Gall bladder wall thickening, 8% on Hida, chest pain

[softballmasher]

A little history, about 3 weeks ago, after playing softball all weekend, I woke up after sleeping a few hours with a bloated feeling in the upper middle of my stomach with a pressure under my chest.  I also had a tough time catching my breath and then heart began to race.  It seemed to go away but a couple days later, I was exercising and got the same bloated feeling and became extremely fatigued!!!  Went to emergency room and EKG came back good, blood work was good also.  Blood pressure was alittle high, 140/89, but Doc said it was ok.  Went and had HIDA scan per my gastro doctor and he said walls were thickening and only had 8% output, sonogram on gut came back good.  Gastro Doc sent me to a surgeon and he said to get a stress test done first and then check back with him.  My stress test came back ok.  My wife had similar symptoms when her gallbladder went bad but surgeon seems to think it may be another problem.  Only thing is, all test are coming back good EXCEPT gallbladder issues.  Im just really frustrated and want to feel better.  I am a 40 year old male, do not smoke or drink and lift weights/workout regularly.  Ive been unable to do any physical exercise do to the shortness of breath and fatigued feeling, also with a bloated stomach.  Any help would be sincerely appreciated!!! THANKS AGAIN!

[Christopher R Watters, MD]

Even though the incisins are tiny it is still a major operation. There is a whole body response to the "trauma" which is evident in a complete lack of energy that lasts from one to three weeks. Although the incisional pain is minimal there is still a functional recovery. The GI tract doesn't work right for a week or two and some gassy bloating is the norm until it does. With this said, a laparoscopic cholecystectomy is about the most gentle introduction to intraabdominal surgery that we have. Hope all continues to go well.

[softballmasher]

Had my gall bladder taken out Friday.  Felt ok Saturday but Sunday-Tuesday had 0 energy.  Could barely walk around. I had felt better the last two days.  Hope this fixes everything!!!  Ready to get back to being healthy!!!!

[Christopher R Watters, MD]

Good luck! I have family in Pensacola.

[softballmasher]

I live in Pensacola Fl.  I went to see him today and he has decided to pull it out tomorrow.  THANK GOD!!!  Ive been feeling pretty fatigued and almost a light headed feeling.  Cant wait for it to come out!!! Thanks for all your help!!!

[Christopher R Watters, MD]

When I was in medical school I was taught that 98% of folks with gallbladder disease had gallstones. The 2% that didn't were typically sick from something else and then developed acutely inflammed gallbladders from blood supply issues. Over the past 25 years we have developed the ability to detect gallbladders that don't functional correctly and can cause disabling pain. Today, approximately 20% of the patients undergoing gallbladder have non-stone disease. That means approximately 150,000 a year in the US. Hard to imagine any surgeon denying the problem. There are numerous articles in the literature from all over the world describing the evaluation and treatment of these patients. Where do you live?

[softballmasher]

I am going to talk to the surgeon this week again.  For some reason if your gallbladder doesnt have stones, they think it cant cause problems.  All I know is after all my tests, my gallbladder is the only thing that has come back with a problem.  Heck my stress test took them turning the treadmill up 5 times to get my heart rate up.  I hope this time he will take it out. This shortness of breath and not being able to exercise is getting really old!!

[Christopher R Watters, MD]

Time for me to make a little housecall. How are you doing and have you seen another surgeon?

[softballmasher]

Thank you very much.  Makes me feel a lot better hearing it from a professional.  Thanks again!!!

[Christopher R Watters, MD]

Find a competent surgeon. Your history is screaming gallbladder disease and pretty much everything else has been ruled out. Although ejection fractions below 35% are generally considered abnormal, the majority of patients that have gallbladder dyskinesia as a reason for cholecystectomy have ejection fractions at or below 20%. The group of patients with results below 10% are few and far between. Studies done on all comers below 35% show a 90% rate of symptom resolution with surgery. If you have to talk a physician into doing something that you clearly meet the criteria for it may be time to see someone else.