Gallbladder Dysmotility

For the last month I have been having severe pain in the right upper quadrant of my abdomen. When I finally went to the doctor he had me run ever test in the books. I had blood work, UA, HIDA test, ultrasound, and an endoscopy. Originally the doctor thought I might have an ulcer so I took medication for that. When that didn't work and I had the HIDA scan done, it showed that my gallbladder was not contracting like it should be. My doctor then told me that he wanted me to have an endoscopy to make sure it wasn't an ulcer...it wasn't. He then instructed me to get surgery to get my gallbladder removed with little reason why or what was going wrong other than "you have a lazy gallbladder and it needs to come out". Through the internet and the results from all my tests that I had faxed to me. I have Gallbladder Dysmotility. Unfortunately, I have not been able to find anything on why this has happened to me, and what all of my options are. Being that I am living in a small town,  it is hard to get in touch with my doctor as he is in high demand. So I guess my question is just that, what causes this and what are all of my treatment opions?

[Banned1]

Hi there:

I'm so sorry you are suffering.  I'm not a doctor and I don't know much about medicine.  I don't think anyone knows exactly what causes the ejection fraction to decrease and the gallbladder to fail.  I've read different causes on different sites, so it may be as individual as the person.  The most commonly-referenced cause I've found is microscopic stones and sludge in the common bile duct, which clog up the works and lead to poor motility.  Here are some gallstone references that might help you to answer your questions about the cause/effect relationship as well as some treatment options.  Happy reading and I sincerely hope you get well soon!

All the best,

Sam

Digestion and GI Health – Your Gallbladder – http://www.womentowomen.com/digestionandgihealth/gallbladderhealth.aspx
Cholecystitis – http://gastroresource.com/GITextbook/en/chapter13/13-2-pr.htm
Gallstone Removal – http://www.surgeryencyclopedia.com/Fi-La/Gallstone-Removal.html
Management of Common Bile Duct Calculi – http://www.surgeons.org/Content/NavigationMenu/WhoWeAre/Regions/QLD/080506_CWon.pdf
Society of American Gastrointestinal and Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) – http://www.sages.org/sagespublication.php?doc=PI11
Functional Gallbladder and Sphincter of Oddi Disorders – http://www.romecriteria.org/pdfs/p1498FuncGallbladderandSOD.pdf
MERCK – Gallstones – http://www.merck.com/mmhe/sec10/ch140/ch140b.html
Gallstones and Gallbladder Disease – http://adam.about.com/reports/Gallstones-and-gallbladder-disease.htm#adamHeading_4
GALLSTONES (Cholelithiasis) – http://www.rxmed.com/b.main/b1.illness/b1.1.illnesses/GALLSTONES%20(CHOLELITHIASIS).htm
Cedars-Sinai – Gallstones – http://www.csmc.edu/5344.html
National Digestive Diseases Information Clearinghouse (NDDIC) – Gallstones – http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/gallstones/index.htm
Gallbladder Attack – http://www.gallbladderattack.com/gallbladdersurgery.shtml
Pathology Outlines – Gallbladder – http://www.pathologyoutlines.com/gallbladderpf.html
Diseases of the Gallbladder and Bile Ducts – http://rezidentiat.3x.ro/eng/litbiliaraeng.htm

[Calley1025]

That is what is going on with me. My gallbladder is only running on 16% with no gallstones or anything. They think it COULD be an ulcer or acid reflex im 20 yrs old with no insurence so ive been passed around like there is no tomrrow. And my GI doc just keeps giving me acid pills. Im sick of it. I dont want my gallvbladder out unlessit HAS to come out. So i think im going to get an endo scopy to or w/e but yeah there really is no Answer to why its not contracting right... Do you drink alot??

[betty_on_a_journey]

You are wasting your time with an endoscopy at this time if you already know you have poor gall bladder function. Get it out! The only side-effects I had were avoiding fatty or too spicy foods. Your liver still provides bile but you just won't have the "regulator". You will feel so much better because right now the gall bladder is pumping toxins when it does work. Why do you want to keep a "defective" part that cannot be "fixed"? If you keep having problems after the surgery, then pursue an endoscopy.  Look on-line to find out more about gall bladder surgery - the time span for recovery is only a few days because of up-dated surgical techniques.  Good luck!