gallstones or something else

[suedaki]

my symptoms started  slowly over the past couple of years.  Sometimes I would get nauseaus for a few days every now and then.  When i had my baby over a year ago, after giving birth i had a weird taste in my mouth and i felt sick for days.  Every week i would have days where i was bed ridden the nausea was so bad.  Then out of the blue i started getting a burning sensation in my throat and a sensation of a lump when swallowing.  I went to see an ent specialist who put the camera down my nose and checked for gerd damage and this was clear.  I was then sent for a barium xray, which came back normal apart from showing a small amount of reflux.  Since then i have had a ph test, 24 hours, which showed no high levels of acid but i had an ultra sound which showed several gallstones, 4-6mm in size.  My typical symptoms include, sharp pains under right rib, pain in right shoulder, severe nausea when anything but a bland diet is eaten.  Heartburn from most foods and all drinks apart from water.  Severe nausea when anything sugary or chocolatey is eaten.  The doctor seems to think the way forward is to have my gallbladder removed, but im just confused if these symptoms would be caused by gallstones.  I am on ppi's to help with stomach burning and if i stop taking these the pain in unbearable.  

[suedaki]

if this was down to stomach ulcer, surely the ppi would treat this and if not, what would be the treatment method.

also, i just tried some rice milk with cereal as normal milk makes my stomach burn and my stomach is still burning slightly, what could be the cause.

[Kevin Pho, MD]

I agree with the workup this far, and indeed, gallstones can uncommonly lead to the symptoms you describe.

Further tests can include an upper endoscopy, which is the most thorough test of the upper digestive tract.  I would discuss this option.

Another consideration would be a HIDA scan with CCK stimulation, which would evaluate the gallbladder ejection fraction.  A low number can lead to persistent nausea.

These options can be discussed with your personal physician.

This answer is not intended as and does not substitute for medical advice - the information presented is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation of your individual case.

Kevin Pho, M.D.

KevinMD.com
Twitter.com/kevinmd