Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction Incidence Following Gallbladder Removal

Hi, I am so glad to read these posts and know I am not alone in this.  I started having attacks with pain and vomiting over 20 years ago.  Tests showed no gallstones, so all I was told was to stay away from fried foods.  About 8 years ago I finally had a test that showed my gallbladder wasn't functioning and so it was removed.  4 years ago I woke up with horrible pain where my gallbladder was.  Long story short, 8 months later, after various doctors and tests, I had the ERCP that confirmed SOD and had a stint for 8 weeks to widen the biliary duct.  Soon after, I also developed esophagitis.   After trial and error, I find I can only eat a bland diet. Nothing fatty, fried, spicy, acidic, and no alcohol.  I get away with a cup of coffee only because I am on Prilosec.  This is not a fun disorder.  I still have pain every day.  Stress, eating the wrong thing, or too much food at one sitting makes me sick.  Does anyone else suffer from fatigue and anxiety since their symptoms started?   Sending everyone well wishes.

OK guys.  I don't seem to get email updates on this post and wish I did.  I posted a while back and am going to repeat my story incase it can help someone.  My WHOLE life I have had nausea, pain, early satiety and severe fatigue/grey outs after eating.  My mom didn't take it seriously and thought I was lying.  I was extremely weak and thin my whole life.  Every so many years it got slightly worse.  I had my son in Feb. 2009, 3 months postpartum my pituitary went out, nearly a year later corrected its self.  My abdominal pain and nausea was much more severe and constant.  Couldn't breathe, 'heart problems' docs couldn't find, severe fatugue, brain fog, headaches every day, itchy dry skin even in humid Georgia summers and so many other symptoms.  I thought I was going to die.  Even Mayo Clinic didn't figure this out!  Doctors kept telling me my CTs were normal, my MRIs were normal.  GB only funtcioned at 13 per cent.  Took it out and still sick as heck.  I got a copy of my CTs and MRIs and saw they were not normal!!!!!  Radiologists put notes that my common bile duct was dilated, my liver was enlarged!!  That is soooo not normal.  Especially in someone so sick.  I decided my 6th gastroenterologist was going to have to have a special interest in the biliary tract.  I picked one out on a hospital website, if you see the doc's profiles they have special interestes listed.  He figured it out the first appt!  He does ERCPs without manometry, he would have cut the muscle if I had raised liver enzymes but I didn't have that, so he sent me to Emory.  Turns out I have a birth defect, too small of a sphincter of oddi, also called stenosis.  We cut the muscle, felt well for about a month.  Found a surgeon to have the transduodenal sphincteroplasty and got it done on March 14.  It is now April 4 and just now started to feel better a few days ago.  At first I was so much worse that I regretted it and kept thinking, "what the freak did I do to myself?!".  I wish I had not done it.  Now is a different story.  I am so glad I did.  Most of my pain is gone, although I have a new pain it doesn't compare to the SO pain, my acne is gone, no more nausea, my skin is already less dry, not a single headache since the surgery and I am currently not taking pain meds so that has nothing to do with it.  My energy is better but not as great as it used to be, but my liver and body needs to heal more first. 

Please take from this what you can and get help.  If you have ANY questions, I will answer.  This is something miserable to 'live' with.  I will keep checking on this post in case anyone wants answers.  Good luck to all.  I am praying for everyone. 

Thankyou so much for this information.I have been put on a waiting list to have the operation for S.O.D. Do you have any idea of how long the recovery after the operation will be as I'm due to go away in June this year and I'm not sure as to whether I have the op before or after my hols.

My wife is in the same boat.  After giving birth to twins, she had gallbladder problems & had to have it removed.  They described it as 'sand' in the gallbladder.

Now, 4 years later she started having massive pain on her right side/abdomen area.  She is a constant pain level 6, but eating *anything* causes it to spike up to 10.  Sometimes she has attacks even without eating.  She describes the pain as exactly the same as right before they pulled her gallbladder.

Many ER visits and 1 hospital stay resulted in...well, nothing at all.  Every test as the rest of you describe were all negative.  I did reading on the web leading me to SoD, but didn't mention it to any doctors.

She saw an entire team of GI's, with the end result being 95% probably that she had SoD - but the GI would not do anything about it.  He referred her on to a Doctor at Jackson Hospital (at the University of Miami).  We had to get records to the doctor & wait, but finally saw him.

After reviewing her case, he's going to do the surgery & cut the muscle (and check for anything the tests might have missed) - that's next week.  In addition to the potential for complications, my real concern is that this does nothing to help the pain.

She's lost 30 or so pounds in 3 months, and I'm very scared that if this doesn't work the next step will be.. nothing.  The doctor briefly mentioned the possibility of simply learning to live with it.

It does seem weird in this day & age that there are still problems people can have that not only have no cure - but have no diagnosis either.  Not to belittle some other incurable things, but at least they can be diagnosed if not cured.  This feels worse since no one really seems to know what the cause is.

I was wondering how your wife is doing?

I had gallbladder removed in 1986, pain started years later (about 10), pain and symptoms began to get worse over the period from 1998 until 2013. During this time I began to gain weight for no known reason (eating and exercising remained the same). Liver Function tests all abnormal, in fact the ALP had been high for years. Doctor's would ask me "do you know your ALP is elevated" and no one bothered to tell me what I should do or who I should see. Finally changed ALL doctors and within 6 months I was sent to a specialist (Gastro) and given an ERCP. I was diagnosed with SOD and the muscle was cut. It is 6 months and I have only had 1 episode of stomach pain, no nausea. I hope I stay like this.

Could you tell me how long the procedure took and how long you were in the hospital, did you have a NG tube? I am considering this procedure myself but can't find information on it.

Hi I have had the same problem try Amitriptyline in a very small amount, a lot of research has been done by Dr Marshall at the John Radcliffe Oxford. In Japan they only take out the Gallbladder as a last resort, to may people have the same problem how many Gallbladders have been removed unnecessarily.

I am so sorry, I just now saw your message! If you are referring to the Sphincteroplasty i was in the hospital for a week. I am at my one year mark and still getting better. I found out my doctors hid that I had fatty liver from long term inflammation. I don't know if it will heal fully, my doctors don't even know what to say. I am not fully better but surly am still improving. Another woman I know who had this surgery done took a while to improve also. I think about 6 months total for her. Good luck. I hope you have finally got relief or will soon

I had the sphincterotomy at the same time I had my gallbladder out....but I now have issues with diarrhea and not digesting foods correctly.

I have been having the same issue severe pain in the upper right quadrant also bad nausea and vomiting. This has been going on for 3 months now and have had a lot of test run but all is good. They even said that my blood work is awfully good for someone getting sick so much. And I have had 4 doctors now say it is in my head. Now this week I have been retaining a lot of water. I have gained 22lbs in 6 days and can barely keep anything down.

I have been with stomach pain since11/2014; dx: gastritis/acid reflux ; drugs: the Golden PURPLE pill and since that was not working added more/TEST: endscope: minor inflammation/ stay on all drugs/ HIDA: gb functioning 92%; minor crystals/the surgeon says: we can take gb out but you may still have pain/ DUH? I firmly believe it is SOD; waiting to get the EUS scheduled....My diet was vanilla before now it is Xtra vanilla......I just want this to go away......doctor said he doesn't know for sure what it is.....I am done after the EUS.....(I eat small spoons of food/ pain tightens and worsenings in evening....I recline in bed and pain subsides w/n 2 to 4 hours......) push getting these test.....

I see your post out here a while back but I wondered if you've been able to get relief?? I'm experiencing the same thing over a year out from gall bladder removal!

I know you posted over a year ago regarding your gallbladder and SOD issues. I just had my gallbladder out 2 weeks ago still have the burning pain in my shoulder blade and neck feel dripping this is not as bad on some days as others. I am trying to find out what foods trigger the symptons. Have a dr I clean for that is trying to get me into his practice, but GI doc has released me because she can't do any more testing. I feel hopeless and like bile is just running amuk in my body. Just wanted to see how you are doing and want a little hope that it can be fixed and end someday soon as I feel life just passing me by.

I have weight loss and pain. I had my surgery in april