After having weeks of pain, nausea,
diarrhea, chest heaviness, heartburn, and
pain under my rib right side, I have
finally been able to start eating again (I
have lost over 13 pounds). I am so
confused at the moment on what to do next.
I had the ultrasound, came back normal.
I had the hyda scan and the results said
it visualized normally but did not
properly work (I am at 19%). So I go to
the gi and he said since I was still
having symptoms to go to a surgeon. Went
to the surgeon and he said he would not do
surgery on me because he thought it was a
stomach ulcer and told me to have an
endoscopy. Had the endoscopy and the gi
doctor told me that he had found a small
area in my small intestine that looked
like sprue and sent it off to have it
tested. It came back positive. I had not
been eating wheat, etc. and the surgeon's
office called me and wanted to cancel my
surgery and I just cried because I had had
a terrible weekend last week w/ my chest
hurting and having pain off and on under
my right side. The surgeon's office
called my gi doctor and said that those
symptoms sounded like a gall bladder issue
and my test was abnormal and to go ahead
and have the surgery. My question is
this. I have not had my chest hurting now
for 5 days and I have only had some
heartburn (which is still unusual for me
since it was never a problem before all
this started). I still have what I would
consider dull pains under my right rib
cage at times (I don't bend over). Does
this mean that my gall bladder is now
working correctly? and if so, does this
mean that it is getting better? The
surgeon who did not want to do my surgery
at the time said anybody can have a 19%
functioning gallbladder and that was not a
reason to have it out. I am so confused.
I don't want to go through those attacks
again. Should I go ahead w/ the surgery
or wait. Do any of you have days, weeks,
where you feel okay and then it acts up?
Anybody got any suggestions?
its really up to u, i started getting
attacks when i was pregnant but they
wouldbea few mths apart so i never
worried, but then after i had my daughter
they were once a week then twice a week
and lasting 5 hrs or more it was horrible
so the dr opted to do the surgery asap but
i never had a hyda scan done i had an
ultrasound wich detected stones. if the
attacks are bad or frequent id say go for
the surgery youll feel much better.
|
sillyakchick
Supporter
Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 2688
Thanks: 5
Thanked:0
Posted: 06-13-07 10:56am
Hello, and welcome to my world. You have
a positive test for Sprue, and althoughh
you say you had not been eating wheat,
there are a million different forms of
hidden glutens in food out there that I
would be willing to bet that you have been
eating gluten. I also have celiac sprue.
I have done a lot of research on celiac
and the gall bladder and have discovered
that celiac disease puts a lot of pressure
on the gall bladder and over extended
periods of time the gall bladder does not
function correctly because of an
interference with the way in which
untreated celiacs process fats. I had my
gall bladder removed and have had nothing
but trouble since. i have a condition
called "spasm of the sphincter of oddi" or
"biliary dyskenesia". Basically, it does
not work the way it should. Bile builds
up over a period of time, and then spews
forth into the stomach with fury. It is
very painful, but doctors call this
condition rare. I am pretty sure they
just don't have very good research on it
yet. I don't know what would have
happened if i would have kept my
gallbladder. Maybe my situation would
have been better, or maybe it would have
been worse. i would suggest you seek a
second opinion about the surgery, and
discuss with the doctor what side effects
could be, and ask about the biliary
dyskenesia and spasm issues. If you need
more info, feel free to continue to post
here, or PM me if you like.