still getting gallbladder attacks 2 years after gallbladder removal

joie_de_livre · Newbie Joined: 25 Sep 2006 Posts: 2

I had my gallbladder removed two years ago, and I'm still getting attacks! They aren't quite as bad as the attacks I had before my surgery, but they're still extremely painful and incapacitating. What can I do about this?

heidi · Moderator Joined: 16 Dec 2005 Posts: 527

They are not the gallbladder attacks since the gallbladder is removed but you should address a doctor for this matter. There are a few possible things that could be causing your pain. It could be that you have stones in the bile duct but I suppose that doctors would have spotted them.
It could happen that your liver is so stressed with a lot of work it has to do and that large quantities of fats are causing this discomfort.
You could have also developed Sphincter of Oddi dysfunction. It occurs when the sphincter that is situated in the upper intestine does not work properly and allows foods to back up into the pancreatic and biliary ducts. This happens often to people who had thei gallbladders removed. The pain that occurs from the pressure in these ducts resembles the pain of gallbladder attacks.
Try eating foods you ate when you were avoiding gallbladder attacks-low fat foods, and no fried foods to see if anything changes.

terrie · Newbie Joined: 15 Nov 2006 Posts: 1

I to had my gall bladder removed (Feb 2006) I had to be readmitted into the hospital the day after my surgery for nausea and vomiting I was dehydrated, had to have iv and potassium my blood pressure was so high I could feel my heart beating against my bed. They told me I would feel 100% better wrong. Oh yea took me 4 hours after anyone could see me I was sick in recovery. Just before I went home they gave me coffee cream of chicken soup tapoica pudding. Just smelling food make me sick. I still don't feel good. Still have pains on my right side and above the belly button all the way up. After the surgery I would wake up around 5:00 am with very bad pain. It still hurts to certain foods. I called the surgeon and told him that I still was hurting he just said I don't know why. I just wish this pain would go away.

Guest · Guest

I to had my gall bladder removed (Feb. 2006) I had to be readmitted into the hospital the next day. It took 4 hours after surgery in recovery for anyone to see me. They told them I was sick after surgery. They then gave me a meal of cream of chicken soup coffee and tapioca pudding. Thought I would be ok. That evening I started vomiting and was nausea. The next day the doctor told me to go to the emergency around 6:00 pm. the hospital did not take me right in they were so busy they forget the doctor called them. I finally was seen at ll:00 p.m. vomiting every l5 minutes. they admitted me into the hospital had iv in me and potassium. Also my blood pressure was so high and I have low blood pressure. I could feel my heart beat as I was laying in the bed. I slept alot and vomited for 3 days. They sent me home and my blood pressure was still high. I would wake up around 5:00 am in the morning with bad pains like I was having a gall bladder attack but no gall bladder. It took me a month to get back to work. I called the surgeon he said I don't know what it is. I still have pain on the right side and especially above my belly button clear up. I thought I would be better. They said I would feel l00% better wrong! I just hope that I don't have to live the rest of my life like this. It seems that if I don't eat then I feel better but when I eat it hurts. Everyday it hurts. Won't I ever be normal again? Anyone out there have this problem to? Can u help?

Guest · Guest

I had my gall bladder removed in oct of 2000 and have been treated for sphincter of oddi dysfunction in jan of 2001 but still suffer from pain. I am admitted to the hospital two times a year with severe pain and my digestive tract is rested with only iv fluids (no food by mouth) for 7 to 10 days. No one seems to know whats wrong. The pain is so bad i cannot wear a bra and at this point so many foods trigger severe pain that i stop eating for long periods of time. Food is the biggest trigger and I have gotten worse as time has passed. I am a 40 year old mother of 3 that lives a pretty difficult life with this problem. No one seems to be able to figure out why I am suffering so much since the sphincter of oddi problem developed and was hospitalized twice for a month after the initial ERCP (I've had 5!). I am struggling to have a normal life, but living with pain and being on morphine for 5 years has weighed heavily on me. Is there any relief out there for this?

Guest · Guest

After years of suffering I am completely cured. I urge everyone to go to sensiblehealth.com and read through the site. Order the Chinese Butters and Coptis and take exactly as instructed. Give it some time and persevere. I have no connection with this business. They saved my life!

brainboogie · Newbie Joined: 12 Mar 2007 Posts: 1

I too am experiencing the same pains that others here have described. I have been having back pain after eating ever since my 2nd child was born in 6/2002. I has gotten extremely worse over the last year and I have been actively seeking a solution. My gallbladder was removed in 1/07, and since then the pain has gotten even worse, and an additional pain located under my rib cage has been added. I also am woken up around 4:30-5:00 almost every morning with severe pain under my rib cage, that can last up to 3 hours!!! I'm a married mother of two children (4 & 10) and this is causing an unbelieveable strain on all of us. I'm afraid to eat - I've lost 20 lbs. since having my gallbladder removed 2 months ago (which isn't necessary a bad thing, but isn't the right way to lose it either).

I am certainly no stranger to doctors and pain, and have used marijuana for radiation and chemo treatments two times in my 35 years. When someone asked me a few weeks ago if I had tried it for this pain, I decided that desperate times call for desperate measures. Low and behold, I found something that has at least helped ease the pain, and helps to relax the back muscles quickly without keeping me drugged up and tired the whole day. I've worked myself off the narcotics, and am now actively seeking a way that I can get this same type of relief legally. The bad thing is I'm going to have to move to a different state if I want it to be prescribed..... Plus, I yelled at one of the physiatrists here three years ago (for continually blowing me off every time I asked to be worked off narcotics, and actually increasing my dosage on two different occassions when I was wanting it to be lowered!!!) anyway, they won't see me in that office now - even though that doctor isn't there anymore. So, since that is the only pain management place here, I don't know where I'm going to have to go to find help.

Two nights ago I think I found what is wrong with me, and probably many of you also. I am convinced I have sphincter of oddi dysfunction. It is a muscle that spasms (hence the tight muscle feeling) and can also resemble a gallbladder attack, oxycodon can actually make it worse (gee, why haven't the pain killers that I've been drugged up on helped??). PLUS, the reason that the marijuana does help, is because the sphincter of oddi is a smooth muscle and therefore drugs that help to relax smooth muscle tissue will help ease the pain. The bad thing about this is that doctors think that this condition is so rare that they don't believe you. I've already talked to one this morning and was completely blown off. I'm going to talk to another one this afternoon and we'll see what he has to say. Personally I don't think this is as rare as they want to believe. I know 3 other people having the same problem as me, and I live in a town of about 900 people!! All have had their gallbladders removed, and between the 4 of us, I think we have had every test of every kind there can possibly be for "stomach pain" - even though none of it is really in our stomach - and nothing has been found for any of us!! Unfortunately, one girl has gone so far as to have a partial hysterectomy and is still having the same problems after eating.

It's nice to know I'm not alone. But it's also discouraging that nobody seems to be able to get any clear answers. I can only pray that my attacks get to where it only happens a couple times a year, and not every day. I'm completely miserable. This is worse than the treatments for cancer ever were. During those times, all I wanted to do was fight, and now all I want to do is give up. If it weren't for my kids, I would.

Guest · Guest

Theres a support website for sphincter of oddi if you are interested at all feel fre to contact me for the site

month after the initial ERCP (I've had 5!). I am struggling to have a normal life, but living with pain and being on morphine for 5 years has weighed heavily on me. Is there any relief out there for this? [/quote]

Natortator · Newbie Joined: 03 Apr 2007 Posts: 1

I had my gallbladder out 1 week ago. Im finally weening myself off drugs and eating again, but I'm still having gallbladder attacks! Indegestion and airbubbles for hours, just like before. I have had all tests possible and found nothing. My actual gallbladder had stones, diseased, and my small intestines attached itself to it. Doctor said I should feel all better, but I feel the same. Nausea all the time, with air bubbles or "indegestion" coming up. Can anyone help?

Guest · Guest

A considertion may be lactose intolerance. Try limiting your dairy intake or using LactAid. These attacks can produce gas that will feel like a gall bladder attack.

still getting gallbladder attacks 2 years after gallbladder removal

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