I have been sick for 4 years. It began with episodes of nausea that would come and go with hot flushes and sweatiness and discomfort right between my ribs about 3 inches above the navel. Then it progressed to chronic nausea (sometimes very severe), poor digestion, fatigue and some discomfort at my lower right ribcage. I had many tests done 3-1/2 years ago, gastric emptying, barium swallow, 2 endoscopies, abdominal CT scan, abdominal ultrasound. Everything was normal except constipation noted on CT scan and slight inflammation of duodenum on barium swallow (but endoscopy showed no notable inflammation). I went from doctor to doctor and none found anything wrong. Finally, I found a gastroenterologist a few weeks ago that ran another ultrasound and a CCK HIDA Scan. The ultrasound was normal, but the HIDA Scan showed my gallbladder functioning at only 20%. The CCK administration however did not duplicate my symptoms. The doctor recommended surgery, but I have some questions and would like a second opinion.
1- Is nausea a typical symptom of biliary dyskinesia? I am nauseous most of the time, not only when I eat, and it doesn't seem to matter what I eat. Most of the time, right after eating, I get more nauseous. It is like to food is not going down and just wants to come back up. Some days are worse than others.
2- Will having surgery get rid of the nausea?
3- Are there any natural or allopathic treatments that I can do to get my gallbladder function back without having surgery? Someone told me that they took UDCA (ursodeoxycholic acid) for a few weeks for a gallbladder functioning at 18% and when they repeated the test, the function was normal.
4- What types of side effects are possible with the surgery? I have heard some horror stories, and other stories where everything went fine.
5- I read that 90% of people who have their gallbladder removed end up developing diabetes later in life, is this true?
6- I know that the gallbladder aids digestion by concentrating bile. How will my body be able to digest normally without a gallbladder?
Thanks so much. Sorry for all the questions, I just want to make an informed decision.