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Gastroenterology  (Expert Forum)
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Why, after gallbladder removal does my sister have an all over itch
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Why, after gallbladder removal does my sister have an all over itch

by Jacquie, May 12, 2002 12:00AM
Why, after gallbladder removal does my sister have an all over itch
Member Comments (7)

by auntfufu, May 12, 2002 12:00AM
I read somewhere that sometimes a real deep itch that doesn't go away can be a sign of excess bile in the blood stream.  Bile gets into the blood stream when it is not relieced correctly from the liver.  Maybe, this could have something to do with your sister.  I don't mean to scare you, but in this same article, it did say that if this condition is not resolved it can cause many other problems including soroisis (sp) of the liver, which is a condition that there in no cure for.  I think that maybe she should have a blood test done to make sure this is not her problem.  I hope this helps.  Good luck.

by Baseball_Mom, May 12, 2002 12:00AM
To: Jacquie
What kind of pain medication is your sister on?  I found that some of the pain medication I've been on after surgery, gallbladder included caused me to itch really bad.  She is probably allergic to what she is taking.  She might want to call the doctor and see.  Take care and best of luck.

by basket lady, May 13, 2002 12:00AM
After gallbladder surgery and living with itching and other symptoms, I was finally referred to a liver specialist.  My problem turned out to be primary biliary cirrhosis from scarring of my bile ducts.  He started me on a medication called Urso for the itching and hopefully it will help.  He said it takes about a week for it to start working.  The specialist said that the bile salts work their way out of the skin and cause the itching.  Unfortunately, this diagnosis is not a good one for me, this usually leads to a liver transplant, but I am at least hopeful that someone has found out what is wrong.

by basket lady, May 13, 2002 12:00AM
After gallbladder surgery and living with itching and other symptoms, I was finally referred to a liver specialist.  My problem turned out to be primary biliary cirrhosis from scarring of my bile ducts.  He started me on a medication called Urso for the itching and hopefully it will help.  He said it takes about a week for it to start working.  The specialist said that the bile salts work their way out of the skin and cause the itching.  Unfortunately, this diagnosis is not a good one for me, this usually leads to a liver transplant, but I am at least hopeful that someone has found out what is wrong.

by Jacquie, May 13, 2002 12:00AM
many thanks for the replies. This gives me some idea on how we should proceed now. Will keep you posted on how we get on.

by Addie, May 14, 2002 12:00AM
After I had my gallbladder removed many many years ago, I also started to itch terribly.  Reading all the posts here and now looking back, I remeber the surgeon telling me that he had a $^^&$%^& of a time getting the proble thru the cystic duct. He may of injured this and resulted in scar tissue.  But, the strange thing is that i only have the severe itching episodes in the month of February and in Ausgust...(6 months apart x 20 years)



I also have Sphincture of Odie problems and cannot take anything with codeine or narcotics as it will send me to the ER room.
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