gall like symptoms

[redneckwife]

my sister has all the symptom's of gall stones except jaundice.she's had numerous tests including two types of scopes,mri ,ct scan,ultrasound,and the hida scan to name a few,the doctor's has found nothing,no stones no cysts and no sludge.she's had a very intense pain and a lump under her right breast,bad indisgestion and she's had weight loss.this has been going on for over a year,it started out small and infrequent but now it's pretty much all the time.she's had a back injury many years ago and has had five surgerie's and take some pretty strong pain pill's to cope with the pain,if it wasn't for the pain pill's she wouldn't be able to function on a daily basis (she doe's have a high tolorence for pain) but this has been kicking her butt.the doctor's are stumped (by the way we live on a island) and she's seen a few different doctor's.they seem to think her next option is exploratory surgery.do you have any idea's?


This discussion is related to Controlling Gall Stone Symptoms, and Misc. Stomach Pain Question.

[CalGal]

Check on the possibility of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction (SOD). It more typically is diagnosed after surgery to remove the gallbladder, but it now appears that it can be a condition someone has instead of a malfunctioning GB. The diagnostic workup calls for an ERCP with manometry and that's an invasive procedure, to it needs to be looked at carefully. And in many cases it's found that narcotic drugs don't help because they raise the pressure in the duct and can cause even more pain.