Gallstones or ?????

[Inger__0]

  I am 47 years old, female and 180lbs. For the past number of months I have been having problems with my upper abdomen.  Discomfort/burning pains between rip cage the middle of my upper abdomen.  At times it is as if I am being pinched from the inside. I feel as if the area around my liver, stomach goes into spasms/bloating.  I sometimes feel a vague pain on my right side, where I believe the Gall Bladder to be.  My BM is OK.  My stool floats and is lightish (coffee with milk.)  This discomfort occurs most day in varying degrees.  I sometimes feel as if I can not swallow and I have to sit up and concentrate for a few minutes.  Also wearing a bra is, at times, a discomfort, because it encircles the area where the bloating feeling is.  My eyes also burn and there is a white coating on my tongue.
  My blood work is ok, except for my cholesterol, which is a little high (220). I had a endosocpy there is a small Hiatal Hernia, the biopsy was normal.  I had an ultra sound and they found 2 large (21cm) and many small gallstones.  My gastroenterlogist said that is was the Gallstones causing the problems, another doctor said it was not, he felt stress was the problem and I better learn to relax.  
  I would get the gallbladder removed, if I were sure this would resolve the problem.  I have tried prevcid and pepcid AC and do not feel they were of any help.  This is making be a bit depressed at times.
  Could gallstones be causing the problem, or is it the Hiatal Hernia.  I have sometimes wondered if it is the never ending under my skin which are some how causing this.
  What additional test should I request?
  What other medication might be helpful?
  Can anti-depressants be of help?
  Can your body create too little acid?
  Could I have a enzymes problem
  I know these are a lot of questions but a operation is a serious decision and I need to have a better understanding of what is going on.    I will be grateful for any guidance you have to offer.
  Would you be able to recommend a good Hospital in NYC??
  Thanking you in advance.
  Inger
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Dear Inger,
IOur archiveas are replete with postings from people who had gasll bladder surgery and were still left with the pauins.  It is sometimes impossible to be certain whether the gall bladder is the cause of the pain.
IF you had typical biliary colic, then it would be easier for your doctors to recommend surgery.  Biliary colic is pain that starts in the right under the ribs approximately 30-60 min after eating.  The pain progressively increases over 45-60 min and then gradually subsides.  Cholecystitis or cholangitis are more severe pians that cause the patient to seek immediate care and are also indications for surgery.  In the absence of these classical pains, one can not be certain if rremoving the gall bladder will relieve your pain.
A CCK-HIDA scan will assess gall bladder emptying and indicate normal function.  Although abnormal emptying often indicates that the gall bladder is the cause of the pains, sometimes gall bladders are removed and the poains persist.
If your problem is gall bladder related, then the only treament is to remove the gall baldder.
This information is presented for educational purposes only.  Ask specific questions to your personal physician.
HFHSM.D.-rf
*keywords: gall bladder surgery, biliary colic, gall stones
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