Gallbladder Symptoms but all tests are Negative

I have been having problems with intermittent nausea for a few months and cramping in the right side. Now the past two weeks it has been pretty constant. I go for a CT scan tomorrow. So far I have had bloodwork, sonogram, hida scan all unremarkable.

My Gastro actually said he is convinced it is my gallbladder but that "THEY" frown upon him removing organs from people on instinct alone.

Atleast he believes me!

Rhianna

Hey I am havign the exact same problems ...no c section tho i am 23 and they have given me percacet and vicatin ....prilosec and zantac...every damn test was negative...but ...I am vomiting after eating fatty foods especially cheese..any amount....and basically cant move and soemtimes hurt when I breath in...let me know what happens with you ok..**edited by moderator ** e-mails not allowed **

My husband has been in the ER four times in the past month with what his family doc and gastro doc have dianosed as gall bladder attacks. However, his HIDA scan levels were not out of normal range, and the surgeon he was referred to says he is not a surgical candidate. This doc was called in to the ER at 1 a.m.,. read the chart, didn't even touch my husband and made this pronouncement. They sent him home (again) and told him he needs to see his gastro. Gastro says he has run all tests he can and even though tests are not abnormal he wants him to have gallbladder out because he has continuous severe attack symptoms and he feels that this is the best option. But now that the surgeon has decreed no surgery, gastro told him to wait until next attack, go to ER and ask for another specific surgical group to consult. But if he goes to the office and they don't see him in the throes of the attack they may also turn him down and then he is out of luck because there are only two surgical groups in the area who do this surgery and once they say no he is sh*t out of luck. I am tired of spending 8-10 hours in the ER for him to get a shot of pain med that only helps for a short time and then going back to the ER in a couple of days. Last trip the family doc told him to report to the ER immediately after seeing him in his office, and we are now at wits end. He is not able to keep food down, has lost 8 lbs in 10 days, by the end of the night he is in severe paid under his rib cage on the right, is thowing up bile and sludge and has diarhea - the HIDA scan re-created all these symptoms even tho levels seemed to be OK. Now what? He does not want to keep going to the ER, I think they are looking at him as seeking pain meds, when that is not true - he just wants to get this taken care of and is being treated like a human pinball.

Wow. I have also been having these same problems! It's been going on for about 6 months, but for the past month it's been happening more frequently & the pain lasts longer. I wnet to the ER a month ago, had CT scan, ultrasound of my ovaries, nothing. This week I went to a stomach specialist because I just can't take the pains anymore. He sent me to have a HIDA scan. I get the resultsa this coming Monday. My problem is I have pains not just in Upper Right Quadrent, but also lower left & lower right, which aren't the usual for gall bladder, I guess. I get these STABBING pains that last for 8 hours, and the last bout lasted for two days! Right where my appendix would be, except on the left side, more so than the right. Not sure what is there, but no diahrea, so I am guessing it's not crohns or anything like that. I dunno, but I wish all of us the best!

Glad to say that we went ahead and made an appointment with the surgeon without having to have to wait until my husband had another severe attack and trip to the ER. He conferred with the gastro doc and agreed that even though the tests were not conclusive, he felt that removing the gall bladder is definitely the way to go. If that doesn't work, then he is not sure what will, but his instinct and training tell him that surgery is the best option right now. Hubby is scheduled for surgery in a week. Hope that takes care of all his symptoms, but at least we found a doctor who actually sat down and listened to the entire history instead of just looking at a chart. He did say that the insurance company might deny the surgery, but they have agreed with the doctor's diagnosis (for once!). I guess the moral of the story is to continue to ask for second or third opinions - doctors are busy and many have allowed themselves to be sucked into the HMO mentality of evidence based medicine. This doctor actually practices medicine instead of playing insurance and numbers games, like docs are supposed to.

I had the same exact problem that caused me to have pancreatitis.. Not until a YEAR later did my gallbladder show any evidence of stones or sludge.

Dear sickANDtired22,
I have been experiencing the same problems as your husband. Gallbladder disease was initially suspected but all the tests came back negative. Also, I do not have pain in my back or right shoulder which I understand is typical of people suffering from gallbladder attacks.

Additionally, for the last 8 months I often suffer from very bad heartburn around my heart and breast bone. Did your husband also suffer from these symptoms?
My gastroenterologist diagnosed me with GERD and put me on anti acid medication but I think there might be a separte or somehow causal connection with the Gallbladder. He thinks the pain in my right side is part of the GERD but I don't think so. It is almost always in the same exact spot and sharp---like a runner's cramp.
I am interested to know how the surgery went for your husband and if he has had relief from his symptoms. I am also considering having my gallbladder removed.
I've already spoken to a surgeon about this but we are proceeding with caution. The negative test results is what is making us hesitate.

I hope your husband is feeling better.

HZ

I had similar symptoms as gallbladder symptoms. It happened 6 weeks post c-section for me...I thought the doctor left something in me . I ended up in the ER they removed my appendix, still had excruciating pain. I went to see a gastrointerologist. She did every test under the sun. An endoscopy with a biopsy of the duodenum part of the stomach came up with my diagnosis. Celiac Sprue Disease. I am on a gluten free diet and feeling much better. You can only detect it through a biopsy so if you have to have an endoscopy anyway because of these type of symptoms ask them to check fort his, it is a disease that is becoming more and more prevelant in the U.S. but the doctors do not think of it at first.

I have had ongoing gallbladder symptoms for 10 years after the birth of my first child, I finally had a nuclear test done and shows it is dysfunctional finally coming out about time

JUST CURIOUS IF ANYONE HAD THEIR GALLBLADDER REMOVED AFTER EXPERIENCING THIS? DID IT HELP? I AM GOING THROUGH THE SAME THING RIGHT NOW AND MY DOC JUST WANTS TO TAKE IT OUT, BUT I AM WORRIED BECAUSE TESTS RESULTS ARE ALL NEGATIVE. %-)

I have been going through the exact same problems with what appears to be a gallbladder attack. I went to the ER twice, had a ct scan, ultrasound, and a hida scan that reproduced all the exact pain that I have been complaining of, BUT since the scan came back at 91% and all the other tests are negative, I am 'good to go'! I'm like, what about this damn pain that is ruining my life?? The younger than me ER doc handed me some papers today about a thing called 'Functional Abdominal Pain Syndrome'. Give me a break! There is nothing 'functional' about my pain and it really irritates that this so called doc spent more time printing out this article and hilighted various areas instead of talking to me in detail about my pain.

How desperate and arrogant have these doctor's become? They rely on tests more than the symptoms of their patients to make a better diagnosis? I know my gallbladder is messed up and if anyone ever ends up taking it out, it will be proof again that these machines are not all that accurate! Until then, I live in pain and am labeled as someone with psychological as well as pain medication addition problem (even though they never give them to me).

I hope someone will have a positive outcome for this group and will get the help we all deserve!

does anyone found anything out. im having the same problem. i have been to the ER 3 times in the last month and a normal doctor 3 times(well 5, but twice they just referred me to someone else.) it is starts to get better for about a day, then the next day the pains come back, but worse. i have stopped eatting and drinking because it causes me to throw up, and that makes the pains worse! please help!

For the past 6 years I have had intermittent attacks of pain in the upper right quadrant, below rib cage, right where the gall bladder is. The attacks hit in a series of 2 - 3 times, about every 4 - 6 months.

The last one was a year ago, however two weeks ago I rushed to a Doc in the box with another attack very severe. Since then in the past two weeks I have had 5 such attacks.

The attack goes like this: it starts with a preminiscent quivering/twitching in the URight quadrant, and gradually becomes more severe over the course of a couple of hours. Then it culmunates into a serious constant pain, localized to same spot; the pain is excrusiating. Nothing will ease the pain, I try massaging the spot, stretching, fetal position, hopping, all I can do is pace back & forth as stopping or lying down will cause the pain to become more intense. This goes on for 1-2 hours, then it ends after a gurgling and gushing sensation, and the pain completely dissapears.

I remain sore for about 1/2 a day, presumably from the cramping in the GB, and then yet another onset of the same cycle begins. This goes on for 2 to 3 bouts of this tortuous painful cycle, and reappears months later.

I have had 3 negative ultrasounds for stones, 1 negative x-ray for stones, and an upper GI that was also negative; most of those tests were conducted during an "attack" by the way. Last week I had a CT Scan which was also negative.

Also had blood panel, Cholesterol is shocking 225 and billirubin was 1.98, very rare as I typically have all numbers in the low range.

Additional info; I am a 40 y/o male, 5'9" height at 182lbs (although sedintary); I went on the Atkins diet losing 15 pounds and thought I cured myself but apparently the last benge over the course of the preceeding 2 months has ended in this most recent episode.

Any hints or similar stories out there?

I have had all the same sympoms that all of the above have had. I had my first gall bladder attack in June of this year. I went the ER and was told I had a compacted bowel. All they done was xrays. I didn't really agree with this since I have a bowel movement everyday and most often more than one a day. Everybody I told about my symptoms, friends, family, coworkers etc, said it was my gall bladder. I went to my primary doctor 5 days later and she even said gall bladder. I had the ultra sound done, negative, hidascan 41%, which I was told by several different people, negative and positive, I then had the EGD done and was told it was negative but that I had 2 irratated spots on my stomach but they weren't ulcers. I asked that surgeon if my gall bladder would need to come out and he said "No, my gall bladder was fine and that I would have to learn to live with the pain." Well, my thought was, with modern technology in the medical field, why should I have to learn to live with the pain and take pain killers the rest of my life. I went back to my primary doctor and she sent me to a gastro specialists and he wanted me to take Nexium for 6 weeks. My sister had told me about the surgeon she went to for her gall bladder and I thought I would give her a try. I went to her and she explained to me that I have all the symptoms of gall bladder problems but with none of the tests showing positive that if she did the surgery she could not guarantee that I would feel better. I had the surgery last Thursday and I have not had any gall bladder attacks but I am very sore at my incisions. I can't even stand to have sweat pants over my stomach, so I have had to take off work the entire week (in hopes that come Monday I can put some clothes on). I have my follow up appointment with the surgeon tomorrow and hopefully this is something that is normal. But my answer to all of you out there fighting this, keep looking for a surgeon that will do the surgery. It may work, it may not, but the way I looked at it, it is worth a shot and is better than just accepting that you have to live in pain. Good Luck.

I've been experiencing the symptoms that you are describing for the past week and have an appointment to see my family doctor in two days, however, after reading all these posts, I am not hopeful for any kind of relief in the near future. I'm experiencing this pain and discomfort after eating any kind of food, fatty or not.

I would welcome any advice on expediting prognosis and treatment for these symptoms, as they are disrupting my everyday activities, something I'm not planning on tolerating long term.