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Avatar universal

@ Joy Collins

Your child sounds so much like mine!  My son, now 15, has suffered with nausea and pain for years.  Two years ago his gallbladder was removed due to only 12% function.  He still complains of the same symptoms and has missed so much school that he's been on homebound every year.  His GP has done so much bloodwork, xrays, ctscans and mrcp and hasn't found anything wrong so her recommendation was to go talk to therapist...she thinks it's all in his head making himself sick not wanting to go to school for some reason.  He will not go because he said...why do I need to talk to someone when I'm sick??!!  She also sent him to gastro dr twice, he had a scope done once before gallbladder removal which showed nothing and then another one a few weeks ago, along with colonoscopy w/biopsy (which came back good),  that showed gastritis.  Gastro dr put him on carafate plus his GP has him on 2 Prilosec a day and Zofran.  None of this seems to be helping so Gastro dr said come back in a month and if he's not feeling any better he is going to do the emptying test.  My son just complains of nausea, cramping, dizziness, headaches, weak, has constant diarrhea but never vomits (but sometimes he says he feels like he's going to but don't).  He has lost about 16 lbs in last few months, but his appetite doesn't seem to be affected by this (he's a good eater).  (This is why dr doesn't think he's sick...she says if he's eating good still and not vomitting and just has nausea, she doesn't feel he's really sick).  He also has an extremely high liver count, GP says very fatty liver.  My husband and I have been so stressed over this, trying to get him to go to school.  Sometimes we've really been mean and threatening to him and it don't help, he says he can't help it if he's sick.  Then we feel bad, thinking...what if he really is sick.  It's so hard to know when no tests or bloodwork are showing anything.


This discussion is related to Chronic Nausea.
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Avatar universal
For those of you suffering from nausea and vomiting I urge you to look in to Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome (CVS). I had problems for many years and was just recently diagnosed with this
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Avatar universal
My husband and I both have GERD..never tested though, just put on meds for it.  As far as I know, neither of us have any food intolerance.  My son has told me that after he eats sometimes, his stomach hurts worse and he better be near a bathroom within 30 mins after eating where his gallbladder was removed...he fills the pot!  He's never vomitted though, just feels like it sometimes.  I've did so much research on this that some of the stuff I've found is quite scarey!  I even asked the dr about crohn's awhile back and she said she didn't think so.  She is at a loss with him and just doesn't know what else to do for him.  That's why she sent him to the gastro dr.  But, this dr says he doesn't think there's anything wrong either.  He is very tired, his bp has been slightly elevated the last few times we've went to dr, she did a 24 hr heart monitor on him because sometimes his heart races, he gets dizzy alot, says his hands keep tingling, headaches, backaches (he has a lot of back problems..sherman's disease, and bulging disc at lower back) and he is overweight (341 lbs and 6ft 3in tall though). I've also noticed that he don't fully open his eyes, it's like he's squinting all the time and I keep saying open your eyes and he says they are open as far as I can open them mom!  I just want my baby to be ok.
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Avatar universal
No the MRCP will not always show all that is wrong in that area. It's only one of a body of tests that will allow docs to come to a conclusion. Just because the CT and the MRCP didn't give an answer doesn't mean that everything is fine.

Track down the cause of that anemia and high liver enzyme levels. Both of those are saying 'something' is going on - those findings can't be dismissed. In some cases, anemia can be due to things like gluten issues, and those kinds of problems can bring a LOT of 'belly' pain. Changes in liver enzymes could suggest bile duct spasms and that typically isn't going to be 'caught' in an MRCP unless the spasm is on-going or there's sludge in the duct, or stones, that they can actually see with the MRCP.

If he's complaining that his food doesn't digest, or it 'sits in his stomach' or if he vomits up food, etc., etc., then a gastric emptying test is very appropriate.

Do either you, your husband or anyone in your family have food intolerance issues? Or GI issues? You'd be surprised at how much misery those conditions can bring and they very often go undiagnosed. Common symptoms are unexplained fatigue that can hit like a 'ton of bricks' out of nowhere. Rashes. Brain fog. Balance issues. Diarrhea/constipation.
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Avatar universal
Wouldn't the MRCP (MRI of bile ducts) they did show if anything was wrong there?  GP also did CT scan a while back too and it didn't show anything.  She has done so much blood work also and the only findings were the high liver count and some type of anemia (which she's never addressed).  The gastro dr that removed the gallbladder is who GP sent him back to to have another scope done and he says nothing is wrong but the gastritis.  He feels nothing is wrong either!  He only put him on the carafate and he's already taking 2 prilosec and the zofran and he also put him on some type of powder mix to stop the diarrhea, but that constipated him so we had to stop that.  No on has ever mentioned anything about anti-spasm meds.  He's now on homebound again due to truancy and...he's still saying he's nauseous and his stomach is cramping.  We go back to Gastro dr Jan 13 and if things haven't changed, he said he's going to do that stomach emptying test.  We are just worried to death that something is wrong and they're not finding it.  Thanks for the reply!
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Avatar universal
A couple of thoughts come to mind. Has your doc considered trying some anti-spasm meds for your son to find out if the issues he's facing could be due to spasms within the GI tract or common bile duct? It can and does happen after GB surgery and it can cause one heck of a lot of misery for many.

In addition, have any bile-biding meds been tried? Many people have unregulated release of bile following surgery and in some cases bile-binding meds can help in conjunction with a low fat diet.

Also, has he been checked for sludge or stones that may be present in the common bile duct after the surgery? That stuff can be 'spilled' and it can continue to cause misery.

What your son is experiencing is not in his head and could have a very real physical basis. It needs to be further investigated by a doctor that understands post-surgical GB issues.
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