What next?

[Lilyofthevalley]

First let me say I believe I have done amazingly well since my surgery. I had a lot of health problems and many symtoms have been eliminated or lessened. I've had a few bumps in the road but have always been able to find solutions.

In September I had what the ER doctor called a "Gallbladder attack." She told me that I had a gallbladder "full of sludge." I really had no idea what that meant. She suggested that I have a Hepatobiliary study done. I did so and the results were "normal." I was fine by that time, so I didn't worry about it. I thought maybe the pain and vomiting had just been a fluke.

The last three days I was in intense pain, vomiting up everything I ate, and unable to find any food or drink that did not cause me pain and/or vomiting. Today I have been able to tolerate broth, a protein drink, and even a few cooked vegies, without up chucking. I am having some pain but not as horrible as it had been.

I have a hernia repair scheduled for later this month and I thought they could remove the gallbladder then. Problem? If the Hepatobiliary study is normal the insurence may not pay for gallbladder removal. My question is does this sound like anything else to anyone? I thought the first day it was a kidney stone but it didn't continue per my experience with that. My biggest concern is that I just don't know what to eat. I need the fat but there does seem to be a correlation between fat consumption and the pain and vomiting.

I am in touch with my PCP and will see him this Friday. I need help troubleshooting this. Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
Ps. I still love my DS!

 

[Charris]

I vomited like that and couldn't even take in liquids when I had a kidney infection. My gallbladder has been out since RNY. I HAD no other symptoms of a kidney infection.

I hope you feel better.

 

[catecholamine]

Hmm. I had intermittent attacks like that myself. No stones. Just sludge. It was INTENSE pain and horrible vomitting. It got to the point where I was throwing up green bile. The doc did a CT scan, saw no stones, told me I'd be fine. Happened again, went to ER because it was so bad, they said I had the stomach flu. I knew better. Finally, it happened a third time and the HIPA scan showed my GB working at 10% capacity.
Hopefully you will not have to wait for it to get worse like I did.
I would think they could still get insurance to pay based on symptoms.
I wish I could be of more help. I hope you can get it taken care of quickly.

 

[shann]

I didn't have stones either, just sludge. They kept telling me that it was constipation, but I knew better! I had some of the worst pain I've ever had- the only pain that's come even close to labor pains. It was awful!

I hope they can fix things for you!!

 

[Charris]

If it is sludge in there doesn't that mean it is not emptying appropriately because normal healty gallbladder don't have sludge right. I think they will pay for it. Because when the dr goes in he can say it looked diseased and take it out. That's what happened with my rny. I knew mines was slow emptying but when the dr got in he said it looked bad so he took it out. No problems with insurance paying.

 

[Sheanie]

I had sludge as well. Suffered with misdiagnoses for over 13 years before I ended up in the ER with chest pain. Ruled out heart, finally diagnosed GB. Bypassed my idiot PCP, who STILL insisted it was "gastritis" and called a surgeon myself. Had ANOTHER ultrasound, during which I was rolled and viewed in copious positions, which showed the GB had adhered to everything around it. It was hell coming out, the surgeon had to be very careful not to injure the surrounding organs. Recovery was very long and painful because of all the adhesions. My insurance paid, no problem. Getting the diagnosis correct was my problem. I suspect that sludge is the factor there.

Once the GB was gone, I realized that all of my "flu" illnesses over the past 13 years occurred when no other family members were sick. My siblings have all had their GB out, but they all had stones in theirs. My mother had 3 large stones in hers, her sisters both had stones, and my mothers' mother had stones.

The gallbladder is evil. It must be removed.

 

[Elizabeth N.]

Have you had a HIDA scan?

 

[ginger]

Where was your pain located? How did it feel, stabbing ? Sharp, dull? Etc what words would you use? Where was the pain in regards to the hernia? Where is the hernia located? Could it of been close to where that issue is located? Sorry they did not remove the gallbladder earlier, any idea why they did not? As it's almost always removed with WLS . I would definitely ask surgeon doing hernia to explore while n there and see if there are any other issues happening. The pain lane and previous ER doc diagnosis should cover it, if that is truly what it is. Often gallbladder sludge takes forever to show n testing, but can cause a huge amount of issues

 

[cajungirl]

Agree with EN, request a HIDA scan. I didn't have stones either, some sludge and a polyp shone on the ultra sound. Had it removed 5 years post-RNY and it made a world of difference immediately.

 

[Lilyofthevalley]

Yes, I believe so EN, I was told that the Hepatobiliary study is a HIDA scan. That is why I am so frustrated because all I get from the hospital and my PCP office is that the scan came back "normal." The pain is right under my rib cage in the middle and radiates around and into my back and is some of the worst pain I have ever experienced. Yesterday I managed to get in 60 ounces of fluids with another 12 ounces of protein during the morning and early afternoon. I tried solid food about 3:00, the veggies from canned soup, a piece of cheese, and a few crackers, and continued liquids. About 6:00 pm all hell broke loose again with pain and vomiting. There's nothing much to vomit so every sip just comes up. This morning the pain is again minimal and I have had 12 ounces of protein and water. Not gonna try solid food at all today. I see the PCP in the morning. Thanks for all the suggestions.

 

[cajungirl]

DeeDeeDS, my experience was fatty type foods, especially nuts would trigger the worse nausea and pain. Be persistent the sludge may not show up in testing and going in might be the best option.