Gall Bladder Symptoms???

[SlugGB]

Has anyone that has had gallbladder problems experienced anything similiar to what I am going thru? (or does this problem sound like something else?)

For the past 2 yrs I have had pain in the upper rt abd area that has varied from severe to mild.  When the pain is severe I would definately describe it as "an attack".  When the pain is bad I sometimes get pain under the right shoulder blade also and have a general feeling of not being well.  

Two key things I would like to have answered are (in relation to it being a gallbladder problem):
  1.  Whenever I am in the sitting position the pain causes the most discomfort.  Anyone else experience this?
  2.  Any use of alcohol causes the greatest attack.  Has anyone ever had a gallbladder attack due to the use of alcohol?

Other things that cause problems are fatty/fried foods and recently, the use of Vicodin for the pain makes it worse.

I have had 4 ultrasounds, 3 CT scans, HIDA scan, Barium enema, x-rays, endoscopy, numerous blood tests, Barium swallow, and stool analysis.  All have been normal with the exception of the first ultrasound that was done in Oct 2000 - it showed "mild gallbladder wall thickening could represent mild acalculus cholecystitis - correlate with symptoms".  The doctor did not think it was a gallbladder problem and the 3 ultrasounds I have had since have not showed anything abnormal (no stones, no wall thickening).  Any ideas?  Thanks for taking the time to answer.

[SlugGB]

Thanks for the info. Zoie.  It seems I am the only one that has been told CCK is no longer being used.  I shall check into this again.  Did your HIDA scan show g/b problems?  What were your symptoms?

[SlugGB]

Thanks for the good info on CCK.  I live in the US (Michigan) and have been told they are not using CCK anymore.  I shall get a clarification on this.

I have been following your progress with your daughter and hope the removal of the g/b did the trick.  Please let us know how it turned out.

[5fan]

This is probably a dumb question, but have you had your amylase and lipase levels checked (pancreatic enzymes).

Your attacks sound soooo familiar to me.  The major difference is that I only had them for 5 months before I ended up having to go to the ER because my abdomen went rigid and I was having a hard time breathing.  

At the ER I was told that no stones showed on x-ray and that the sonogram showed my gallbladder was inflammed, the wall was thickened and it was enlarged overall.  They went ahead and admitted me because my lipase level was 1919 and my amylase level was 658 (both of these number are way above normal).  I also had elevated liver enzymes.  I was told that I had acute pancreatitis.

I spent five days in the hospital without anything to eat or drink while they waited for my enzyme levels to return to normal range (or close to normal) so they could remove my gallbladder.  

While in the hospital I underwent a HIDA scan; liver scan; pancreas scan; CT of the abdomen and more blood work than I care to remember.

The reasons I bring up pancreatitis is that it is common to have pain that radiates up under the shoulder blade and alcohol is the worst thing you can do for your pancreas.  I've been told it is worse for your pancreas than it is for your liver.  

You may just want to check to see what blood work has been done and whether or not your pancreatic levels have been tested, if so what the results were.  I will also let you know that it is possible to have pancreatitis without elevated enzymes so you may want to follow-up with your doctor and ask questions.  


BEST OF LUCK

5fan

[SlugGB]

I live in the US (Michigan) and have had two different hopitals tell me CCK is no longer available.  I shall check again, thanks.

[SlugGB]

Tasha31

Thanks for responding.  Sorry to hear you have been dealing with this twice as long as I have.  You mentioned that you had a HIDA scan w/out CCK.  I understand that CCK is no longer on the market at this time.  From my understanding CCK is used during a HIDA scan to check for proper gall bladder contraction.  If your gall bladder has not been checked for proper contraction it may be something to explore.  I have been told that they can use milk (or someother fatty dairy product) during your HIDA scan to mimic the action of the CCK to check for proper g/b contraction.  Discuss w/ your doctor.  

I had a HIDA w/ CCK two yrs ago and everything checked out ok.  I am having another at the end of January and have been told they will use milk to check for proper contraction.  I'll let you know how it checks out.  Keep us posted of your progress.  Good luck and keep searching for the answers.

[gardenmaniac]

CCK is the hormone your body secretes when you eat something fatty that tells your Gallbladder to contract & squeeze out some extra bile to help digestion. It also tells the sphincter of oddi to open up.

During a HIDA scan, you are given the radiotracer first, they wait to see if everything is showing up, the they will give you either CCK or something else to make the GB contact so they can measure how well it is working.

My daughter has had 2. At the first one, they gave her Ensure to drink..they did not inject CCK..her ejection fraction was 32%. The surgeon was not convinced it was her GB, so he ordered another HIDA, at a different place. At the 2nd one, they actually gave her CCK into her IV. that test came back at 8%. she had her gallbladder removed yesterday.

I was not aware that they were using a substitute for CCK, if they were, they did not say so...we live in the U.S.

My daughter is 19..had no stones..nothing showed up on any other tests. Hopefully this will take care of her problems.