Someone give me answers!!!

[sue]

After living with severe pain for three years and numerous wrong diagnosis, I had my gallbladder removed about one year ago.  Everything was great after surgery for three months.  However, I started getting the same pains in the middle of my chest that I had before surgery.  Guess what??  They put me back on prilosec again.  Remeber, this was the diagnosis for three years of pain previously.  Went back to the doc with severe diarreha problems.  Doctor explains diarreha and chest pains are common in gall bladder removal, and could last for a year.  Well a year has come and gone and I still have the same problems.  I have weaned my self of prilosec because one of the major side affects is diarreha.  In addition, I now have a pain below my rib cage on my left side.  It feels like an organ is moving from place to place.  When it slides back into place, pain is gone.  I have been told this could be a hernia.  Any suggestions on all the above?  Thanks for your help.

[Gloria]

Sue, this comes straight out of a medical textbook (Cecil), but it sounds like you exactly.  After cholecystectomy (GB removal), a small fraction of pts develop mild diarrhea.  Increased circulation of the bile salt pool with increased delivery of bile salts to the colon has been implicated in post-cholecystectomy diarrhea and pts with this syndrome often respond well to treatment with cholestyramine.  More difficult is the problem of recurrent abdominal pain, which is noted in about 5% of pts after cholecystectomy...Recurrence of abdominal pain after cholecystectomy should lead the physician to consider other, overlooked causes of pain such as irritable bowel syndrome, peptic ulcer, pancreatitis, and biliary dyskinesia.
Sue, the medicine (Cholestyramine) tastes really bad and is pretty expensive.  I was diagnosed with postcholecystectomy syndrome after I did some research and the diagnosis matched my symptoms.  The medicine cleared me up completely.  I gradually weaned myself off of it.  I rarely have pain or diarrhea except after a fatty meal--much like before I had my gallbladder removed.  Good luck to you and a happy/healthy holiday to all.

[Michelle]

I was born with my small and large bowels in the wrong places.
This is not correctible.It was not discovered until age 15.
I had these terrible pains that as you described didnt always stay in the same spot. I had one surgery to correct a spot in my small intestine they thoght was getting kinked. Then another sugery after scar tissue caused the intestine to twist completely in a not causing a complete blockage. Then I showed up in the ER again with terrible pain and vomiting. This time they said it was the pancreas. I wasnt allowed to eat for one week. They said my pancreas was covered with calcium deposits according to x rays and ultrasound. Several years later I was still having the original pain. I had some tests done. A cat scan of my pancreas showed it was normal!! Now here I am
18 years later, and I still have this pain. I have related the story many times to doctors who ask why  I have this large scar on my stomach, and they usually just stare in give a blank look.
See a doctor and proceeed with caution.Ive been through alot with
no results.

[HFHSM.D.-rf]

Dear sue,
The constellation of symptoms that you describe does not suggest a classical presentation for the typical GI diseases.  You should talk with your physician about a reevaluation of your GI tract. Sometimes, the doctor has to start a complete reassessment to determine the cause.

This information is presented for educational purposes.  Ask specific questions to your personal physician.

[Debs]

It sounds like you have pancreatitis that causes the pain you describe. I suggest you go talk to your doctor this is not normal after a gall bladder removal and is in fact a complication of it. It may be that they wrongly diaagnose dyou to start with . i too have teh same pain after my gall bladder was removed an it remains to this day with no known reason . they suspecy panreatitis