Gallbladder Disease Forum - Gallbladder? Ibs?

Conditions and Diseases > Gallbladder Disease Forum > Gallbladder? Ibs?

Are you suffering from gallbladder pain? We describe the location and function of the gallbladder to target possible problems....

Q: Gallbladder? Ibs?

asked by: mkallen on May 14th, 2007

New User

new to this. I have been having problems for over a month now. Started one day (thought I was having heartburn) and took over the counter meds which did not help. Went to the doctor w/ severe pain in the chest (heaviness), nausea, gas, bloating, etc. They put me on nexium. I have been on this for several weeks now and I am still having problems. I always feel full (I have not appetite). When I do eat, my stomach bloats out and the right side (under my rib cage) hurts and it seems like it takes a long time for my food to digest. If you press under my ribs on the right side, it hurts. They did an ultrasound and said my gall bladder was fine. They think this is IBS, but I am not sure. Did I mention that I have had diarrhea and that it looks weird (kind of yellow/light brown) and that I am not peeing regular and when I do it is dark? Something is not right, I just don't know what. They want to put me on bentyl and send me in for a scan of some sort for my gallbladder. My question is this, for those of you who have been through the gallbladder or Ibs problems, are these symptoms that you encountered? Some days I am so miserable I can hardly stand it. Any help would be so much appreciated.

Replies(11)

sillyakchick

replied on May 14th, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

Could be the gall bladder. I think they are sending you for a hida scan which is mostly painless, but takes a while and is very boring. it can make you feel like you are having an attack. If this is negaitve, I would ask of an endoscopy and colonoscopy.

bettyblue7

replied on May 15th, 2007

New User

My ultrasound came back as evrything being ok too. I am having the same symptoms as you... I also feel "hard" in the stomach area.... from feeling so full all the time I assume. They sent me for a hida scan which showed my ef rate of my gallbladder was low 24%, 35% to 70% is normal I guess.... but I just met with a surgeon and he doesn't feel comfy taking it out just yet... he is sending me for an endoscope.... It is frustrating to think it was my gb, and being ready to get it taken out, and then bam, I am back to square one, trying to figure this thing out:( I hope you get some more tests and get if figured out...I am going to test test test until they rule all things out and then just live with the fact that my stomach/bowels, etc. hate me:) hehehe

mkallen

replied on May 16th, 2007

New User

Thanks for the reply. I thought I was going crazy!!! I hate you are having the same problems as me, but a least it helps me know I have some sanity left.
I hope they find out what is wrong w/ you. I am going to see the GI doctor today. I hope they will hear me out. I have lost weight (9 pounds in a month) from not eating. They never did call me about the scan so I am hoping that this new doctor will listen.

Good luck to you and email back and let me know how you are doing.

tinkinpink84

replied on May 18th, 2007

Especially eHealthy

they told my husband similar things, the past couple weeks he has had stomach pains on the right side under the ribs then radiates lower like an L shape on the right side, they said could be IBS, gallbladder or liver issues, he says its like a constant pain sometimes it gets sharp and he gets naauseated, i asked him last night and he said its a dull constand ache now and more of an anoying pain, they took blood and are gonna test it, i dunno what for, last time they were lookin for an infection because he had blood in his stools but there was no infection so they gave him hemmroid meds. but now its on to figure out this stomach pain. i dont know what exactly u can find out from blood, but one thing i do know is gallbladder pain and ulcer pain are very similar so an endoscope to rule out an ulcer is a good thing to do. they did that the ady before my surgery to remove my gallbladder, they already knew i had stones but wanted to make sure i didnt have an ulcer as well.

dynamicdebz

replied on May 18th, 2007

New User

Hi mkallen:
I had gallsti=ones & had my gallbladder removed 2.5 months ago, the pain under my right ribs has gone but I still get severe pain in my bowels exactly half hour after eating but not everytime. May happen 2 or 3 times a week. My motions are still pale yellow when i have this trouble.
My dr sys as my motions are pale yellow it is defiantely a bilary problem, so I guess this must be the same case for you. It may be that the gallstones haven't shwn on the scan. I apparently nly had couple of very little stons yet when they took my gallbladder out it was on the verge of bursting as it was so badly infected & full of pus.
I am notn sure if my post is helping but if you have the right rib cage pain & yellow stools it is defiantely bilary, could even be an insufficient pancreas, so make sure they get to the bottom of the problem.
In my opinion only IBS is a diagnosis given when a dr feels all else fails.
Keep expressing your concerms to them.
Good luck!

mkallen

replied on May 21st, 2007

New User

thanks so much for everyone's input. I went and had a nuclear scan (I guess that is what you call a hyda scan). I went in and they started an iv, made me sit out in the waiting area for an hour and then brought me back and injected more medicine in me and scanned my gall bladder for 30-40 minutes. It hurt! Felt sick to my stomach and my side really hurt (I was told it might hurt, but I guess I thought it wouldn't). It set whatever is going on in my stomach off! My chest felt like it was going to explode the rest of the night and I had pain all afternoon. They would not give me the results, so I am waiting to hear. The medicine they gave me for "IBS" is a joke. It does not work. It all comes down to this. If I don't eat, I don't hurt (may have some pain the right side, but nothing like I do when I eat). I am so frustrated. We leave for Florida in 2 weeks to take my kids to Disney and I just know that I am going to be dealing w/ this problem and the doctors just don't seem to care. I will talk w/ the doctor about the issues you brought up (about the bile) and see what they say. Thanks for information.

sillyakchick

replied on May 21st, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

If your pain was re-created, then my best guess would be your gall bladder. In many cases, removing it can definitely help with the problem. Sometimes it doesn't. I am so sorry you can't eat. That is a terribly frustrating problem! Things that will set off gall bladder pain are fatty and spicy foods. If you can try to avoid these, it might help you. Another thing that always helped me was to get into "child's pose" [Link Expired]

It also helped if my husband pounded on my back while this was happening. Pain medications did very little to help me. Try to eat bland foods that are nort too processed while you are waiting for a plan. I hope you find an answer soon!

mkallen

replied on May 22nd, 2007

New User

I got a call from the drs. office today. My scan came back abnormal (19%). The GI dr. wants to see me tomorrow. I am relieved just for the fact that I finally know what is going on for sure. Thanks for being so helpful. I have another question. What are some questions that I should ask the GI doctor. Never being in this situation before I want to make sure I have all my bases covered. Are there important things that I need to ask? I would assume that 19% is not that great of a score, but who knows?

Thanks again for your help. I really appreciate it.

sillyakchick

replied on May 22nd, 2007

Extremely eHealthy

The 19 percent is the percentage of bile which exits from your GB when you eat a fatty meal. you don't have gallstones, but your gall bldder is not functioning very well. I would ask the dr the following:

Do you reccommend removing the gall bladder?
What are the complications of removal?
What is the likelihood of problems with the bile duct afterward?
What is the percentage across the general population of this happening?
Do I have additional risk factors of these complications happening to me?
What are my conservative treatment options?
If I have the surgery right away, will i still be able to go on my vacation?
Can you give me anything to help me be more comfortable until the surgery?

I hope this helps. Good luck!

mkallen

replied on May 24th, 2007

New User

went to the gi doctor yesterday. he told me to have my gall bladder removed and even though it was not an emergency, he would go ahead and get it done before vacation. so i get an appointment w/ a surgeon this morning and boy was he arrogant. he told me I did not have a gall bladder problem and that the hyda scan could show anybody having a gall bladder not functioning and just because it was not functioning at the moment does not mean I should get it out and he said I have a stomach ucler and if was not that, than probably just gastritis. so now he is sending me back to the gi doctor for an endoscopy tomorrow. i am at the point right now, I don't care what it is if they can just fix it. i am tired of this mess and in the meantime all I am doing is running up $$$$ medical bills.

to those reading this, how accurate is an hyda scan (mine was 19%)? can an ulcer has similar symptoms of gall bladder? can an ulcer be healed/fixed easily? any comments/suggestions would be appreciated.

thanks.

Brendan1616

replied on September 22nd, 2009

New User

Wow, mkallen, your symptoms are EXACTLY the same as mine. I have been suffering with this for 3 freakin years now, and as a guy, I just always put it off and never went to the Dr. When I did about a year ago, they just said IBS. I was like no way IBS could cause this much constant pain and poop problems. So, I took their joke of a medicine which did nothing, then decided to get painkillers online instead. Then, it got much worse to the point where painkillers didn't stop it. I had a complete workup done: endo/colonoscopy, CT scan, and finally, an excruciating HIDA scan. I was not prepared for that at all. Of course, it wasn't functioning, so now I am scheduled to get it out in 2 weeks and I got some more pain meds. It's still killing me as I write this. I really wish you replied with how yours went. Luckily, my IBS diagnosing Dr. was worried that I had lost a lot of weight because I stopped eating because I am TERRIFIED of food now, which helped him rush along all these tests. I just hope this will all be over soon. Also, it runs in my family, and my mom was nagging me to get it checked out but I was too lazy. Guess they are always right Wink

Learn About Us

Get Help

Join In

Do More

We comply with the HONcode standard for trustworthy health
information:
verify here.

The site is not a replacement for professional medical opinion, examination, diagnosis or treatment. Always seek the advice of your medical doctor or other qualified health professional before starting any new treatment or making any changes to existing treatment. Do not delay seeking or disregard medical advice based on information written by any author on this site. No health questions and information on eHealth Forum is regulated or evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration and therefore the information should not be used to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease without the supervision of a medical doctor. Posts made to these forums express the views and opinions of the author, and not the administrators, moderators, or editorial staff and hence eHealth Forum and its principals will accept no liabilities or responsibilities for the statements made. Schizophrenia health sitemap.
This page was last updated on January 1, 2009.
© 2008 eForums, Inc