Gallbladder question

[Mom2four85]

What can cause the gallbladder to spasm or not contract fully?  My dr doesn't think I have gallstones but what's been happening he thinks is some sort of spams. He said it's enlarged.

This has happened 6 or 7 times in the past year....in the middle upper abdomen right below the sternum, I've gotten this sharp level 10 pain that normally lasts 5-7 minutes that is so excruiciating I drop to my knees then have to bend over my bed on the hard edge of the foot to stop the pain to put enough pressure on it....once it last an hour, then it goes away. There is no rhyme or reason or pattern it just comes and goes.

I had heart surgery in 2009 and since then I've had non stop nausea that they treated with Zantac, Prevacid etc but anything I've tried quits working after awhile so my new dr put me on Dexilant which has helped greatly, until a week ago when I started taking vitamins - nausea returned full force even with it so I stopped the vitamins.

Could this pain right below the sternum be gallbladder pain?

[Mom2four85]

Thanks for answering, did you have spasms or enlarged GB or any other symptoms that showed yours wasn't functioning?

I can't have any kind because of the possibility it played a part in my sudden cardiac arrest 3 times during my EP study. I had twilight sedation with Versed when I had that done in 2009 and no known cause has been found for my malignant arrhythmia's that stop my heart, so my cardiologist/EP say no surgery.  The GI said no sedation also after going through my files from my cardio, which I know makes it difficult to do some things.  

I'll have to ask when I get to the stage if the GB has to be removed...don't know if I can go through with it though - even if they agree :(

I'm hoping this is just an ulcer or infection causing the problems but he didn't think so, still going to test for those things though.  I read about the HIDA scan - good thing he's got a plan set in advance of what to do because my old dr told me to quit eating fatty foods back in 2004 when this first started with bouts of nausea, vomiting and diaherrhea and I would be fine.. he never did blood tests or anything - even though  all my blood work and levels have always been fine.

[geminigirl1963]

Definitely get the HIDA scan done - it is really one of the best, non-invasive tests to check your gall bladder.  It will not only show if there are stones or sludge, but it will also give them the ejection fraction, which tells them how well your gall bladder is working (or not working).  You can have gall bladder issues without having stones - I did.  I had my gall bladder removed in 1999 due to it not functioning, but I had no stones.

As far as the endoscope goes, it also is a good thing to have - they don't have to put you out "completely" as in general anesthesia - they can and most often do, use what they call "twilight sedation" - you won't remember anything (so in that respect you may feel like you were completely out), but you really are partially awake and are able to follow commands from the doc as far as swallowing, etc.

Is there a particiular reason you don't want/can't have anesthesia - is it because of your heart surgery?  Can you not have ANY kind of anesthesia?  I'm not sure, but it may also be possible for them to give you, if you can't have any other kind of anesthesia, somethign like Valium that you could take like an hour or two before the procedure that would not "knock you out", but would help relax you well enough that your HR wouldn't increase during the procedure.

Best of luck and please let me know how you make out.

[Mom2four85]

I forgot to add - he wanted to do a Endoscopy but I won't have it done since they put me under and he won't do it w/o anathesia [sp] because it will cause my HR to go up and I have malignant heart arrhythmia's and an ICD so he said we can't risk that.

he is doing blood work, u/s and some other things and did mention a HIDA scan in a month if none of these tests showed anything