Can Gall Bladder Disease Affect your Liver & Pancreas?

[CAB007]

I have going to doctors for about 8 years for nausea.  2 years ago I was in the ER 3 nights in a row for severe stomach pain (which I thought was food poisoning) and on the 4th night at home I was vomiting massive amounts of green bile.  After two years of tests and 9 doctors all with different diagnosis (IBS, endometriosis, gas, stress) another GI suggested a HIDA scan.  less than 17% was the reading and I was very nauseous during the test and throughout the remaining day.  Can a damaged or non-functioning gall bladder adversely affect other organs such as your liver and pancreas?  Or can damaged liver or pancreas adversly affect your gall bladder resulting in a low HIDA scan result?  Should tests of the liver and the pancreas be performed prior to considerations of removal of the gall bladder?

[lyontamer]

I am finding your question 12 years later LOL maybe things in medicine have improved in this time. But for the last 5 years I was in and out of clinics and the emergency room with chest pain and stomach pain and GERD and palpitations and panic attacks and acid reflux and gastritis. I did have mild nausea pretty frequently but that was chalked up to perimenopause, and usually eating soda crackers settled my stomach. Well, two weeks ago, I got the flu shot. The next morning after breakfast I was feeling sick. That shot had never made me sick, but I have heard of that happening to people, so I didn't think much of it. I stayed home from class and took care, and by lunch I was feeling better. So I ate lunch and went to work. And then I had a horrible pain in my side and felt sick again. As the afternoon progressed, the pain and nausea got worse. I eventually left work early without permission I was so sick. I went home and tried to get better again but started throwing up instead, and could not stop throwing up all kinds of yellow. So I went to the emergency room. They tried all their usual treatments for gastritis and all the others, but the pain persisted. It was then that an ultrasound was ordered, and at that time, they found the gall stones and infected gall bladder. I was scheduled for surgery immediately. They were able to do the laparoscopy method and the next day I was back on my feet, albeit very gassy. LOL Two weeks later I am back to my active lifestyle and almost back to a normal diet. I have read that if the gall bladder were not removed, it would back up and cause problems to other organs, or burst and cause sepsis the same way an appendix can. I did not experience this, but I do feel a lot better in general than I have for the last five years. All that time my body was trying to tell me something, but stones never showed up, not even in a ct scan they ran to look for bleeding four years ago.

[sillyvixen]

i had non diagnosed gallstones for many years, eventually had food posining (again) but could not pinpoint the cause - had the same thing for lunch as a colleague - but had to leave work as i was vomiting every 10 mins... continued through the night and was still dry heaving 12 hours later when i met my mum the next day she took one look at me and took me home and put me to bed in my old room 24 hour later i was yellow (lfts were off the scale ) i was diagnosed with gallbladder issues - liver problems and pancreatitius - all due to gallstones - yes it happens,by the time the docs took me seriously i was seriously ill. took me 6 months to get op!

[CalGal]

A malfunctioning gallbladder can cause problems for both the liver and the pancreas. Tests definitely have to be done before considering having any surgical procedure. If the gallbladder is not the problem, it should not be touched.