Pain/soreness continues a week after HIDA scan

[fantabulous]

My 13-year old daughter had a HIDA scan 6 days ago because she has been suffering from chronic nausea for 6 weeks and had some minor tenderness over her gallbladder.  She had the usual nausea and pain during the HIDA scan at 8 am, but it went away before we left the hospital.  She was fine for the rest of the day, but around 2pm when she started moving around, she began to have cramping pain.  That faded, but she continues to have what she says feels like muscle soreness, which moves around in her abdomen, every day.  It goes up and down in intensity, but has not disappeared. She says that on a scale of 1-10, the pain fluctuates between a 1 and 4-5. It's not enough that either of us wants to go to the hospital, but I am very concerned.

The nuclear med people who did the test say that they have never heard of this happening.  The doctor's office is too busy to get back to me with an answer despite repeated calls.  

I want to know if anyone else has ever experienced this continued pain/soreness following a HIDA scan.  I'm starting to worry that the CCK injection has somehow damaged her organs or that she is having some kind of reaction to it.  I would bet money that the doctor won't know what's going on either.

Note:  her HIDA scan took barely an hour, which would indicate that everyting was normal.  Also the tech said that "it looked good to him," but of course he's not supposed to tell the patient anything.  

She had NO PAIN, aside from occasional heartburn prior to the HIDA scan (and the CCK injection).

I'm really worried about my daughter.  

[fantabulous]

Well, the doctor's office FINALLY called me last night to report that my daughter's ejection fraction is 31%, which means her gallbladder is not functioning properly, which is why she has had the constant pain since the HIDA scan.  Doc says she needs to have the gallbladder out.   My 13-year-old!!!  Now I'm really in a quandary.  The doc told me that 35% is the low-normal range for an ejection fraction, so I have to wonder if her result is within the margin of error.  I've read so much online about people who have their gallbladders out and who still continue to have nausea, pain, etc.  According to several sources, 75% of people get partial or total lasting relief from removal, but that leaves 25% who don't.  And "partial" relief is not what we're after here!!

Daughter has an endocopic exam tomorrow.  I think that it will reveal bad reflux, in addition to the gallbladder problem, so we're going to wait and see what's what after that.  

[Kevin Pho, MD]

I am not aware of a HIDA scan having this kind of prolonged symptom.  It is possible that there may be temporary discomfort from the administration of CCK.

If the symptoms continue, I would investigate the cause with further tests.  These can include an abdominal CT scan as well as an upper endoscopy or upper GI series to evaluate for GERD or inflammation of the upper digestive tract, which can cause the nausea.

These options can be discussed with your GI 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

[lalaland2686]

I actually just had a HIDA scan this morning and I can tell you that my belly hurts as well.  Granted my belly has been hurting and that is why I had the scan.  However I would that my nausea and pain increased after the test.  My tech did say that this can happen.  Becaus the send drug that they administer causes your galbladder to contract.  He said that people do frequently feel pain or nausea for this.  My pain also seems to be quite a bit worse than normal, my double dose of Levsin didn't even knock it all the way out.