I have had similar issues. My pain is definately worse after eating fatty foods (a milkshake almost landed me in the emergency room) but the pain radiates in both my left and right back near my shoulder blades. I am scheduled for an ultrasound because the Prilosec that was perscribed does not seem to be helping much. I still get the attacks. I noticed this weekend when I stuck to a diet of chicken and rice the pain was much better. My guess is that the pain radiates differently is different people (like your partner).
Surgeon has kindly addressed your question in his comments below and I agree with his assessment.
Followup with your personal physician is essential.
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.
Thanks,
Kevin, M.D.
Hi there... I'm no doctor but I'm going through some fun with my gall bladder right now. In fact it's coming out on Tuesday. Anyway, there is another test that he can have done that will definitely tell if there is a problem with his gallbladder. Tell his doctor to have a hida scan done. It's a test to see if the gall bladder is diseased. You can have stones and not have any symptoms, and you can have no stones and have a totally useless gall bladder because it's diseased. That was my situation. My ultrasound came back negative for stones... so I had a hida scan done and that showed my gall bladder to be diseased. I wouldn't have his gall bladder removed without doing it...
Like a lot of tests, HIDA scan is useful if it shows something: what it does is show if, at the time of the test, the gallbladder is functioning normally or not. It can be perfectly normal in a person whose symptoms are in fact due to the gallbladder, because in many cases, as soon as the attack is over, the gallbladder tests fine. Likewise, in humans, nothing is 100%. The textbook case of gallbladder pain is on the right. In some, it can be on the left. In fact, lots of gallbladder problems are diagnosed in the coronary care unit, where someone has been admitted with left chest pain to rule out heart attack. In the case of your partner, it's important to be sure it's not the heart. If not, then given stones, episodic pain, relation to fatty foods, it's a pretty good bet it's due to the gallbladder. As to necessity for surgery: the main reason to remove the gallbladder is to relieve symptoms. If the symptoms are under control to the point that your partner would rather not have the surgery, then it's not carved in stone that he must. The other issue is that gallstones can do more than just cause pain: namely, they can cause infections in the gallbladder, or blockage in the bile ducts, or pancreatitis, which can be serious. The majority of people who have gallbladder problems don't have those more serious things, but the ones that do can get pretty sick. It's also true that the majority of people who have their gallbladders removed have minimal if any side effects from having it, and the recovery nowadays is pretty rapid. Unless there are medical reasons to think the risk is elevated, in my opinion when people are having symptoms from their gallstones, they are better off having the surgery. Given the somewhat atypical location of the pain, it would be reasonable to get another opinion if he feels the need; a gastroenterologist would be a good choice. Also, it's necessary to have ruled out heart disease. Assuming there's no other explanation, I'd say it's a case of "it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, has feathers like a duck." I'm thinking it's a duck.
so,did he get treated for h pylori infection??