gallbladder with scar tissue

[mlrckm1]

My daughter had pain for over 2 years.....passed all gallbladder tests....decided to go in and take a look......the gallbladder was inflamed and covered in scar tissue.....dr took out the gallbladder and she has had no more problems......she suffered two years!   She was checked for stones many times, had the hidascan 3 times, ultrasounds etc....always passed everything.....my question is why doesn't the tests show inflamation?   The doctor was shocked when he saw her gallbladder and i am shocked at the improved quality of life she now has.

[9274927Juju]

Just got my gallbladder out this morning. Relatively normal HIDA scan, no gallstones, normal abdominal ultrasound. Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, weight loss and general decrease in quality of life over the last 4 months at least, way worse in the last month. Was lucky enough my doc was willing to do surgery based on my symptoms. He took it out and said it has scar tissue and lesions, along with inflammation. Sounds like this is a common theme among some of us sufferers with normal test results. I literally think I already feel "better", less burning in my stomach and less nausea, even in the first 14 hours without a gallbladder. If you think it's your gallbladder, find a doctor who believes you and will help you get it OUT!

[Cassion01us]

I just had my gallbladder out. Year and a half of pain. My mom wouldn't take me to get anymore tests because they all came back normal. Since I'm a minor, the doctors listen to her. Finally from December 21st to February 1st, I had lost 28 lbs. It was a red flag. I had gotten sicker and worse. Eventually we did a PIPDA scan and it showed my gall bladder function rate was at 19%. They removed it and said I had extreme amounts of scar tissue. Biliary dyskinesia. My doctor says it has no correlation to my health. It just goes bad sometimes..like an appendix. The PIPDA scan is usually the only way they can figure out. It is usually a very close correlation to the pain, but even then it may not be 100%. This is super old posting, but I'm doing some reading on my surgery so. Here I am!

[patient915]

Please post your questions as its own post because this one is so old.

[Cdngal]

I to have been suffering for 7 months with pain, discomfort, nausea and vomitting lost 35 lbs since this all started, had every test you could think of that came back clear... the HIDA scanw as only test for me that showed biliary dyskinesia with a njormal EF.  I am scheduled to have mine removed next week.. I hope I am as lucky as you guys and it solves my issues...

[cowboy8450]

I had suffered for years with "episodes" of severe gas pain, vomitting, nausea, and diarrehia.  These episodes would last for 12-24 hours.  There wasn't any particular food that set them off that I could link it to or I would have stopped eating it--that's for sure.  As the years went by I developed a pain under the right side of my rib cage but it wasn't terrible pain just enough to be annoying.  I went from one doctor to another.  All of them would spend 5 minutes with you and order more tests.  I spent good money on cat scan, mri, ultrasound, hida scan, xrays, and all showed normal except my crp level was high.  The doctors would say it's irritable bowel syndrome and I would just have to get use to it.  That explanation from a doctor is a fancy word for "I don't know and I think your exaggerating your pain." I was getting so frustrated with the doctors I could have put my foot up their back side with the comment "Let's just chalk it up to irritable bowel syndrome and just live with it."  Finally I spoke with a doctor who actually spent some time with me and really thought about my issues.  I convinced him to take a look at my gallbladder.  When he did it turns out my gallbladder was inflamed and was covered in scar tissue! I had it removed.  So far no problems.  I wish I would have done it years earlier.  It just goes to show you that there isn't a test for everything and sometimes doctors need to diagnose by actually listening to their patients and not just by going with what a test tells you.  If more doctors would do this I would have had a lot less pain, aggravation, and frustration in my life.

[CalGal]

There's no way to answer your question. Unless the inflammatory process goes 'systemic' and inflammatory factors influence enough components so that you activate a white blood cell reaction, or induce C-RP reactions, there are no tests that will 'visualize' it.

It's a problem with the tests we currently have. They're 'the best,' but they're still not 100%. It's one of the reason docs and patients have to think 'outside of the box' when it comes to trying to diagnose a number of conditions. Most docs feel if conditions don't show up in the tests they run, the patient may be over-stating the problem or maybe the problem doesn't exist. Unfortunately, your daughter is not the only one this has happened to.