Life after a cholecystectomy

[Garrysgal]

On December 1, 2008 I had my gallbladder removed with a gallstone the size of a golf ball.  A few weeks later, I was readmitted in the hospital for 5 days with crushing right upper quadrant pain, actually worse than before having the gallbladder surgery.  I had several test done.  The only thing they found was gastritis and slow gastric empty and increased lipase.  I have been tried on different medications.  As of today, I deal with diarrhea (sometimes 8 times a day), nausea, sometimes vomiting, right upper quadrant pain within seconds of even drinking a glass of water.  I have had a low-grade fever on and off now for months.  An hour after eating a meal sometimes my fever is 100.8 (the highest just yesterday).  Sometimes I have bouts of constipation (usually 2 days a week), where I feel bloated.  Sometime I pass food that I had a week earlier and not to be gross, but that is worrisome.  I have had several family visits and a few ER visits where I had pain that would not let up for days.  I am hoping they send me on to a gastroenterologist soon.  My family doc said that sometimes it takes awhile to adjust after having your gallbladder out.  Right now, I am on Bentyl and Protonix.  What could be going on.  The only thing that hasn't been done yet is a colonoscopy.  Has anyone else had problems like this.  I have been miserable for months and to be honest, the golf ball gallstone wasn't as bothersome as this, now I cannot even enjoy a dinner outside of home because I better find a bathroom within an hour or I am in trouble.  I am afraid I am cancer hidden in me somewhere and this has really taken a toll on my life lately.  

[CalGal]

Read through this thoroughly. It will help you understand SOD and the terms that go along with it:
http://www.hopkins-gi.org/GDL_Disease.aspx?SS=&CurrentUDV=31&GDL_DC_ID=320F4EDD-0021-4952-83D7-8B0C67B47BFF&GDL_Disease_ID=7AB086B0-AB01-446E-B011-2E67CAFEF96D

[Garrysgal]

Thank you so much for the information.  I have a doctor appointment this week, so I will relay this information on and see what they can do for me.  I am just wanting to be back to my normal self.  Again, thank you!!

[CalGal]

Garrysgal, you may be experiencing sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. It's a condition in which the bile duct or the sphincter (muscular opening to the duodenum) could be spasming and it can be difficult to control.

Yes, it can take some time to adjust after gallbladder surgery, however the symptoms you're experiencing are way past what could be considered 'normal' post surgical problems.

The diarrhea is probably caused by unregulated release of bile which can happen after the surgery. You need to be following a low fat diet which may help a bit. In addition, talk to your doc about using a bile-binding resin like questran. You'll have to 'titrate' the amount to what your system can handle since it can make you constipated which isn't great either.

Forget waiting and hoping for your doc to get a referral, ask for one to someone who understands about post-surgical issues related to gallbladder problems. Not all GI docs understand the problem, so make sure the person you see specializes in that.

If you've got a low-grade fever, you can't let it be overlooked. Make sure you ask your doc to run your liver and pancreatic enzyme levels - especially after a severe bout of pain. The timing can be important for that test. In addition, you want to ask about having an MRCP done.