As to symptoms of acid reflux is basically constant heart burn, they say if you take medication for heart burn 3 or more times a week that it could be AR.  The acid usually comes after eating fatty or acidic foods.  It can irritate your throat and cause a chronic cough.

I just recently went through a similar question.  I had been to the ER for severe stomach cramps and was released b/c of hiatal hernia (that can cause acid reflux).  However, when I saw my dr on the Monday after (I was in on a Sat night), she sent me right to the gastro surgeon because my white blood cells were very high.  What I have researched is minor stones do not need to be operated.  However, if they cause an infection or are blocking the gall bladder (what I had, I had a large jelly bean sized stone impacted in teh duct) must be operated imediately because you are at risk of having the gall bladder erupt which is extremely dangerous.

My suggestion is go for the sonogram, endoscope, and also ask about the HIDA scan.  Between the three of these tests you should ahve a clear answer as to what the right course of action is.

3 weeks post surgery, still no stomach pains.. keeping my fingers crossed.

My daughter is 19 and having her gallbladder taken out in 2 weeks. She was sick with stomach aches all through high school, but we calked it up to stress, etc. the finally at the end of her senior year of HS, we went to the doc..she said ulcers..gave her carafate & all kinds of different acid blockers. didn't work..finally a gastroenterologist and and EGD and then an ultrasound. Nothing showed up at all...the doc gave her Bentyl, an anti-spasmodic and it did help some at first. We found out later he wrote down IBS in her chart. (irritable bowel syndrome)..anyway...pain came & went...she went on a diet for IBS (low fat, non dairy, soluable fiber)..search the net for IBS diets..she felt better, ( & since the diet you go on for gallbladder trouble is so similar..we didn't recognize this) so we felt like..well..ok..she can't eat like other people..well then in august she had a typical gallbladder attack. No one will take it seriously when you are 19. One doctor said "is she fat? No? then it isn't her gallbladder"...so..new doctor..more blood work, another EGD & then took a bile sample & checked for crystals.(if they find crystals..it gives them a clue that maybe your body is making small gallstones that just are not showing up on an ultrasound)....all negative. Then she had a HIDA scan. This test finally showed it to be her gallbladder. It was functioning at 32%. (most docs say under 35% is not working)..the GI wasn't convinced..said come back in 4 months. We made an appointment with a surgeon. He wanted her to have a small bowel follow thru to be sure there wasn't something amiss there & ANOTHER HIDA scan..that took another 4 weeks to get in..this time is came back at 8%. she is scheduled for surgery to have it taken out December 27. The surgeon said that when you don't have stones, the outcome is not as good that your pain will be resolved. It's about 60% chance of success. You may have your ultrasound & no stones will be there. I would ask about a HIDA scan.

My prayer on the way for the 2nd HIDA scan was "God..make it crystal clear what we need to do...either make that number high and that means leave the GB in or make it low & taking it out will take care of the problem"..the last thing we wanted was similar results of around 30-35%. The surgeon had said that was "sitting on the fence" & he would leave it up to us.

the problem with reading on the internet is that after you have your problem fixed, you stop reading & posting. If you were to take the posts on this board as being reflective of everyone that has had their gallbladder taken out..it would seem that the majority of people still have trouble. Unfortunately it doesn't cure everyone & those people are still looking for answers.

For her, we think taking it out is best. If it totally stops functioning, she risks infection, pancreatitis and other complications. I don't find anything out there about ways to heal a gallbladder that just plain isn't working. I would worry about a GB flush..major problems if a stone gets stuck in one of the ducts.

Be very careful about advice concerning your gallbladder. My husband had conflicting reports and after being miserable for a long time, just had his out this week. Turns out the gallbladder was so embedded with stones it was ready to burst. It could have killed him. None of the tests showed the severity of the condition. This is nothing to guess about. Be sure you have all the facts and make an informed decision.

You asked if it is really necessary to get your gallbladder removed if you have problems?  No. There are alternatives.
I still have my gallbladder, and it is more then 6 months since I "had" to have it out. I researched the web, and I found that it is possible to get stones out without surgery. BUT, you have to do it alone. NO doctor is allowed to practice that form of medicine. It is called liver flush, or liver cleanse, and is very cheap ($5) and simple method. I did it several times, no pain, no complications, and I am free from stones.  So, I suggest you to make your own research (use some good search engine like google.com  and search on liver flush, health, olive oil ...) After some good research, you will be able to make your own decisions.
There are thousands of pages on liver flush on the web. Good luck!  ... also good web site is liverdoctor.com