weight loss, nausea vomiting bile after gallbladder removal

[mother of four]

hi, i am a 42 old female, i experienced gallbladder attacks in oct.2004, was extremely sick, vomiting, lethargy, the ultrasound showed i had alot of gallstones,(30-40) had it removed by laparscopy, had no problems for 2 weeks, then i experienced nausea 24/7,and then intermittent diarrhea, had a colonoscopy, which was normal, then i had an endoscopy which showed a copius amount of bile in my stomach, was put on welchol and nexium (had some ulcers) did okay for a couple of months, then in june of 2005 i lost 32 lbs in a 3-4 week period, i had no appetite whatsover,severe lethargy,intermittent diarrhea, a feeling of fullness. I  had a cat scan which showed a mass in some fluid down by my rectum. I also had a vaginal ultrasound which showed some debri in my cervix. So the gi doctor told me it was female so i went to a gyn and she wanted to do a total hysterectomy because she thought i had ovarian cancer, the ca125 was neg. my insurance did not cover her so i went to a cancer center and they did a uterine biopsy and she told me my female organs were totally normal. so now i went back to the gi doctor, he did a test that i had to have electrodes on my stomach and i carried a camera on my side,( i cannot remember the test name) came back normal, had a lower gi, normal, was tested for celiac disease, normal, lupus,normal every test that i have had is totally normal, i went to another doctor, she repeated the cat scan, the mass is gone but the radiologist saw another mass in my uterus and he assumed it was a tampon, 100 percent cannot be a tampon because i never wear tampons because they bother me too much! i understand that you are not a gyn but i thought you needed to know everything. i have lost a total of 46 lbs to date , extremely nauseous, which i take phenegran for and it does help, there are days that i have an okay day but 80 percent of my days are terrible, i cannot function, very nauseous and i just want to lay down, i feel better if i lay down, when i vomit its always bile, and lots of it, and it is a wicked wretching, not like a normal puking, and i get very sick, almost disoriented, i feel malaise, i feel like i have the flu 10 x over, i sleep for hours and then this syndrome? goes away and then i can funtion again, i have been so sick for 5 months now, i was fine until i had my gallbladder removed, some stomach pain, but nothing that would double me over , the pain is all over my stomach , sometimes in upper right quadrant, sometimes left side, i want the docter to do a ercp but he said that is not necesary, i was told that sometimes your cystic duct closes and thats when i get sick , feel terrible and then when it reopens i feel better. i sometimes feel bloated, have gas and belching . i went back to the surgeon who removed my gallbladder and he said he found nothing wrong, 3 doctors want to put me on an ani-depressant! please steer me in the right direction, you are my last hope, do i stop looking and give up? thankyou so much

[alyjoe]

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[WhiteBlaze]

Hi,
      I'm so glad that I found this forum.  I had my GB taken out on Dec. 9, 05.  My first attack was on the beginning of Nov. I went to my doctor that very next day they release me out of the ER.  I explain to him what had happen and I ask him if I needed surgery.  I'm 26 years old and I didn't like the idea of surgery.  He told me to wait and see.  Boy was that such a bad advice.  A month late, I have 2 more attacks, 2 days from each other.  I scheduled an appointment with a surgeon on Dec. 8 and I didn't get to see him because I was in the Hospital in the ER on the 7th.  I had my surgery the old fashion way where they cut my open about 6-7 inches long.  My GB was so bad and swollen that it was about to burst from what my surgeon told me.  I was pretty upset with my family doctor.  I could of had a larposcopic surgery instead of the traditional one because I took his advice.  I have 16 staples and had them taken out on the 27th of Dec.  It is now Jan. 06 and I'm having chest pain.  The 2nd week of Jan., I constantly felt tired, light headed and nauseus.  I thought maybe, I'll just go to sleep and lie down.  A few minutes into my sleep, I felt my heart beating really quickly like as though I have a anxiety or panic attack.  I never had these kind of feeling before.  A day or two later, I went to my family doctor again (which I shouldn't).  I told him how I was feeling and I insisted him on listening to my heart beat just in case if there is anything irregular.  I have to ask him, can you believe it!?  He listen and said it was normal.  Then I asked him if it was due to my GB surgery?  He said no.  I ask him, why am I feeling this way with chest pain and shortness of breath?  He told me that I might have a cold and take a tylenol.  Can you believe this guy!?  He said that I'm young and only 26 years old.  Please if anyone is feeling chest pain, shortness of breath at times, tightness in the throat where you feel like you have to swallow your saliva at times or anything to do with breathing problem, please email me at ***@****.  Sometimes when I'm taking a deep breath, I can feel the part where they cut me up, going up and down hitting my rib cage.  That part of my skin is still numb.  Please email me at ***@**** if you or someone you know is expriencing this problem.  And everyone out there, I hope you can find a treatment or medicine to help you with you problem.  Thanks for reading...

[grammax2]

I had my gallbladder removed 12/29/06.  So far I haven't had any problems other than always being cold.......... especially my hands.  We live in California, so I can't blame it on the weather.  Anyone else experiencing anything similar.

[redneckbrat]

I'm so sorry to hear how sever some of the problems are, mine are mild to some of yours.   but here my story I'm a 29 year old mother of 2 i had my gall bladder out in 2004 for sever nausea and dirreha.  The doctor told me afterward it would go away.  The nausea did for awhile and slow returned.  it mild now i can deal but the dirreah never stop in in the bathroom at least 8 times a day i get so dizzy afterwards.  It hurt bad enough i will be cold and sweat at the same time.  Now the doctors are telling me it IBS. after reading here i'm not sure the medication doesnt help either

[motown_groove]

Hi eveyone, I'm in the UK and had my gall bladder removed 10 days ago. At the moment I am trying to educate myself a little more about the function of the gall bladder and the effects of not having one any longer.

I came across a very detailed website, written (i believe by a surgeon) that maybe helpful to a few of you here.  It is a very long read, but if you bare with it there could possible be a few answers to your questions.

Good luck xx

http://bmj.bmjjournals.com/cgi/content/full/311/6997/99

[no-bake_cookie]

I just want to say that I'm so comforted to know that I'm not dealing with this on my own. I'm not quite 18 years old yet and we've finally recieved a diagnosis for all the stomach problems I've been having. I'm 5'6" and was at a steady 120 pounds for years. I could usually eat anything I wanted without any negative reprocussions.

However, it hit me like a brick over the past few months. I was constantly missing school for upset stomachs (always horrible nausea) and I had frequent diarrhea. My regular doctor, who is a pediatrician, gave me Prevacid (and her diagnosis was IBS). Yes, I did have IBS...but for all who know that Prevacid is an acid-reflux drug, that wasn't for me. Prevacid made me somewhat better but I had horrible side effects on that specific medication.

My doctor said she didn't know what to do with me so I was sent to a specialist. He put me on IBS medication. I still had persistant nausea, so we got tests. Bloodwork, Upper GI and small bowel, Ultra sound, and a Hida Scan. Everything was fine but they found my gall bladder to be functioning at 32%.

A gall bladder is considered abnormal if it's functioning at 30% or below. So I was really on the fence. I still had problems so my doctor said, "Let's take it out!" Before that, though, he wanted to do an endoscopy to check for ulcers. What he found was that I had severe acid reflux and inlammatory Gastritis.

Yuck!

I'm still sick...I'm on Protonix twice a day but I'm feeling somewhat better than I did. I do have bad days though. I have an appointment to see a surgeon on the 30th of January and I'm so frightened about the consequences that will come with getting my gall bladder removed.

I know that the acid reflux and the IBS will go with me throughout my life, but I don't want to have to drag negative side effects of the surgery along with me.

Right now I really just need people to talk to about this because no one understands. I'm out of school for a month and I so badly want things to go back to normal.

I have faith in my Lord Jesus that he will clear me of this suffering. I also pray for all of you who experience these digestive difficulties and my heart goes out to those like sadangel and chaquita4ever who are young, as well. Just trust in God and he'll help you pull through.

Anyone who wants to contact me and wants someone to talk to or has advice, my email is ***@****

Thanks everyone! I wish you all well...

[mother of four]

hi everyone, wow! i cannot believe all the trouble everyone is having after having their gallbladder removed. my saga still continutes also! still nauseous, diarrhea no energy, fatigued and just feel like **** all the time. I just had a gastric emptying scan done 2 days ago. The test came back abnormal, the egg that i ate hardly left my stomach. i have not seen the doctor yet to actually ask him why this is happening. Anybody have any ideas? i never had any of these symtoms until i had my gallbladder out. i think the surgeon messed something up, i have read about a pylorplasty surgery to open up the pyloric sphincter. i have tried reglan for slow emptying but it did absolutley nothing, i was on it for about 3-4 weeks. I am on zelnorm now and it is not helping either. Any answers?

[mrusamike]

Hello Everyone:

The gallbladder saga continues. Heres my story...In August of 2005, my stomach felt like someone had pored cement into
my intestines. I subsequently had some heart burn but no acid reflex in my throat.  My lower abdomen felt like it was inflamed or at least the membrane touching the intestines did. I was put on protonix, sulcrafate, and etc. Multiple tests and a hyda scan revealed that it had to be my gall bladder. So in October of 2005, out it came and still no relief from the esophogus pain/ spasmism, lower abdominal pain/ burning sensation. IN went to ER and they gave protonix IV. My GI doctor scoped me every which way (Upper and Lower), scanned, xrayed, and the majority of tests. The Dr. did say that I had diverticula. and some air in my upper chest/ abdomen. Were down to the last few tests. Blood work, slighlty higher liver enzyme reading, stomach digestion normal, will have a 24-PH test but I remain the mystery patient. Anyone in a similar situation? One of my GI' s said that it might be a Functional Bowel Disorder or a bad valve in my esophogus that needs to be tweaked.. Im new to this need to hear any suggestions. Im not a big fan of surgery again to fix a valve....
My email address is "***@****"

Take care,

Mike

[oatmealEATR]

So, Whatnext! you like my name, huh? (smiling) Yeah, I thought it was appropriate. I still have oatmeal/toast for bkf but sometimes I will have pancakes and 2 pcs of bacon. Still can't seem to gain any weight. Prior to surgergy, I was 160 (was at 145 when I checked out of hosp in April 05, now I'm at 130). Doctor called over Xmas break to say my add'l bloodwork showed iron low and I should buy iron pills. I hear they can constipate you so I think I'll try to get it naturally or take a multi-vitamin. I'm still on Nexium and haven't had any pain attacks. I do have to take them every morning and when I'm late taking them or late eating breakfast, it's like somebody is twisting my insides. I eat 6 or 7x a day (have good appetite; have to snack a lot on fruit, lots of water). I thankfully have never had the vomiting, reflux, or diarrhea. BMs are still 1x a week, but that's how they were b/4 GB surgery. Sorry that we are all going thru this, but IT IS nice to know I am not alone! Later (I'm hungry again, think I'll fix a cup of o'meal!)

[Depressed Veteran]

Hello.

I am thrilled and depressed to read this column.  I had my gallbladder removed on the 19th of Dec 05.  Life was GREAT (even through the severe pain) for the first few days, I started vomiting, nausea and belching sporadically around christmas eve, spent Christmas Day in bed (barely made it up to see my baby boy (8 y.o.) open his gifts, then right back to bed.  Couldn't drive etc.  FINALLY a day or so later felt soooo great.  Ate McDonald's for the first time in god knows how long with NO symptoms!  Was WONDERFUL!!!  

I should mention that in September I had this "attack" of severe belching and nausea for about four hours.  Then the next day it started NON_STOP until the gb surgery.  They (the dept of veterans affairs-my only healthcare) put me on morphine outpatient, 15mg pills.  they didn't help the severe right side pain very much but slowed down the belching.  The docs said they didnt think taking the gb out would help.  I was THRILLED to throw it in their face when i went for my 10 day checkup and felt like a new person with NO BELCHING or VOMITING!!!  

About 3 days ago the burping (non-stop) and farting, and vomiting started AGAIN!!!  I am throwing up bile, i also had hot/cold sweats, severe runs, extreme fatigue, fullness etc.  but no right sided pain.  I looked up symptoms of vicodin/morphine withdrawal and most of them are present. SOO I am assuming part of this is from no longer taking the pain meds they had me on (at doses high enough to knock out a full grown horse) and then them stopping them suddenly!  GOtta love the VA!  I made an appointment with my son's doc for Monday b/c i was so sick again today that I couldnt get my son to school or get myself to dentist.  I am losing weight, vomiting bile.  I do not have any insurance other than thru the VA.  It took 2 MONTHS to get them to do a gb ultrasound, after I paid over 100.00 to a private doc and three civilian ER visits, all of whom said i needed one ASAP.  

does anyone have this burping thing???  with the vomiting?  HELP!!  I do NOT have the money to get private tests done and the VA is non-cooperative.  The drug withdrawal is over (for the most part- I think).  ANY IDEAS AT ALL PLEASE EMAIL ME at ***@****.  

[princesscelena]

27 Fm mother of 7 year old boy. Had Hiatal Hernia surgery in Sep 03 to relieve acid reflux. lost 20 lbs in 3 months. Then in May of 04 I wake up nautious and vommiting, diareha then ER. take out GB fine for 2-3 weeks. June - Aug 04 lost 70LBS!!!! I went from 220 to 105 in less than a year. GI said it was physcological, she said it was very physcical, he dont know then. They have given me every med on the plant. I still have no appetite and vommit bile every morning! I stopped going to the Dr in Apr 05. They gave me everytest under the sun. I have swalled every color dye(with little sucess everytime), had every hole scopped, i found a few homeopathic solutions to cope with appetite and pain. no more significant weight loss however i can tseem to gain any either. I still vommit alot and would lik this to be resoved someday. Anyone have any ideas?

[MomofTellBoboApsiWeeAJ]

Good News for us our PCP is listening to us, and sending us for a CT scan and to another GI dr whos speciality is cases like my daughters, where they don't stop until they get you fixed. Our PCP expects the new GI specialist to do a ERCP on my daughter, I will keep you informed for anyone else like me who has this kind of problem, the sad thing is all of you like my daughter who are waiting to get help yet. I am sorry some Dr.s are such jerks, I hope someday you all get well, its hard to live when you are in such pain.

[MomofTellBoboApsiWeeAJ]

HI I am writing this for my 16 yr old daughters, She had her gallbladder removed october 21, 205 she had been suffering with the pain of that since about Feb 2005 it took them all that time to figure out it might be her gallbladderfirst she had an endoscopy which showed no sores in her stomach and definetly NO BILE she was given a sono on 10/20/05 and they found nothing, they did the hidi test and found her gallbladder to not be working right, once the dr did the surgery came and told us me and my husband her GB was working at only 9% we thought thank god this is over now, well 2-4 weeks after she starts having severe pain in her abdomen right where the rib cage meets,the pain travels to her back and chest, she has squeezing chest pain, and her heart starts beating fast,  if feels as if her back was breaking and someone stabbing her in the abdomen with a knife, is this how it is for you all? also Took her back to the GI dr yesterday 1/4/06 I have the tape they did of the endoscopy and it shows bile in her stomach, but yet they refuse to do anything about it the surgeon NOT the GI dr gave her meds for ulcers, she has NO ulcers, and then we took her to the ER last nite where they wanted to give her Xanax for anxiety, saying she is only having anxiety attacks, I am going to go see our PCP tomorrow and demand one or maybe all of these tests CT, MRI and an ERCP my child needs help and I won't stop until she gets it, Why do you think these drs won't help us????? also correct me if I am wrong, if you have bile in your stomach do you have a bile leak since it should be dumping into your small intestines and not resting in your stomach, My 16 yr old is NOT going to be on pain meds for the rest of her life, I am going to demand they fix this. Also can any of you tell me will or would the Stent work for the leak?? Any advice is greatly appricate, also Have any of you thought to check into a personal injury lawyer, I know I am going to!!!! Please email me if you think you can help us ***@****
thank You
Laura

[chaquita4ever]

I am a 19 year old female who just had her gallbladder out about a month and a half ago.  It took awhile for doctors to diagnosis me.  I complained of persistant nausea, sharp pains on upper right abdomen, and diarreha.  At first the doctor thought it was IBS and/or GERD and I was put on meds for both.  Neither seemed to work so they did an ultra sound- found nothing; then they did a hida scan- produced the pain but my GB was emptying fine.  I visited a general surgeon and he recommended to have my gallbladder out.  11/21 I had surgery.  It turns out my gallbladder was two times the regualr size and it was full of sand.  On top of that my omentum was twist from my gallbladder down to my rectum.  Recovery was slow but no problems from the surgery.  I was completely fine; I ate what I wanted, just like the surgeon said but a couple days for Christmas I flew out to visit my father in Texas and on the flight I had severe chest pain and I couldn't breath very easliy.  I was given oxygen on the flight.  An ambulence met me at the gate and took an EKG and my blood oxygen level, which were both normal.  Fearing a blood clot, I went to the ER.  A chest xray and CT scan was done- they concluded I had pulisery (painful inflamation of the lungs) but I didn't have any symptoms for it.  Christmas day I had severe lower abdominal pain and I went to the ER.  They found fluid in my right ovary- said it was a ruptured cycst.  The doctor gave me some vicodin for the pain.  After I took it the chest pains came again, I went back the ER- another CT scan (I had to drink iodine this time, came back normal) However the doctor thought I could be suffering from several esopigal distress or acid reflux due to the GB removal.  He gave me Protonix and some nausea medication.  I have had one eposide since then, and the last two days the nausea has increased.  I can't eat anything spicy or fatty.  I'm suppose to see my family doctor Thursday.  I'm kinda scared though.  I'm so young, but I'm having so many medical problems.  I know that God has a purpose for my life and he keeps me positive a strong in this time.

[CJofAR]

Finally a site that others I can relate too. I had my GB removed Sept.03 with no problems with eating etc for 2 years then BAM!!! Started with the same symptoms as before removal of my GB, upper right quad pain,vomiting, loose BM thought it was a bad Virus but wouldn't go away. Went through CT with contrast,CBC, Upper GI with Barium, Horomone check, Endoscope etc.etc.etc. Found only mild gastric irr. in dueodemon area with a neg. for H-Pylori. Been on Prilosec 20mg, Reglan 10mg and Phenergan 25mg since Sept 05 with very little improvementexcept pain much less. But I am unable to eat much of anything period. My diet is toast, baked potatoe,some soups,oatmeal,pudding,def.coffee and tea and milk shakes so I dropped 12lbs fast but stopped losing weight and my right side has a swollen site beside my navel and it balls up and enlarges and gets very hard to touch when I eat anything. If I bend over after I eat or lay down up my food comes no matter what and it is projectial vomiting. I just had another Virus on top of this and now I have a burning/tingling in my lower legs and my feet I cripple around like I have ran on sharp rocks barefoot, losing sleep and waking up with bile sore throat and will vomit bile every a.m. The GI and GYN did a exploratory Lapo for adhesions and I was clean, so now sending me to Endrocologist for the glands. I also have headaches and eye vision disrupts. The gland system send all kinds of messages to the body for activity and thay are going this route. I wish everyone of you the Best of Luck on your quest. It seems Doctors do not care sometimes but it is because we are exeptions and they cannot figure it out and hate to admit the failure I guess. Good Luck to all. CJ

[SandyR23]

I am 82 years young and had my gall bladder removed 2 years ago.
After about 3 month I started having daily bouts of diarhhea. My internest said that it was being caused by excess bile from my liver.  He prescribed Cholestyramine which has been a miracle drug in solving my diarrhea problem.  However it has caused me another problem which is SEVERE upper GI inflamation.  Is there any other drug or treament that you can suggest. Is there a drug or an herb which could help?  Thank You

[crackersngatorade]

I recently had my gallbladder removed after severe nausea and the inability to eat ANYTHING.  I could only eat crackers and gatorade.  I lost 21 lbs and all tests came back normal stating my gallbladder was healthy.  They removed it anyway 2 wks ago and discovered it was chronically inflammed.  I felt GREAT after removal until a couple of days ago I started with the nausea again.  I dont have any pain and rarely get diarhea but the nausea occurs right after I eat.  It is not nearly as intense as before but enough to ruin your day.  If I lay down after eating the nausea is worse.  I get chest pains now and think I have acid reflux.  They put me on Prevacid.  You have to take it everyday and I feel nausea from it but if I dont take it I am MUCH worse....does anyone know of a better acid reflux pill or if this may even be the problem....I could have lived with every one of the other symptoms but I can't take nausea!!!