For the past year I have periods of nausea (without vomiting),
feeling sick to my stomach, no appetite, malaise,
and a tendency toward diarrhea (never constipation).
The symptoms do not seem to be associated with eating and I have
no digestion problems. They often last only half a day and
occasionally have gone away for a week or so. On September 15, I had my gall bladder removed. The pathology
report showed a 1.3 cm stone and signs of chronic inflammation
and infection. For six days after surgery I had no symptoms and
thought that had solved my problem although, as previously
mentioned,I had had remissions before. But now the symptoms
are back again. I have no doubt the gall bladder needed to come
out. But it looks like that was only part of the problem.
I have a mild ache in my left side several inches below the
bottom of my rib cage. It has been there there all along but
seems to be getting more pronounced. I usually feel worst in
the morning and go back to bed and may feel better or even
normal later in the day. I had a physical on September 2 and the blood work, hemoccult,
everything was normal. I have had an upper and lower abdominal
CAT scan which was negative except for some diverticula in the
sigmoid colon which no one seems to think is a problem. The gall
bladder surgeon said he saw some evidence of adhesions in my
intestines but did not look into it in detail. I am 60 and have
had no previous abdominal surgery. I have another appointment
with the gastroenterologist in a couple of weeks but would
appreciate any ideas or clues as to what the problem might be
and/or what test to have next. Thank you. Ron _____
Dear Ron,
I agree with Mary that gastroparesis ( impaired gastric emptying) must be excluded as a cause for your symptoms. A radioisotope gastric emptying study is an easy and convenient way to make the diagnosis. If you have gastroparesis, therap with a prokinetic drug will be tried. Propulsid, one prokinetic drug, has been associated with cardiac arrythmias in patients who take other medications ( some antibiotics, antidpressants etc) or who have a predisposition to electrolyte abnormalities). The other drug in common use is Reglan. There is a different side effect profile for this medication. This information is presented for educational purposes only. Always consult your personal physician for specific medical questions.
If you wish a second opinion, we would be happy to evalute you in the Division of Gastroenterology at Henry Ford Health System. You can arrange an appoinment with Dr. Fogel, one of our experts in the diagnosis of gastrointestinal disease, by calling our Physician Referral Line at (800)653-6568. HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords: gastroparesis, gall bladder surgery
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