weight loss, nausea vomiting bile after gallbladder removal

[mother of four]

hi, i am a 42 old female, i experienced gallbladder attacks in oct.2004, was extremely sick, vomiting, lethargy, the ultrasound showed i had alot of gallstones,(30-40) had it removed by laparscopy, had no problems for 2 weeks, then i experienced nausea 24/7,and then intermittent diarrhea, had a colonoscopy, which was normal, then i had an endoscopy which showed a copius amount of bile in my stomach, was put on welchol and nexium (had some ulcers) did okay for a couple of months, then in june of 2005 i lost 32 lbs in a 3-4 week period, i had no appetite whatsover,severe lethargy,intermittent diarrhea, a feeling of fullness. I  had a cat scan which showed a mass in some fluid down by my rectum. I also had a vaginal ultrasound which showed some debri in my cervix. So the gi doctor told me it was female so i went to a gyn and she wanted to do a total hysterectomy because she thought i had ovarian cancer, the ca125 was neg. my insurance did not cover her so i went to a cancer center and they did a uterine biopsy and she told me my female organs were totally normal. so now i went back to the gi doctor, he did a test that i had to have electrodes on my stomach and i carried a camera on my side,( i cannot remember the test name) came back normal, had a lower gi, normal, was tested for celiac disease, normal, lupus,normal every test that i have had is totally normal, i went to another doctor, she repeated the cat scan, the mass is gone but the radiologist saw another mass in my uterus and he assumed it was a tampon, 100 percent cannot be a tampon because i never wear tampons because they bother me too much! i understand that you are not a gyn but i thought you needed to know everything. i have lost a total of 46 lbs to date , extremely nauseous, which i take phenegran for and it does help, there are days that i have an okay day but 80 percent of my days are terrible, i cannot function, very nauseous and i just want to lay down, i feel better if i lay down, when i vomit its always bile, and lots of it, and it is a wicked wretching, not like a normal puking, and i get very sick, almost disoriented, i feel malaise, i feel like i have the flu 10 x over, i sleep for hours and then this syndrome? goes away and then i can funtion again, i have been so sick for 5 months now, i was fine until i had my gallbladder removed, some stomach pain, but nothing that would double me over , the pain is all over my stomach , sometimes in upper right quadrant, sometimes left side, i want the docter to do a ercp but he said that is not necesary, i was told that sometimes your cystic duct closes and thats when i get sick , feel terrible and then when it reopens i feel better. i sometimes feel bloated, have gas and belching . i went back to the surgeon who removed my gallbladder and he said he found nothing wrong, 3 doctors want to put me on an ani-depressant! please steer me in the right direction, you are my last hope, do i stop looking and give up? thankyou so much

[oatmealEATR]

Well, the last time I posted was 11/08/05 re my gall bladder/weight loss/abdominal pain and since then I've have started the Protonix (since changed to Nexxium) and I haven't had any pain attacks in my upper abdoment area. I thought Protonix/Nexxium were for ulcer/GERD (which I have NEVER been diagnosed as having either of them) yet, it seems to be keeping me free from the pain I was experiencing.

I still eat what I want.Breakfast: oatmeal and toast. No more coca-colas everyday. Lunch: salad or chicken sandwich. I've cut back on eating chocolates. Drinks loads of water. I still don't have regular BMs and I am continuing to lose weight. Down from 145 to 130. I asked my GI if I should take Boost or Ensure to gain, he said I might want to try if I was that concerned about trying to gain weight. Someone suggested protein bars. I don't know why I continue to lose. He took blood last week. Called today to say hemoglobin/iron/red blood cells all low. Want me to come in for more labwork. Maybe they're low due to acid suppressant. I'm 5'9" and 130 looks okay, but I look bony. Will let you know what the doc says. ;>)

[geezithurts]

I had my gallbladder out inoct of 2001.....they romoved it laporscopicallly...hmm spelling isn't my best subject....after that surgery they also tied my tubes....in recovery...blood pressure drops...back to surgery...finds a nicked liver...after liver is fixed....emergency surfery to repair the severed artery in the muscle that the surgeon caused when he put in the scope to fix his first mess up........after surgery i went through several months of watery stool that was mostly stomach bile......then several months of constipation.....mother of three....all natural birth...no medicine.....well short story hurt worse to releive myself than to give birth. severe indigestion......gas....and heartburn has been my fate since....lost lots of wieght on purpose....now i have gained it all back....day before thanksgiving...i started having a peircing pain right below the old style scar i ended up with because of the artery repair(thank you Dr d...a..) at first it was only when i ate. now it is always.....went to er....was told that it was just an annoying pain with unlocated originallity...take ibuproven.....come back if you get fever vomit or severe pain.....it hurts to breath.....i am raising 6 children under the age of 10....the pain goes into my back....and across my abdoman....it interveres with my sleep....was hoping find some idea where to start looking for help.......this surgery only seems to bring on new and unusual pains....if you think of anything let me know

[KarenZ]

Add one more person to this list of unfortunates who have had problems after gallbladder removal.  I am sympathetic to your plight. I still have problems, mostly after the first meal of the day. It used to be after every time I ate. It didn't matter what I ate or what I avoided. I have mild to moderate stomach upset and an urgency to void. Typically my bowel movement is diahrea (never could spell that word!)with lots of bile. Usually I get an immediate headache while I'm still on the toilet. It's as if something chemical is happening to me. I feel like I've been drained of something critical to my wellbeing. Sounds strange I know. It's so interesting how I get a headache immediately after evacuating. Something is causing me to feel like this.  
Over the last couple of weeks,I have been constipated and forcing a bowel movement, but this morining that's all over and it's back to the norm if that's what you want to call it. I think my thyroid needs a boost. I just had bloodwork done so I'll find out if my supplement needs to be adjusted.
By the way my gallbladder was removed in August of 2004. At the same time I had a hiatus hernia repaired. About 5-6 months ago I started to have chest pain just below the sternum. It is a severe tightening as if someone has a vice grip on me. This comes with no rhyme or reason, out of the blue. I can't connect it with anything. I can have an episode today and one tomorrow,, or not for 4 weeks. It's scary because it feels like a heart attack. As a precaution I had a necular cardiac stress test this Wed. and I'll get confirmation soon that it probably isn't cardiac related. That's what the gastro doc and I think. He is going to have me do a esophageal motility study...it might be that the esophagus is spasming. It also seems to be something with me. I'm 52 and really feeling older than my age these days.  
I hope that we all find out what is going on with our health so we can get back to a normal life. whatever that is!!?!!My best to you all. I live in CT by the way.

[mother of four]

hi everyone,
i am hoping this note finds people getting better. I cannot believe how sick people are after having your gallbladder out. I also was unaware of the complications from having your gallbladder out. I have been to so many doctors and they just keep passing me aroung, the gi doc tells me its female related the gyn doc tells me its gi related and i am so lost not sure where to go next. I was in the gyn office yesterday and i did not feel good at all yesterday very very nauseous. I had to wait forever, finally i knew i was going to vomit and sure enough all over the waiting room, i was so embarrassed but so sick i was not sure what to do. finally someone showed me to the bathroom and i puke so much bile it was everywhere. The gyn doc said see i told you it was gi related, so i am back at square one. I did get into to see the cleveland clinic but its not until jan 26, 06. i guess i have been sick for over 6 months whats 2 more months. My prayers go out to each and every one of you, please keep us posted on how all of you are doing. Karin

[jaci321]

hello everyone, this has been a most enlighting read that I have found so far.  let me just start by saying that I am really glad that I was able to find somewhere where i can find out some info.  I came to this site for my dad who has fatty liver and does not know how that outcome is going to be, but then I happened on this one and found it really interesting.  I had my gb removed a week ago.  the first few days of course I felt really bad could not eat then slowly I was able to eat a little on thanksgiving but everytime I do eat I feel sick to my stomach and then I think I dont want to eat no more but then its like now thats all I want to do is eat I have not said any of this to my dr. because I did not think that it was that important, but for anyone out there is this normal after the surgery?  I just hope that everything will go back to normal soon.

[mj21]

Hi Debbie-
I am in Washington State too! Wondering what doctors you have seen here? I had my gallbladder removed in 1997 as I had gallstones and a I also had my spleen removed as I had a tumor on it. I don't have pain, but I have severe acid reflux and a myriad of other problems. I was told last week that it might be the bile coming up. I would love to compare notes on the docs you've been to here. I haven't had much luck with any of the GI's here yet. My e-mail is ***@****.