Had a full GI work up: CT scan, Hida scab, ultrasound, endoscopy, blood and stool tests. A few years ago I also had an endoscopy, colonoscopy, x-rays, and blood and stool tests. Results of all the tests do not show any problems with my gallbladder, and also no gallstones. There is some family history of gallbladder issues.
I have acid reflux for at least the past few years and, per my GI at the time, slow motility in my digestive tract. Per my current GI I may have IBS also. Most of my symptons were diarrhea, stomach aches/discomfort, and soft and black stools. Prilosec has made these symptons bearable and has helped relieved them to some degree, however still have some of the above symptoms and gassiness. In truth, I never really felt that I had classic traditional heartburn or had problems eating certain foods, such as I could eat spicy foods and not have much change in my symptoms.
However, in the past year I have developed additional painful symptoms:
Alternating pain between my right chest muscle and right under my right rib, like a throbbing or someone grabbing me under the rib - this initially started off as pain in my right upper back, but now it's rare to have the pain in the back. The pain definitely tends to happen after eating, but also when laying down to sleep and when waking up in the morning. Pain killers, such as Advil and Vicodin do almost nothing to relieve the pain, however once I tried Vicoprofen and it helped a little, but this is a very potent drug and it felt very addictive as I enjoyed its effect on me, so this drug is out. I also have nausea, a bitter bile taste in my mouth, a feeling of fullness due to the nausea, some heartburn. Fatty/Oily foods tend to inflame the pain the worst, but eating in general tends to aggravate it. The pain is debilitating as I can't concentrate, am ultra sensitive to any noise or stimuli, and in general am not able to function.
My PCP says I have classic gallbladder symptoms and wants to remove the gallbladder. A GI and a surgeon that removes gallbladders will remove the gallbladder if I insist as I'm at my wit's end, but they think it could be musculo-skeletal, which my PCP says doesn't make sense as I get the pain after eating. After discussing this with the GI and surgeon, they agree that musculo-skeletal doesn't appear to make sense either.
I will be seeing another GI for a second opinion, but at this point I'm ready/willing to have gallbladder removal surgery. Thoughts or suggestions on this? Thanks so much!