Severe Abdominal Pain Surfacing After Gallbladder Surgery

[jon22859]

Hello,

I had may gallbladder removed when I was 10 or 11 because of constant stomach pain (or at least what I thought was stomach pain at the time). Two weeks after I had the surgery I experienced the worst pain I have ever felt in my life, 9 out of 10 on the pain scale. The pain is midway down my back. It seems to be located more towards the back of my body instead of the front, if that makes any sense. The pain ramps up in severity over the course of 2-3 minutes to the point where it hurts to take a full breath. After about 5-10 minutes the pain starts to dissipate and I get a very funny feeling in my stomach and I start to salivate and repeatedly swallow to stop myself from throwing up. It feels like I'm on the very verge of puking but I never do (the strange thing is that I'm not feeling any pain, just the funny light feeling in my stomach). Once that is over, there is about 5-8 minutes where I feel great like nothing ever happened, absolutely zero traces of any pain, but then the whole process repeats once more. After it is all over I feel good for 30 minutes and then for the rest of the day I have minor pain/discomfort on and off  until I go to sleep(3 or 4 out of 10). Most of the time I'm usually experiencing a small level of pain that is constant throughout the day but it’s only about a 2 or 3 out of 10.

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[Christopher R Watters, MD]

It sounds like your evaluation has been somewhat scattered over multiple years. The description that you give is consistent with spasm or colic. This could be related to sphincter of Oddi dysfunction, pyloric spasm, or esophageal spasm to name a few. A thorough and thoughtful GI evaluation should elucidate the source. Simple smooth muscle relaxants may prove useful to decrease the episodes.

[jon22859]

I remember seeing a GI specialist before I was 13. To be honest, I don't really remember what tests he ran. I know he tested for lactose intolerance, which came back negative. Other than that I cant remember much. I'm going to see if family has any medical records saved.

[ellyhound]

Have you been to a GI specialist yet?  Has your doctor done bloodwork to check your liver enzymes?  Elevated liver enzymes could indicate problems with your liver, pancreas, or biliary system.  It is possible to have stones in the common bile duct that cause pain and inflammation.  I hope you see a doctor and find some relief soon.

[jon22859]

(Continued)

I'm 20 years old now. I went to doctors on and off for about 6 years after it first happened (I stopped going around the time I turned 17) but no one was able to figure out what was wrong. One doctor said it was IBS, another said heartburn, and another said it was an omega-3 oil deficiency. Nothing prescribed has helped. I know it isn’t heartburn or gas because I have experienced them both before and they are very different in terms of how the pain hurts and the area it radiates from. When the severe pain first started it was happening once a week with a constant level of mild pain continuous through the week. Over the years the severe pain occurrences have become less frequent but only because I watch what foods I eat. I've found there are certain trigger substances that can take me from moderately fine to horrible in a short span of time. The foods I know 100% for sure that take me from a mild level of pain to severe are: lemons or anything with lemon juice in it, all sodas/sports drinks/energy drinks, alcohol, fruits (especially ones that have a lot of juice), fruit juices, and jello. Foods that I suspect to increase the pain but am not sure about are: oatmeal, rice, and calorie supplement shakes. If I stay away from these foods I go through life with only a moderate level of constant pain but eventually something unknown triggers the pain to get severe.

If anyone has any ideas or could give me some directions as to what I should do I would greatly appreciate it.

Thank you.

Jonathan S.