Digestive

I am 55 yrs old and I've been having pain on my upper right hand side of my rib cage and pain goes down to my waist and back.  I've been taking acid reflux meds and also gas.  My gall bladder has been removed, so what could the problem be?  Plus I have embarrassing belching.

[harrald]

Your gallbladder collects yellow bile from your liver and uses the bile to assist with digestion. It appears your upper digestive tract may need to be examined with an endoscope. The Gastroenterologist can look at your esophagus and its sphincter to determine whether the sphincter can allow stomach acid to reflux into your esophagus and burn the lining. This condition is called GERD. If additional problems are seen in your esophagus and stomach, the doctor may need to perform a procedure called Upper Gastrointestinal (GI) Series. You could need a Barium X-ray,  or a fluroscope to watch the Barium move inside your upper GI tract. The endoscope can also tell if you have a hiatal hernia. A hiatal hernia is when a small opening in your diaphragm that separates your chest cavity from your abdominal cavity can cause a portion of your stomach to slip down into the opening causing pressure and pain. For your information, there are 25 digestive disorders, so doctors  have to use various procedures to identify what is causing your pain.

Good luck with your decision.

Harrald