Gallbladder or heartburn?

[chrie]

I am a 28 year old female, average weight and generally in good health. Approximately 4 years ago I ended up in the ER due to severe upper abdominal pains. I had been sick with what seemed like a stomach virus or food poisoning (nausea, violent vomiting, and diarrhea) when the pains in my abdomen began. The pains were very sharp and would come and go. When I was admitted to the hospital, I was quite jaundiced. Blood tests showed very high bilirubin and white blood cell count. An abdominal ultrasound showed no gallstones. A follow-up HIDA scan however, showed very low functioning of my gallbladder. The doctors concluded that it was my gallbladder that had been the cause of the pain and other symptoms.
In the past 4 years since this, I have never again had an attack like that, however I often have bouts of discomfort in my upper abdomen that will last for a few hours to a few days at a time. Usually months go by in between these times. When this happens, it's never sharp pain, just a feeling of discomfort - almost as though that part of my abdomen (above my stomach, but at least a few inches below the sternum) is bloated. Along with the bloated feeling, I usually feel very nauseous, gassy, and sometimes achey. I've always assumed that these symptoms were related to gallbladder and that there was nothing I could do aside from being careful about fat intake. At a recent doctor's appointment, I mentioned these symptoms to the doctor who suggested that this may actually be heartburn and gave me a prescription for Nexium. I'm a little reluctant to start taking meds on an ongoing basis for heartburn, largely because I'm not really sure that's the problem and if it is, I'm not sure it's bad enough or consistent enough to warrant taking them. I've had what I thought was heartburn only a couple of times in my life, and it felt much different than this abdominal discomfort. Any thoughts or suggestions?

[Bledzig]

I have had a lot of the same symptoms you described above.  My doctor started me on Nexium as a precaution until we found out exactly what is causing similar discomforts like yours.  I thought I would just try it for a few weeks and see if it helps or not.  

My HIDA scan with CCK showed a 77% ejection fraction rate, but yet it still hurts.  Can you have a fully functioning gall bladder & have it still spasm?

[sundawn]

If I were you, I would insist on another HIDA scan. It seems you may have built-up sludge which can lead to a full blown attack and the GB may have to be removed immediately.
I have had my GB removed and had symptoms for nearly a year. I tested myself and ate a couple of fatty meals (made in oil) and I was sicker than I had ever been.
Before you may possibly get to the point I was at (green bile vomitous for two days straight) and unable to move; have yourself retested and reevaluated. If your GB is going sour, you do not want to get to the point I was at before they took it out.
Good luck.

[margypops]

If you put Gall Bladder into your search engine you get a ton of information I have found useful, and I believe you can get a lot of Pain if the Gall bladder is removed, so check first,like you I am struggling to understand it, I have put myself on a low Fat diet and I printed out a list of foods you can eat and foode you cant eat.There are Natural ways to deal with this I have no faith in the Medical system where I live, I am sure they are not all the same but a lot of Problems do stem from the Prescription drugs dished out like Candy or pacifiers,

[michelle13131]

I too had an ultrasound that revealed no gallbladder or no functioning of the gallbladder. What percent was your gallbladder functioning at?
My doctor suggest if it's not functioning it needs to come out