Gall Bladder Issues?

The following is not to scare, but to let you know that mild symptoms can suddenly become severe and its good that you know you have a potential issue. My niece has had mild to moderate issues for years with her digestive system. As a small child she would refuse to eat (to the point her parents took her to see several doctors) and even as an adult she never ate a lot at any time. Although she had problems there was never a specific diagnosis. She is quite thin and from what I can tell eats a generally healthy diet. She recently became pregnant (her first) and began experiencing what they diagnosed as severe morning sickness. Poor thing could not keep anything down for weeks. In and out of the hospital and had an IV for weeks to provide nutrition. Thank goodness her Mom is an RN and her husband has a stong science background. They kept insisting it had to be more than morning sickness. Finally a gastro expert was brought in and did an ultrasound of her gall-bladder and said that was the problem. They immediately removed it. She has improved steadily since the surgery a couple of weeks ago. Another thing that no one thought of was a family history of gall-bladder problems. Two aunts had theirs removed in their early 50's. I think it just never occurred to anyone that might be her issue because she is only 33.

Yes, I've had gall bladder issues. I had mine removed due to gall stones a couple of years ago. I'm 47 now, but even when I was in college sometimes I would have issues when I ate a lot of greasy food. I would feel very ill- like stomach upset, abdominal pain, plus headache, just very sick. I thought it might be my gallbladder but never had it diagnosed as such, so it's speculation on my part. Fast forward 20 years and I still would have those same issues if I over-ate, but one night it culminated in a horrible attack. I was eating a very fat-laden dinner at a restaurant and started having horrible abdominal pain. I almost thought I was having a heart attack. We drove to the emergency room, but the pain disappeared. I called my BIL who is a doctor and he diagnosed me as having a gall bladder attack. We went home and an hour later I had another attack. Back to the hospital, ultrasound, and surgery followed.

I still have the same issues as before, if I overeat I get very ill.

I ended up joining WW and losing 22 lbs. I gained some of it back- maintenance is a b****, lol- and so found my way here. My innards are so much happier when I limit my calorie intake to a reasonable level. You'd think I'd be able to do it on my own, but for some reason I just need more structure.

Have you had a gallbladder ultrasound, HIDA scan, or liver function tests? I just had mine out a couple of months ago, along with my appendix!

Sometimes the ultrasound or exam can be negative, but the actual function of the gallbladder is failing, which causes an overall feeling of, let's call it death, instead of the intermittent excruciating pain stones can cause.

Good luck - I certainly don't miss mine!!!

I had mine taken out my first semester of college--fun times. I will say you need to keep an eye on it. I went to the doctor complaining of pain in the area. When he took some blood and saw a slightly elevated white blood cell count he sent me immediately to the emergency room and I was soon after admitted to the hospital for testing and observation. It turned out that the function was just very low so I had it taken out a few weeks later. Gall bladder issues can get serious very quickly- as someone else posted. If you are feeling pain, you really need to pay attention to it.

ETA: when/if you get it taken out, make sure to be careful with your diet. Some things--high in fat usually-- cause me to have intense pain and I'm in the bathroom about 30 seconds after I eat it. I can't eat homemade mac and cheese or hardly anything fried. It's good and bad

I had mine removed. I had stones. gall bladder attacks were the worst pain of my life -- which includes a torn ACL and ACL reconstruction plus knee rehab and two c-sections. pregnancy can cause stones - which is why women are slightly more prone to them.

sounds like they aren't ready to take yours out yet? i was so glad to have mine removed, but yes, cut way back on fats will help to some degree. for me, it was lying down that would land those stones in my gall duct and that's what was causing the pain. and if you do have it out, fats may go right thru you in the future. good luck!!! oh, and i had mine out on a Friday and was back to my desk job on Monday. if they only have to scope you, recovery is a breeze.

LOL I just said the same thing about fat going right through you. Glad I'm not the only one!!

I had issues for about 2 years before it was determined that I had gallstones. I had bad reactions to different foods and had a near constant bloated painful abdomen. I finally had one bad attack that ended up with an ER visit and I finally found out what the problem was. I got my gallbladder out just about 2 months ago and I feel a ton better. I didn't realize how bad I felt until the source of the issue was gone. I also ended up having an umbilical hernia that they repaired at the same time.

Before I got it removed, I controlled the pain by eliminating a lot of fat content from my diet. That got me through until surgery. Good luck!

I had problems for a good 12 years before finally having mine out. Whenever I would find a specific food that set off my system, I would avoid it. Things finally came to a head when I hit the point that the only things I could stomach were bagels & toast. Everything else would at the very least threaten to make an escape; I spent a lot of time praying to the porcelain god. I was told the usual, avoid fat, dairy, caffeine, ect. By the time I had my surgery, I was feeling a whole lot better, but I knew from history that it would not have lasted very long. Turns out, I had 3 HUGE stones. Having my gb removed was probably the best thing I could have done. I also have the post surgery issues still, but considering i'm not in almost constant pain, i'll happily deal with it.

One thing that helped for me when I had pain was to curl up with a heating pad against my stomach. It was probably more of a comfort thing than anything else, but I had hit the point that i'd try anything.

i had emergency to have mine out when i was 20. get a doctor that you trust & that will listen to you-i had a specialist tell me it was probably just horomones...at 20?! fast forward 6 months & i'm getting emergency surgery! its so frustrating when you go to the emergency room because it takes them so long to get an ultrasound, that the attack is over and they cant see the stone...so annoying! im not usually one to want to get surgery, but it is seriously a really easy surgery. even with complications, i was back to work in 2 weeks. definitely stay away from greasy & spicy food! hope you feel better.

Yeah I have issues. It just galls me when my bladder can't even hold a couple ounces. I mean I drink a little water cause you're supposed to during a workout but then I have to stop my workout to pee. Plus I really take issue with my bladder when it has the gall to demand I run to the restroom emergency style and then the tiniest amount comes out. ANNOYING!

Everyone develops differently. I had some discomfort, but the pain was worse then child birth. Make sure you tell the doctor everything. .Mine exploded so but the time I got to the next doctor he had to cut three holes in my stomach to get all the floating pieces out. Theres no mistaking that kind of pain. I don't know if my symptoms are different, but it caused to me have a lot of gas. I burped all the time and that isn't like me.

I never had gall bladder problems then one day i was having a problem breathing and it last about 10 minutes with a pain in between my shoulderblades and the chest and it felt like i was in a vice being squished. They started happening once a month and sometimes they would last for 10 minutes longest was 4 hours is was horrible horrible pain. Found out it was my gall bladder and 3 months later they took it out and i have felt great ever since. Hope you figure it out. I know my grandpa has gall stones but he never has any attacks so they haven't done anything with his.

I was in so much pain after eating and come to find out my gallbladder was acting up. My doctor told me that usually everyone has gall stones and they don't know it but when they get caught in the opening and don't let the gallbladder close again it can cause a lot of pain. We can live without it but you will find that your food is digested differently and there will be some foods you can't eat as well or as much of. Sometimes eating fatty foods will cause you problems and sometimes it won't.

Have you had a gallbladder ultrasound, HIDA scan, or liver function tests? I just had mine out a couple of months ago, along with my appendix!

Sometimes the ultrasound or exam can be negative, but the actual function of the gallbladder is failing, which causes an overall feeling of, let's call it death, instead of the intermittent excruciating pain stones can cause.

Good luck - I certainly don't miss mine!!!

This.. I started having pain in the general area and knew exactly what it was due to family history. I had a sonogram and mine looked normal, but since my aunts, mom, sisters and everyone else in my family had already had theirs out, I pushed for more tests. I had a radioactive scan (i think that's what it was) and they found out that I didn't have stones but it was full of what they called 'sludge', and wasn't functioning correctly, which is just as bad. I had mine taken out within a few days, on a Thurs and went back to work Mon. with no problems. I do not miss it! Don't wait around and let it get infected or have to have emergency surgery! Good luck!

I never had gall bladder problems then one day i was having a problem breathing and it last about 10 minutes with a pain in between my shoulderblades and the chest and it felt like i was in a vice being squished. They started happening once a month and sometimes they would last for 10 minutes longest was 4 hours is was horrible horrible pain. Found out it was my gall bladder and 3 months later they took it out and i have felt great ever since. Hope you figure it out. I know my grandpa has gall stones but he never has any attacks so they haven't done anything with his.

This explains mine perfectly. It was difficult to breathe, had pain in my chest and it radiated to my shoulder blades. The night I was diagnosed, I woke up around 1 AM thinking I was having a heart attack. My husband was working 1,500 miles away and I had to call my sister and her hubby to come watch my 1 year old and have them take me to the ER. I seriously thought I was going to die. Took 3 morphine injections to alleviate the pain.