Gall bladder not functioning - no stones

[larryline]

My 58-year-old wife has abdominal pains generally in the upper and mid-center and some trouble swallowing. This began some 5 years ago and has varied in intensity. In 2003, a CT scan & colonoscopy found nothing. The pain has worsened in recent months. Her Internist ordered a CT scan of the abdomin & pelvic areas. It noted no blockages, stones or other abnormalities except that the common bile duct was dilated to 11-12mm, or about twice normal. The radiologist suggested a GI consult and consideration of an endoscopy. The Internist instead ordered a HIDAscan of the gall bladder which showed an ejection fraction of zero, or "not working." The Internist wanted the gall bladder removed by a surgeon, but agreed that we could wait for a GI consult. The Gastroenteroligist did an endoscopy 2 days ago down into the duodenum and found nothing except that the stomach was full, when it should have been empty. She prescribed medication to stimulate the stomach muscles. She felt the stomach problem was likely the result of many years of and continuing prescription narcotics for back pain not cured by spinal surgery & fusion in 1997 & 2000. She still has the abdominal pain, but it is likely too soon to know if this will work. The Gastroenteroligist says the gall bladder needs to be removed by a surgeon, but is not in a hurry about it. I can find nothing about why gall badders stop working when there is no history of stones, plus plenty of complication stories about poor regulation of bile output wilthout a gall bladder. I would appreciate any input while we try to decide.

[jimgreg]

I have no stones either..mg gb working 10% having a lot of bloating

[korincob]

I am only 25, and had my gallbladder removed 5 months ago. I had the same problem as you are having. A HIDA scan found that my gallbladder was only functioning at 3%, no stones were present, even after the biopsy. I could find no explanation as to what causes this, and the surgeon didn't really either, other than something about cholesterol causing inflammation in the lining of the gallbladder, which he said was not due to a poor diet, and just offered that it happens some times. However, I can tell you I was in miserable pain for the 8 months it took them to figure out my pain was caused by my gall bladder, and can tell you that I am soooooo very glad that they removed it when they did, cause I feel a million times better. I was told that it was possible to have a stone so small it could not be picked up on CT or ultrasound, while this was not the case in my situation, it could be possible for your wife. I can't say the gall bladder removal fixed all of my abdominal pain problems, but it definitely helped a lot, and I would recommend giving it serious consideration.