-6-2010 by Davo163]

reply to post by paxnatus

"This is the truth from that day I have been able to eat whatever I want does not matter how greasy or fatty, I have never had another problem. Onion Rings are my guilty pleasure, and I can tolerate them better than most!! For the record I don't eat greasy or high fat foods except the rings Occas. "

Wow now that was a great post. I have a friend who lost their gallbladder due to acute pancreatitis. She cannot eat anything fatty and certain foods are a no no as they give her heartburn. That was her lot which she accepted for several years. It now seems that she has take a Carbon Breath test and now is positive for H. pylori the bacteria that causes ulcers... Who knows ho w long she had this? Maybe the two illnesses were present at the same time?

The Doctor told my mom after the gallbladder is removed, your body will not absorb vitamins well. I don't know if supplements will help with that or not.
Good Luck and I hope you get better fast!