Have bad gallbladder - is pain on left side related?

[kickanxietysbutt]

I'm hoping there's somebody out there who's had gallstones or sludge that can tell me whether or not they've had pain more often on the left side of the body than the right.  An ultrasound confirmed that I have both sludge and stones, and after five months of pain and not knowing what's going on, I was thrilled to hear that the problem is something so easy to fix.  I know gallbladder pain is traditionally associated with the right side of the body, but up until a week and a half ago, I had no pain whatsoever on that side.  I have had a lot of upper back pain just to the left of my spine, tons of acid reflux, left rib pain, and before I had a lot of pain on my left side (hip / abdomen area), which has since subsided.  Now I have pain all over, but I'm wondering if anybody else has experienced pain like mine, more on the left side.  The ultrasound tech and the nurse I saw said pain on the left side of the body is fairly common, but the surgeon said those symptoms don't sound related.  Anybody have any insight?

[kickanxietysbutt]

I am three weeks post-surgery now and prior to this week I felt pretty dang great!  My surgeon told me that the left-sided pain was most likely something else, but since surgery, I have had no pain at all on that side of my body.  Apparently he was wrong.  :)  How are you feeling since surgery?  I've felt terribly nauseous for the past week, but didn't really have any nausea prior, unless I ate something my body didn't like, but then the nausea would only last an hour or two.  This nausea isn't going away.  Are you experiencing this at all?

[leenie101]

Mine was.  Since my gallbladder was popped out, I've had no further pain on the left side under my ribs.  It took them a long time to find out what was wrong, but apparently the left-sided pain was related to the gallbladder.  

[Phil70]

I have been in a lot of pain now for over a month. I was taken to hospital a few weeks ago, as I thought I was having a heart attack. I ended up being sent home, telling me my heart was fine, but I still had a lot of pain. The pain started around 3am, with major pains in mine spine, then left hand side of the chest. I now have constant pain in left chest, under ribs. I get pain also in the right side as well, and also in my back.
I had an ultrasound done, and yes lots of stones. I will go under the knife at the end of this week. I can't wait for the pain to stop, so I can eat again and sleep through the night.

[fb62]

I totally sympathize with you. Prior to my surgery, I felt pain all through the mid portion of my torso, back and front. You will feel so much better after surgery, but remember to give it time because the healing takes time. I am just now starting to feel more like myself.  My surgery was April 1. Hang in there. It will be better.

[fb62]

I forgot to mention that prior to surgery, the best advice I got was from the PA in the surgery department who asked me if I was eating any fat and I said "only lowfat". He said, "No, you can't eat any fat. Any fat will trigger pain."  After that I only ate non-fat stuff. Yes, it was hard, but the pain went down to a much tolerable level and since I had 3 wks till surgery and it was temporary, I knew I could do it.  If you are already doing this, I recommend you do. Good luck.

[fb62]

I meant not already doing this.