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Pain still after gallbladder surgery
I had bronchiditis in December real bad. Coughing hard and continuosly for a good month. After getting an antibotic from doctor I was feeling much better, I woke up with a pain in my right side after a week or two of taking antibotic. So bad I couldn't sleep on that side. Coughing or sneezing was very painful. Went to doctor after a few days and they done an ultasound and found sludge in gallbladder so the following week I had surgery to get gallbladder removed. The area where gallbladder was is feeling much better, but pain in right side and towards middle of back is still there, which I may add, is the same pain as I had when I went in to have gallbladder surgery. The only symptoms I had was the pain in right side regarding my gallbladder. I have went back and had tests after tests taken and they can't seem to figure out where the pain is coming from. Right now I am taking Motrin--3 pills 3 times a day. It helps while I am on it, but when it wears off I am back to the pain again. Also, under my breast bone it is very tender and numb. I just had a CT Scan of abdomen, pelvis and chest and they found nothing. I have had urine and blood tests taken with also no results. Urine test the first two times I had done showed a little blood, but they put me on antibotic, which took two rounds for the blood not to show up in urine. The last time I was at doctor's he said he thought I had an inflammation or maybe even pleurisy. I am so tired of fighting this. I have seen three doctor's regarding this and they all say the same thing or just don't know what to tell me. I was wondering if you had any suggestions for me. Also I had a CT Scan to see if I had kidney stones, which showed up that I did not. I spend most of my days laying on heating pad. Please help!
MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL
Hello - thanks for asking your question.
Please understand my limitations over the internet as I have neither met nor examined you. This information is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation.
Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD) may be a possibility. It is suspected in patients who have biliary-type pain without other apparent causes. In this setting, SOD is most commonly recognized in patients who have undergone cholecystectomy (postcholecystectomy syndrome). The diagnosis of SOD is established by SO manometry, which is performed during ERCP - this is something that you may want to discuss with your personal physician.
Another consideration may be dyspepsia, peptic ulcer disease or gastritis. An upper GI series or upper endoscopy to evaluate this may be helpful.
This is also the possibility of chest/abdominal wall pain. Musculoskeletal pain is often insidious and persistent, lasting for hours to weeks. It is frequently sharp and localized to a specific area, but may be diffuse and poorly localized. The pain may be positional or exacerbated by deep breathing, turning, or arm movements. Rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and fibromyalgia can cause these symptoms.
An uncommon cause may be a lower rib pain syndrome. This condition is characterized by pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen, a tender spot on the costal margin, and reproduction of the pain by pressing on the spot. A majority of patients with this condition are women, with a mean age in the mid-40s. The pain persists in 70 percent of patients followed for an average of four years from diagnosis. This should be considered if all other tests are negative. Treatment includes continued analgesics, with occasional cortisone shots if necessary. Rib resection is needed in rare cases.
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.
Please understand my limitations over the internet as I have neither met nor examined you. This information is for patient education only. Please see your personal physician for further evaluation.
Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD) may be a possibility. It is suspected in patients who have biliary-type pain without other apparent causes. In this setting, SOD is most commonly recognized in patients who have undergone cholecystectomy (postcholecystectomy syndrome). The diagnosis of SOD is established by SO manometry, which is performed during ERCP - this is something that you may want to discuss with your personal physician.
Another consideration may be dyspepsia, peptic ulcer disease or gastritis. An upper GI series or upper endoscopy to evaluate this may be helpful.
This is also the possibility of chest/abdominal wall pain. Musculoskeletal pain is often insidious and persistent, lasting for hours to weeks. It is frequently sharp and localized to a specific area, but may be diffuse and poorly localized. The pain may be positional or exacerbated by deep breathing, turning, or arm movements. Rheumatic diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, ankylosing spondylitis, psoriatic arthritis, and fibromyalgia can cause these symptoms.
An uncommon cause may be a lower rib pain syndrome. This condition is characterized by pain in the lower chest or upper abdomen, a tender spot on the costal margin, and reproduction of the pain by pressing on the spot. A majority of patients with this condition are women, with a mean age in the mid-40s. The pain persists in 70 percent of patients followed for an average of four years from diagnosis. This should be considered if all other tests are negative. Treatment includes continued analgesics, with occasional cortisone shots if necessary. Rib resection is needed in rare cases.
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.
I feel your pain! I also had the pain you describe, with no "medical" reason. My opinion, and this is from 1-1/2 yrs of research and trial/error, it's a bile problem caused by the removal of the gallbladder. The gallbladder stores and releases the bile when you eat, and when they remove it, the bile is just continuously "running", so to speak. I suggest you watch your diet. I have become lactose intelorent since the gallbladder came out, so I avoid dairy. Also avoid very high fat foods. Eat 5 or 6 small meals a day, instead of three. I wish you luck. I have managed to get rid of most of the breastbone, right upper quandrant and back pain through following diet.
Sunshine
Sunshine
sludge in the gallbladder is a sort of "gray zone" thing: it may not mean there's anything wrong, but it can. So it may well be that the pain you were having was unrelated to the gallbladder, and that's why it's still there. Your story of lots of coughing prior to the pain raises the possibility of injury to the rib or muscles or cartilage attatched to it. That can take a long time to heal.
Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and suggestions. I thought from the beginning it was pleurisy or that maybe I pulled a muscle or cracked a rib with all my coughing during the time I was sick with Bronchiditis. One morning I just woke up with the pain, which was the end of December. I made myself real clear to all three doctor's that I had Bronchiditis and coughed contiously for a month, but they all just kinda ignored that part saying it was not related to that. So like I said, I had my gallbladder removed and I still have the same pain. I was wondering how long, if it is a muscle pull or injury to rib, it will take before it heals or will I have to go in and have some kind of surgery to repair it? I wore a rib belt for two months that seemed to help a little. What about the numbness and tenderness under breastbone, is that related also? Thank you.
Hi,
I have the same kind of pain you talk about since gallbladder surgery. I use a heating pad daily, and sometimes I take a hot bath to see if that would help. I am having a colonoscopy and endoscopy done on April 7th to see what's going on....
I still can't eat anything spicy or a trace of fat, so it makes you wonder why go through gallbladder surgery if you have to live the same way as before!
I didn't have sludge nor stones, but they based the gallbladder problem on the fact that I could not digest fats, and was in terrible pain with each attack.
Let us know what you find out. I'll do the same
I have the same kind of pain you talk about since gallbladder surgery. I use a heating pad daily, and sometimes I take a hot bath to see if that would help. I am having a colonoscopy and endoscopy done on April 7th to see what's going on....
I still can't eat anything spicy or a trace of fat, so it makes you wonder why go through gallbladder surgery if you have to live the same way as before!
I didn't have sludge nor stones, but they based the gallbladder problem on the fact that I could not digest fats, and was in terrible pain with each attack.
Let us know what you find out. I'll do the same
I had the same post gallbladder surgery pain that you are describing - the same pain that I had before the surgery - upper right quadrant and pain radiating thru to my back. I tried to find the food that was causing it but couldn't narrow it down to anything. I was put on Pepcid for 1 month. It took the entire month for the pain to go away...but it finally did.
For the first 3 weeks of the Pepcid...it didn't matter what I ate...the pain would still come. However, I quit drinking coffee on the 4th week...and that's when my pain subsided. I am now drinking coffee again with no pain. So I'm not sure if the Pepcid "healed" my stomache and not drinking coffee helped that...but it seems to have been a good combination. It's been over 1 month since I have had pain. Good luck!!!
For the first 3 weeks of the Pepcid...it didn't matter what I ate...the pain would still come. However, I quit drinking coffee on the 4th week...and that's when my pain subsided. I am now drinking coffee again with no pain. So I'm not sure if the Pepcid "healed" my stomache and not drinking coffee helped that...but it seems to have been a good combination. It's been over 1 month since I have had pain. Good luck!!!
I am a 48 y/o female...had a choli via scope end of Feb.'03...at my post op appt. I was still having similar pain, so was refered to GI specialist, who did an ERCP anticipating a stone in the sphincter of Odi. When he dilated the sphincter, it was so painful I woke in the middle of the procedure! Freaked all of us out, but they got me back to sleep finally, and did a sphincterotomy. This recovery was more painful than the first. Now, 4 weeks post s-otomy, I feel okay as long as I don't eat ANYTHING. Doesn't seem to matter what or how much I eat, the pain is relentless right-upper-quadrant. I am on an antispasmotic, which doesn't seem to do much, but I am not willing to see what happens if I stop taking it. I take it four times a day...30 min. ac plus one before bed. Nobody wants to talk about what may have happened when that tube was down my throat and I was thrashing and wretching around before they finally got me back to sleep, as it was a "new young doctor" who did the procedure, on a Sat. by himself with two nurses assisting. My question is, "how long is reasonable to experience this pinching pain after these two surgeries" and "is there anything to take to keep it from hurting so much, that is not addictive." I keep getting the brush off when I talk about the pain. Should I get a 2nd opinion? By the end of the day, I look 7 months pregnant, and it is to the point that I dread eating anything, and that's fine with me. It is not worth the pain anymore. I am usually a happy, healthy active woman and this is getting really old. I appreciate any input. Reading some of this information is really discouraging. Thanks.
I am having similar problems....
I had my gallbladder removed via laposcopic surgery in August of 2001, this being my only health problem ever. I am 23 years old and of normal weight and good health overall, but got stones from the birth control pill!
Anyway, after a slow recovery (not too slow, but seemed forever), I found that after 3-6 mo later I was getting terrible stomach aches again. Gastritis, the doc told me, and I went on Axid which helped a lot. Now, after being off Axid a while, at least 6 mo. I find pain in my gall bladder spot, tender, as it felt when it was first healing post-op, and last weekend I had violent vomiting in the middle of the night and morning for NO REASON! I had eaten only a few crackers! What is going on? I am afraid now I have something else!!!! Anyone know what this could be?? Also, there was a tiny bit of mucousy blood in my vomit.... like the kind you see on the tissue when you blow your nose during a dry winter.
I had my gallbladder removed via laposcopic surgery in August of 2001, this being my only health problem ever. I am 23 years old and of normal weight and good health overall, but got stones from the birth control pill!
Anyway, after a slow recovery (not too slow, but seemed forever), I found that after 3-6 mo later I was getting terrible stomach aches again. Gastritis, the doc told me, and I went on Axid which helped a lot. Now, after being off Axid a while, at least 6 mo. I find pain in my gall bladder spot, tender, as it felt when it was first healing post-op, and last weekend I had violent vomiting in the middle of the night and morning for NO REASON! I had eaten only a few crackers! What is going on? I am afraid now I have something else!!!! Anyone know what this could be?? Also, there was a tiny bit of mucousy blood in my vomit.... like the kind you see on the tissue when you blow your nose during a dry winter.
leslie48, I read your note from April 9,03 and I hope you are still following this. I have been having pain for 3 months in mid to right upper abdomen. I feel fine until I eat. It doesn't matter what or how much I am, I am in agony. My stomach looks like I am 6 months pregnant after I eat. I have had an endoscopy, CT, Ultrasound,Gallbladder scan, Upper GI. All were normal. I have been set up twice for surgery (first for gallbladder, second for bowel obstruction)and they canceled both. I have lost 17lbs in 3 months and I am at my wits end!!!I am a healthy 33year old woman. They have decided that my stomach motility is slow and it does not empty fast enough therefore I have so much pain and discomfort. They gave me Zelnorm (which is for irritable bowel syndrome-which I don't have)and this will speed up my GI tract. I will be starting it in the morning and I will let you know if it works. I am a nurse and I am extremely frustrated with how this whole thing has progressed. I am glad that I did not have my gallbladder out after reading all of these notes.
personally, I think doctors are much too quick to remove a gallbladder. Alot of docs don't take the time and patience to run proper tests and to rule out ALL possibilities of other problems before having gallbladder surgery. Therefore alot of people end up with additional problems after having surgery. It's a shameful cycle. I know first hand of pain and misery after having my gallbladder out 5 years ago. The pain I had before the surgery was nothing like what I suffer with now. The only advise I can usually give is to go to as many doctocs as it takes until you come across a doc who LISTENS to their patience, and takes time to really want to help you. Also, it is very important to gather ALL
sorry my cat stepped on the keyboard!
Gather ALL your medical tests and notes from all hospital stays and doctor visits. This is what I chose to do about 3 years ago and finally pieced together important documentation to lead me to a diagnoses. I also traveled out of state to a dr. and hit the jackpot.(so to speak) He listened to my "story" and read thru my medical records and spent about an hour with me on the first visit! Wow, no dr. ever did that before. Just wanted to say that getting all of my records, I was able to study them and have proof when I went to a dr. and I also learned alot too.
Good Luck
Gather ALL your medical tests and notes from all hospital stays and doctor visits. This is what I chose to do about 3 years ago and finally pieced together important documentation to lead me to a diagnoses. I also traveled out of state to a dr. and hit the jackpot.(so to speak) He listened to my "story" and read thru my medical records and spent about an hour with me on the first visit! Wow, no dr. ever did that before. Just wanted to say that getting all of my records, I was able to study them and have proof when I went to a dr. and I also learned alot too.
Good Luck
Hi I to have had my gallbladder removed and that was'nt what was causing my problem. I have severe pain in the upper middle of stomach and I've been to 8 different Drs and no one can seem to have an anwser to where the pain is coming from. I've had every test possible and most of them 3 to 4 times and still no anwser to where the pain is coming from. I've had this for 2 and half years now and lived on pain pills. I've been in the emergency room countless times and they would give me shots of demerol and send me home. Just 5 days ago I had to go to emergency room because the pain was so severe I could not take it and the E.R. Dr. did blood work on me and said I had Pancreatitis. This is the first time in 2 1/2 years I've heard the word Pancreas. They say it's a possiability that this has been my problem all along. I will find out more in a couple of days when I go for my MRI. 6/10/03
Glad to hear that someone finally figured something out for you. The sphincter of oddi muscle that allows exit of bile and pancreatic juices, sometimes clams shut and causes severe pain. I know, as I have experienced it on and off for 5 years. My pain has always lead to elevated liver enzymes (the bile duct side) or you can have pain from pancreatitis (the pancreatic side). Ususally one or both ducts get back-filled with juices and cause horrific pain. Yes, a couple of shots of demoral usually help me until the attack calms down. Seek out an excellent gastro. specialist that deals with bileduct/pancreatic diseases. There are some minor surgeries that may help. I had a biliary sphincterotomy done in Feb. and it has calmed my attacks down alot. They only come about every 3 weeks or so and the pain only lasts 1-2 hours. A big difference from before the surgery. Some lucky individuals get complete relief from these procedures as well. Good Luck.
I am so glad I found this site. I had my GAllbladder remoce June 2001 as I had pain for over three years and they said I had sludge in it, so they removed it. For the las two years I have had the worst pain in my Gallbladder area where I HAVE TO CALL 911 AS i BREAK OUT INA SWEAT, TURN WHITE AND DOUBLE UP IN A BALL. iT COME,S IN WAVE LASTING LIKE 5 MINTUES, THEN GOING AWAY FOR 10 THEN COMING BACK. i AM GETTING THIA EVERY FEW
I am so glad I found this site. I had my GAllbladder remoce June 2001 as I had pain for over three years and they said I had sludge in it, so they removed it. For the las two years I have had the worst pain in my Gallbladder area where I HAVE TO CALL 911 AS i BREAK OUT INA SWEAT, TURN WHITE AND DOUBLE UP IN A BALL. iT COME,S IN WAVE LASTING LIKE 5 MINTUES, THEN GOING AWAY FOR 10 THEN COMING BACK. i AM GETTING THIA EVERY FEW
I am so glad I found this site. I had my GAllbladder remoce June 2001 as I had pain for over three years and they said I had sludge in it, so they removed it. For the las two years I have had the worst pain in my Gallbladder area where I HAVE TO CALL 911 AS i BREAK OUT INA SWEAT, TURN WHITE AND DOUBLE UP IN A BALL. iT COME,S IN WAVE LASTING LIKE 5 MINTUES, THEN GOING AWAY FOR 10 THEN COMING BACK. i AM GETTING THIA EVERY FEW
I am so glad I found this site. I had my GAllbladder remoce June 2001 as I had pain for over three years and they said I had sludge in it, so they removed it. For the las two years I have had the worst pain in my Gallbladder area where I HAVE TO CALL 911 AS i BREAK OUT INA SWEAT, TURN WHITE AND DOUBLE UP IN A BALL. iT COME,S IN WAVE LASTING LIKE 5 MINTUES, THEN GOING AWAY FOR 10 THEN COMING BACK. i AM GETTING THIA EVERY FEW
I am so glad I found this site. I had my GAllbladder remoce June 2001 as I had pain for over three years and they said I had sludge in it, so they removed it. For the las two years I have had the worst pain in my Gallbladder area where I HAVE TO CALL 911 AS i BREAK OUT INA SWEAT, TURN WHITE AND DOUBLE UP IN A BALL. iT COME,S IN WAVE LASTING LIKE 5 MINTUES, THEN GOING AWAY FOR 10 THEN COMING BACK. i AM GETTING THIA EVERY FEW
I am so glad I found this site. I had my GAllbladder remoce June 2001 as I had pain for over three years and they said I had sludge in it, so they removed it. For the las two years I have had the worst pain in my Gallbladder area where I HAVE TO CALL 911 AS i BREAK OUT INA SWEAT, TURN WHITE AND DOUBLE UP IN A BALL. iT COME,S IN WAVE LASTING LIKE 5 MINTUES, THEN GOING AWAY FOR 10 THEN COMING BACK. i AM GETTING THIA EVERY FEW
I am so glad I found this site. I had my GAllbladder remoce June 2001 as I had pain for over three years and they said I had sludge in it, so they removed it. For the las two years I have had the worst pain in my Gallbladder area where I HAVE TO CALL 911 AS i BREAK OUT INA SWEAT, TURN WHITE AND DOUBLE UP IN A BALL. iT COME,S IN WAVE LASTING LIKE 5 MINTUES, THEN GOING AWAY FOR 10 THEN COMING BACK. i AM GETTING THIA EVERY FEW
I am so glad I found this site. I had my GAllbladder remoce June 2001 as I had pain for over three years and they said I had sludge in it, so they removed it. For the las two years I have had the worst pain in my Gallbladder area where I HAVE TO CALL 911 AS i BREAK OUT INA SWEAT, TURN WHITE AND DOUBLE UP IN A BALL. iT COME,S IN WAVE LASTING LIKE 5 MINTUES, THEN GOING AWAY FOR 10 THEN COMING BACK. i AM GETTING THIA EVERY FEW
I am so glad I found this site. I had my GAllbladder remoce June 2001 as I had pain for over three years and they said I had sludge in it, so they removed it. For the las two years I have had the worst pain in my Gallbladder area where I HAVE TO CALL 911 AS i BREAK OUT INA SWEAT, TURN WHITE AND DOUBLE UP IN A BALL. iT COME,S IN WAVE LASTING LIKE 5 MINTUES, THEN GOING AWAY FOR 10 THEN COMING BACK. i AM GETTING THIA EVERY FEW
I am so glad I found this site. I had my GAllbladder remoce June 2001 as I had pain for over three years and they said I had sludge in it, so they removed it. For the las two years I have had the worst pain in my Gallbladder area where I HAVE TO CALL 911 AS i BREAK OUT INA SWEAT, TURN WHITE AND DOUBLE UP IN A BALL. iT COME,S IN WAVE LASTING LIKE 5 MINTUES, THEN GOING AWAY FOR 10 THEN COMING BACK. i AM GETTING THIA EVERY FEW
I am so glad I found this site. I had my GAllbladder remoce June 2001 as I had pain for over three years and they said I had sludge in it, so they removed it. For the las two years I have had the worst pain in my Gallbladder area where I HAVE TO CALL 911 AS i BREAK OUT INA SWEAT, TURN WHITE AND DOUBLE UP IN A BALL. iT COME,S IN WAVE LASTING LIKE 5 MINTUES, THEN GOING AWAY FOR 10 THEN COMING BACK. i AM GETTING THIA EVERY FEW
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