Gallbladder & GERD???

  I am a 40 year old female who for the past 5 months have been experiencing a backflush into my chest and throat. I was vomiting weekly and had numerous tests including endiscopy which only showed a small hietal hernia. Yes they did a biopsy which came back normal. The doctor then put me on Prevacid. It did not work so he put me on Prilosec and Propulsid which also did not work. They then did a nuclear medicine scan which showed my gallbadder was not emptying correctly. 2 weeks ago the gallbladder was taken out lapriscopicly and the systems are better but not gone entirely. I am still being very careful about what I eat but am surprised that the symtoms (symptoms) are not gone.
  Can you please give me any insight about this. It feels like gas building up and when I belch it alleviates the symptoms.
Dear Vickie,
There are several possibilities to explain your ongoing symptoms. It could be that you are still recovering from the operation. Another possibility is that your problem was gastroesophageal reflux, nonulcer dyspepsia or an esophageal or gastric motility disorder and not a gallbladder problem. There are a number of patients who undergo cholecystectomy (gallbladder removal) without evidence of gallstones on ultrasound who feel somewhat better right after surgery only to have their symptoms return several months later. The abnormal gallbladder emptying is a nonspecific finding. Finally, you may have post-cholycystectomy syndrome. In that syndrome patients experience abdominal pain and diarrhea after gallbladder surgery. Some of these symptoms may also occur before surgery. If you are not responding to proton pump inhibitors you may require further testing to exclude some of the disorders mentioned above. I hope you find this information helpful.
This response is being provided for general informational purposes only and should not be considered medical advice or consultation. Always check with your personal physician when you have a question pertaining to your health.
If you would like to be seen at our institution please call  1-800-653-6568, our Referring Physicians' Office and make an appointment to see Dr. Muszkat, one of our experts in Gastroenterology.
HFHSM.D.-ym
*Keywords: postcholycystectomy syndrome, gastroesophageal reflux disease