does a low functioning gall bladder get better

[camelot]

Hi,

I have had a Hida scan that showed my ejection rate at 16%. I have a prescription for levsin which helps quite a bit. I am wondering if it is normal for the symptoms of pain and nausea to come and go. They are not as severe as they were a few weeks ago. I am attempting to follow a pretty bland diet which does help.

I am scheduled to have my gall bladder out on Nov. 29th. Is it possible that my gall bladder is getting better on its own and I don't need the surgery?

Thanks

[Kt15345]

After my HIDA scan my symptoms appeared within 30 minutes.  Several hours later my GI called with results of gallbladder functionality of 10%.  I had been having vomiting, bloody stools, and pain in upper left side and lower right back for 4 years.  I'm getting the evil organ out!

[chefhess]

You are dead wrong.  Gall bladder cleanses do work.  I do one about every 4 months or so and the first time I easily passed over 500.  Not every one you read about will work.  But if you try Dr. Hulda Clarks Liver/gall bladder cleanse  it sure will.  I can't say that it means you won't still need your gall bladder out as that depends on the overall health of the gall bladder but please quit telling people it's all snake oil just because you picked an invalid cleanse.

[chefhess]

You are dead wrong.  Gall bladder cleanses do work.  I do one about every 4 months or so and the first time I easily passed over 500.  Not every one you read about will work.  But if you try Dr. Hulda Clarks Liver/gall bladder cleanse  it sure will.  I can't say that it means you won't still need your gall bladder out as that depends on the overall health of the gall bladder but please quit telling people it's all snake oil just because you picked an invalid cleanse.

[plumcrazy]

i have had prob with my gall bladdar for a month now i moved to a new state after a divorce. starting over have a job but no insurance. went to free clinic and there were not helping finally went to gastro dr did hyda scan payed out of pocket two er visits, and a scope nothing wrong on any of those tests but i am from hyda scan functioning at 60% no insurance and no money left from savings :( they wont do anything. i was put on gerd med for almost a month, and was trying herbs gall bladdar and liver herbs but stopped taking all because now im having right abdom pressure and a lot of pressure in my spine across where liver is and irs just on spine and ech side a little not sure whats going on but they keep telling me cant find anthing wrong so i havent even gone for the spine pressure. looked up on line nut everything saing front right pain not back so not sure

[mleeann712]

I had this same problem. About three years ago before I had my son I was having gallbladder issues, but they stopped doing tests after I got pregnant. I was having a lot of pain on the left like you and had the same exact tests done on me and my GI said it was irritable bowel also. No one could figure out what was going on. In October of this year I was diagnosed with chronic pancreatitis. I would ask your doctor if it is a possibility that you have that. My doctor thinks that my gallbladder caused it or may have played a part in causing it. I had a hida scan done in October and just found out today that it was low functioning then. I'm having pain on my left and right side now and severe nausea and no appetite so I'm getting it removed next week. If the pain is only on the left and nothing came up abnormal on those tests ask about pancreatitis. If you do start having pain on the right or have it through to your back, the pancreatitis can cause that pain. Just thought I'd help! I struggled for 3 years trying to get a doctor to figure out what was wrong. They can also specifically test a stool sample to know if you're not producing enough enzymes, which the pancreas provides. Hope this was helpful!

[Bgrol]

Are you okay now having it out? Did the chronic pancreatitis subside or is that a forever problem now?

[Malayna88]

Hi, I'm not sure what you have, but I had 12 % functioning of my gallbladder, and instead of getting it removed, I fasted 14 days (no food, only water), then I followed that with an apple juice fast for a few days, and then I changed my diet.  I still have my gall bladder, and it only bothers me every great once in a while, only if I don't eat right, and eat too many greasy foods, or too much hard to digest all at once.  I am just fine most of the time.  It is rare I get a pain, and that is only if I cause it.  Fasting and taking care of myself, does make it better.  There are health books that can help advise which foods to avoid, and what is best to eat for it.

[Nitathomas]

Do you get chronic fatigue feeling?

[grandmasusie77]

I've enjoyed reading the posts in this thread.  I had 3 random episodes of vomiting and diarrhea during September...on the 3rd, the 9th and the 24th but no pain other than sometimes feeling bloated in my upper abdomen.  My gallbladder ultrasound was fine...no stones...but it did show some fatty liver.  Hida scan showed 16% functioning and PCP recommended a surgical consult which is coming up this week.  I'm not eager to rush into surgery, even of the laparoscopic kind but will see what he recommends.  I've felt fine since 9/24.  I'm curious as to whether anyone had the surgery and now wishes that they hadn't done so.  I know my mother had lots of problems with diarrhea after her gall bladder was removed but that was years ago.

[Captain85]

Surgery was the best decision I ever made. No more problems. No more pain. No more issues at all!  Simple procedure and almost no recovery time. Do it! I am SO happy I did.

[43bobbie43]

I just got mine out a week and a half ago. I have been sick for months and they couldn't find anything tested my gallbladder and it was only working at 18%. They did the surgery plus found and removed a lot of scare tissue I had organs attached to my adominal wall that they separated and fixed a few other things. I can tell you the shoulder pain nausea fevers everything is gone I'm glad I did it. Good luck

[Coolaide]

I took every  test know to man all negative ! I  was felling fine and then I did a parasite cleanse the  Seven Forests Omphalia 11  I only took it for a few days I wish I hever had because I noticed on fourth day  my stomach on the right side and  liver  gallbladder began to burn for days  I wonder if this stuff is dangerous the  side effects I read it can be  toxic and I wonder if it just caused inflammation to my stomach and liver gallbladder  

[Coolaide]

For gallbladder to return to normal you can work closely with and ND they can help but I do recall one day my ND saying that if an organ is truly diseased and is causing a cascade of effects on the body and you cannot bring it back it is best to consider removing it so the energy is freed up to completely heal the body to it normal healthy state. I was super sick everything pointed to by abdomen well had  tests and exploratory surgery everything was normal  I  changed dentist and went to a holistic dentist had him look at my root canals since rr I read they all leak infection and can weaken the a comprised person to point of death.I had both extracted one was  infected all the way into my jaw ...I had no real symptoms except when I got ill a few of my teeth became sensitive now all four mercury filling will all be replaced with porcelain, My intergrative MD is not ruling out that an infected root canal can effects other organs and  caused chronic appendicitis I have all the symptoms Dr Prices work in the 1930's was remarkable in making this point through his case studies

[motelchic]

Hi there,

I had a low functioning gallbladder (10%). I felt just awful for about 2 months straight. By the time I finally went to the doctor to take the test, I was actually starting to improve by then. But the doctor saw my 10% function and said my gallbladder needs to go. I told him that I was starting to feel better everyday and he laughed and said I would be back for that gallbladder surgery. By the way, what triggered that whole thing was my diet. I only ate pizza from a chain resteraunt for a month straight before the pain started. Looking back on that now...how stupid!  So I did end up having a full recovery (I think I just had alot of stones jammed in there or something). About 5 years went by perfectly fine. Then I did a parasite cleanse and my gallbladder problems all came back. But I think I just ticked off the parasites and they travelled/multiplied and made my problem worse. Where I scewed up here, was I was using the "Clarkia" parasite cleanse and was geting very great results. I thought I was being smart and went to the doctor for the medicine parasite killer to do the job faster. And that did absolutely nothing and then I made the parasites immune to the Clarkia tincture. Another mistake. Turns out that if you have many metal dental fillings, the parasites don't respond to the doctors parasite medicines. Wish he would have told me that :)
So I've done 6 liver/gallbladder flushes now looking for relief from the constant pain in my upper right abdomen. 1,000's of stones come out everytime. But there seems to be no end. I've read that the average person has to do at least 6 flushes and a badly congested person needs to do as many as 20, and then just do 1 a year as maintenence.  I've had 1 flush where nothing came out, but don't be fooled. Lots more came out on others even after that false one. So I'm continuing on and now am going to re-start the parasite detox again simultaneously while doing my monthly liver/gallbladder flush's. The Clarkia was terrific, but I'm going to buy the Hulda Clark one from her son this time just to see if it's even better. In the meantime, I also had all my metal dental fillings removed and replaced with PORCELAIN and have had a root canal removed. Root canals are very bad and cause a low grade infection in your body all the time. I had these unhealing red open sores on my shoulders and neck. They had been there for a decade and I never knew why. Within 1 day of having my root canal removed, they faded away. That was the cause all along!  And I'm doing a metal detox now too (detoxamin). I think you have a harder time gettting rid of parasites if you have metal dental fillings. They thrive off that. So I've heard that obese people and people with alot of dental fillings have heavy parasite loads more that others. Just wanted to mention that in case this will help someone. So now that my metal fillings are out, I'm going to do the parasite detox again, continue the flushes, and continue the metal detox. That's my story... Hope that info helps someone :)

[amyo34]

hey i agree it's not necessarily food for me anyways its more stress. i had another abdominal sono yesterday and they said other than lots of gas pockets all my organs look good no stones anywhere and then also had an h pylori test also negative.. wondering now if it's worth it to get HIDA scan or not.

[okiewindsong]

I have a friend who is 27 years old and she is having gall bladder apparently, but she says the doctor is recommending surgery because she is showing 19 percent funtion. But she also says he has not tried anything else at all. That seems absurd to me, I mean shouldn't there be other things ruled out and also can anyone tell me of an alternative that has worked for them before she goes under the knife or laser or whatever.

[natsroses31]

So, how did it go?

Did you get it removed? Feeling any better?

[windskyair]

My symptoms have been all over the place. Unable to swallow, heartburn, headaches, nausea, pain on the right side, pain in the upper abdomen, pain between the shoulder blades, and pain in my right lower back.
I went to a GI Dr. They put me through all kinds of tests looking for acid reflux, GERD, cancer, etc. Everything came back normal. And I do mena everything. I typed in my symptoms into the internet and EVERYTHING that came up suggested gallbladder. I went to my family DR. Told him everything. He ordered bloodwork, an ultrasound, and a hida scan. The blood work and ultrasound came back normal (with the exception of some scar tissue on the gallbladder). The hida scan however, showed alow functioning gallbladder (16%).
I was referred to a surgeon who explain everything to me. Why I was feeling the different pains, had the uncomfortability, and the constant belching. We are taking it out on Friday. I would suggest that maybe seeing the GI is a waste of money if you have already been informed of a low functioning gallbladder. Get it out and in a few days- you should be great.

[NewMe1970]

Did you ever get a answer to your question or what did you decide.  I am exactly the same, left flank pain, shoulder and chest pain.  I do have pain on my right side but it is lower in my back.  Gallbladder functioning at 22%, was asked to go to the surgery by my pcp, getting a GI 2nd opinion tomorrow, I not have symptoms of gallbladder problems, no nausea, vomiting etc....  Just don't want to go through surgery and still have the same pain.

[Kt15345]

I have the same areas of pain.  Gallbladder function 10%.  Only difference was a had nausea, vomiting (proceeded by a sewer taste when I burped).  Electing for surgery.

[Kt15345]

I have the same areas of pain.  Gallbladder function 10%.  Only difference was a had nausea, vomiting (proceeded by a sewer taste when I burped).  Electing for surgery.

[chrisiemae]

Last year, I finally asked the doctor to run some tests since I've been having gallbladder-like attacks for years.  After a series of tests, my gallbladder is at 0% and I have GERD.  Of course the family doctor wanted to remove it right away but the Gastroenterologist said I could keep it.  So I'm trying to eat better to avoid the attacks and daily pain.  Its tough.  I'm also doing a lot of research on the side effect of removing my gallbladder.  I'm concerned about SOD or possibly continuing to have similar pain even after removing the gallbladder.  I've been told that I will continue to have GERD as long as I keep my gallbladder.  So I've been taking my GERD medication for a year now but I don't want to take it my whole life either.
I'd love to get my gallbladder function again.  Can you tell me which program you followed?  I've started to follow a diet from the gallbladderattack.com site.

[kbt1962]

My hida scan showed 21% and I have been in pain off and on for 6 months...more on than off.  My question is, my pain seems to be generally on the left side and I know the gall bladder is on the right.  Is it really my gall bladder?  I have had negative cat scan, ultrasound, colonoscopy, endoscopy, pill endoscopy, etc.  My GI doctor said irritable bowel but that is under control and still the pain.  I just want to feel better, have lost 13 pounds.  Do I get my gall bladder out?  I don't want to try to treat one problem only to get another.

[Debb41]

I had yellow stools and pain in my upper right abdomen and a 19 pound weight loss. After 4 months, a HIDA scan was finally done and found to be 15%. The surgeon said my symptoms were not typical and that it would probably not help to have it removed. The GI doc would only refer me back to the surgeon. I got no help so I turned to a naturopath. I figured what have I got to loose. I was told that through nutrition it was possible to get my gallbladder functioning again. I was, also, told that I had to follow exactly what was recommended to have success. It took six months of following what the naturopath told me to do, but I have succeeded in getting my gallbladder to begin functioning again. I still have a ways to go to strengthen it, but I can see the light at the end of the tunnel now where before I started down this path I had no hope. The doctors wouldn't remove it and they didn't have any suggestions for what I could do. The naturopath said I would have some ups and downs while the gallbladder is still healing but I am willing to wait it out. A naturopath isn't for everyone, but if you are willing to take the time to let your gallbladder heal, you can have success with getting it to function again. There's no guarantees that this will work for everyone but if you have no other options you might try it. Don't do the flush. My naturopath says it's too harsh.

[plymouthellie]

Hi Debb41. What did your naturopathic doctor recommend? I've been working with one and am getting frustrated. My HIDA scan was at 3% but I don't want to just jump into getting my gall bladder removed.

[dragonflykisses]

I just found out that my gall bladder is putting out at 23%, I'm in a lot of pain when I don't take pain meds and I throw up every time I try and eat meat of any type. I had Gastric Bypass 7 months ago, so my diet consist of high protein. I do however eat low-fat meats, but can't tolerate that either. I'm currently living on yogurt, fortunately the greek yogurt is high in protein and fat free, but, I'd like to be able to eat more than yogurt. Will surgery fix my problems, where I can go back to eating normal?

[rona8769]

hi iam at 35% and there scheduling me for removal of gall bladder my doctor says ideally it should be at 50% or more if that helps     hope it works out for you i dont have stones either or sludge good luck .what does your doctor say about percentage

[kjmteach45]

I have had two HIDA Scans, two years apart. The first one showed an ejection fraction of 87% and the second one was at 45%. I know the 45% is still considered normal. I do have occasional gallbladder symptoms after large meals or fatty foods, but no stones or sludge. My family doctor believes my gallbladder should be removed. I have an appointment the first week of January to see a surgeon. Would a surgeon likely recommend surgery since the results have declined by 42% or refuse because the results are not yet below 35%? Does anyone know if the ejection fraction is likely to continue decreasing?

[coldnhot45]

I wanted to tell you that about15 years ago my gallbladder went bad- I started throwing up everytime I ate. I was in my late 20's so it took them a while to figure out what was wrong but once they did  I had it removed  by laproscopic surgery. There was nothing to it. It was one day surgery with about a one inch incision and within a week I couldn't even tell that I had had surgery. I felt great after.
I'm now about to turn 44 and life without a gallbladder is a cinch.  I don't miss it in anyway.
If your surgeon is talking about anything other than this type of surgery, you may want to look elsewhere. It can be done.
I have had laproscopic surgery for gall bladder, endometreosis (several times), a vaginal hysterectomy. But I hear and know of a lot of people who have major surgery for the same things and I've never undersstood why. It's either related to surgeons, hospitals making more money with major surgery or lack of knowledge or skill of the surgeon. It does take one that has this kind of training.
I don't think it's because my problems were any worse than so many others. My hysterectomy included removing everything- including ovaries, tubes and uterus.
And my GB was in bad shape.  I don't know why major ones are still performed so much. I don't know how it is with Gb surgery.
A lot of surgery can be done this way. For me the only major I had don't that couldn't be done this way was with 2 severe bowl obstructions where a lot of my intestines were removed and my C-section, of course that'd be a little hard to do by laser!
Anyway, I hope this helps, I know how sick your GB or stones can make you.

[Scott1887]

I had a severe gallbladder attack 5 years ago and was recommended immediate surgery and I refused. A few days later had the hide scan done and it was functioning at 6% went home changed my diet completely to a low sugar no processed food diet and a whole lot of praying and every Friday eat double decker extra cheese pizza with the fam and not a problem since.

[ninterla]

Wondering how you are doing, my GB is functioning at 7% and they want to do a Endoscopy to ck the stomach not sure I want an Endo done. Maybe just change the diet, I do drink wine and wondered if that is bad, told the doctor and he never said to stop. 2/19/17

[Dk2017]

Hello Scott1887 I read on another blog that you wrote, that you went back after a year and a half of eating healthy and your hida scan read over 60%, are you still doing well? mine is at 9% and I am eating just vegetables, grassfed meat and organic fruits. I also take Ox bile, beets, AC vinegar water with meals and lots of enzymes for digestion. Already have Hashimoto's and have heard how some get that after GB removal, so I'm trying to keep it. Any more advise on this would help. Thank you! Doreen

[Dk2017]

Hello Scott1887 I read on another blog that you wrote, that you went back after a year and a half of eating healthy and your hida scan read over 60%, are you still doing well? mine is at 9% and I am eating just vegetables, grassfed meat and organic fruits. I also take Ox bile, beets, AC vinegar water with meals and lots of enzymes for digestion. Already have Hashimoto's and have heard how some get that after GB removal, so I'm trying to keep it. Any more advise on this would help. Thank you! Doreen

[minda213]

Some good info here...  I have been having horrible pain off and on for a few months now; no gallstones, but my gallbladder is functioning at 23%.  Spoke with a surgeon this week who said he would only be willing to bet $20 on making me feel better by taking it out!  So, I've decided to not have the surgery for now and see what I can change to make it feel better.  Bland foods don't help, ironically that makes it happen most times, spicy foods, fatty foods, etc., don't normally tend to cause the problem.  Stress definitely increases it though.  Figured I'd get on here and see if anyone else had any thoughts/suggestions.  

[mynameischarles]

One class of drugs that's proven to cause this are opioids. So if you've taken them when you started having GB problems then this could well be the cause. In 2006 I was using an opioid to treat a problem and I began to have GB pain. My hida revealed my GB function was 5%. I didn't have the surgery and made a full recovery in a year and a half with a 60% function on another hida. I never knew it was opioids that caused this until recently, when I started taking opioids again for a problem and now my GB symptoms have all returned.

Also, due to the nature of opioids, it's possible to have your GB out and still not have resolution because they can also affect the oddi as well. This can cause you to have a well functioning GB on HIDA but still have GB type symptoms.

If you have this type of GB problem, it might be a good idea to avoid opioids.