Anyone Have Gallbladder Issues¿ Advice Needed!

Updated on January 23, 2013
A.M. asks from Denver, CO
14 answers

I think my gallbladder has started to act up. I am curious about symptoms others have had and what you have done about it. Specifically about diet... anything else to get rid of pain and not have it act up again.

Thanks!

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So What Happened?

Thanks for sharing! I had an episode of pain yesterday morning but other than that is mild discomfort occasionally. I will keep an eye on it and I am going in for a check with the doctor soon so I will mention it. Thanks again!

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D.B.

answers from Fargo on

Mine bothered me when i was pregnant. I couldn't eat anything greasy including peanut butter. If was a horrible pain on my right side right under my rib age.

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C.T.

answers from Dallas on

My mom had a blocked gall bladder duct that manifested as severe shoulder pain. The doctor said that it is very common to feel pain from the gall bladder in your shoulder (its called referred pain). In my mom's case, she had a large cyst in her liver that was pressing on the gallbladder duct, so she had to have surgery to remove the cyst.

2 moms found this helpful

L.B.

answers from New York on

Pain radiating from my right flank a little while after eating. Especially after eating a fatty meal. Only thing that got rid of the pain for me, was to have it removed. simple, routine surgery.

You should have it checked, blocked duct is not the only cause of gallbladder pain

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B.F.

answers from Dallas on

The saying used to go: fair, fat and 40. That's when you have the greatest chance of gallbladder problems.

I had mine out at about 40. I had eaten a big Thanksgiving dinner. Woke up with pain on my right side that then radiated to my back. I called my doc and took some pain med I had. Then the ultrasound and surgery. It is also common that the pain happens after a big holiday meal.
It can happen to young pregnant women.

It's really nothing to fool around with as it can be serious when a stone blocks a duct.

1 mom found this helpful
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C.F.

answers from Los Angeles on

I had mine removed in march 2006. I had stones in my bile duck, it was horrible pain. I did not suffer very long (month a month in a half). The pain was sharp,intense,long lasting, a pain from hell. It began suddenly after I ate I believe a doughnut and then continued every time I ate anything friend,spicy,dairy,citrusy,soda, juice, water. I couldn't eat anything. The second time I got the pain it was so excruciating that I took a trip to the ER where they administered morphine and reglan (regaln is a no no to me im allergic i found out) to ease the nausea. Total I took 4 trips to the ER and then I was scheduled for surgery.
The surgery went wonderful but my recovery was somewhat difficult. I took Vicodin for pain and it caused serious constipation. I was back in the ER
Had ultrasound to see what was the problem and turns out I was literally full of sh!t.
I have no scaring you need a magnifying glass to notice my incisions.
I wish you well and hope you feel better soon!

Updated

I had mine removed in march 2006. I had stones in my bile duck, it was horrible pain. I did not suffer very long (month a month in a half). The pain was sharp,intense,long lasting, a pain from hell. It began suddenly after I ate I believe a doughnut and then continued every time I ate anything friend,spicy,dairy,citrusy,soda, juice, water. I couldn't eat anything. The second time I got the pain it was so excruciating that I took a trip to the ER where they administered morphine and reglan (regaln is a no no to me im allergic i found out) to ease the nausea. Total I took 4 trips to the ER and then I was scheduled for surgery.
The surgery went wonderful but my recovery was somewhat difficult. I took Vicodin for pain and it caused serious constipation. I was back in the ER
Had ultrasound to see what was the problem and turns out I was literally full of sh!t.
I have no scaring you need a magnifying glass to notice my incisions.
I wish you well and hope you feel better soon!

1 mom found this helpful
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A.S.

answers from Dallas on

I had my gallbladder removed 6 years ago. After a long process of frequent pain attacks, tests and doctors/specialist. I presented with back and ribcage pain, ER trips and ultrasounds could not find any stones. So I was sent to GI doc. I too was told it was heartburn/indigestion, IBS, fatty liver, even told my pain was being caused by an ovarian cyst. I was prescribed physical therapy thinking it was musculoskeletal. It was not any of these things. I decided to keep a food/symptom/cycle journal. What I discovered was that sometimes my pain was related to what I ate and sometimes it was not. I could eat pizza one time and have pain that night, but the next time I wouldn't . I tried eating salads and lean proteins, and still had pain attacks. These pain attacks would last anywhere from 15 minutes to hours at a time. After seeing the journal, the GI doc sent me to a surgeon who ordered a gallbladder scan that still didn't show any stones, but showed sludge. The surgeon said we could do surgery but it was my call. I opted for surgery. I had spent 9 months in pain and had a little one at home. The surgery was laproscopic, but was still painful for the first few days. I still occasionally have pain attacks, but they are much milder and only last about 10-20 minutes. It is usually after a fried meal. I started taking Culturelle daily (a prebiotic supplement like Align) and that has helped tremendously. Good luck.

1 mom found this helpful

S.S.

answers from Dallas on

I had never had any issues until after I had my child. Apparently it's very common for women to have gallbladder issues after having children. I would wake up in the middle of the night with what felt like the absolute worst heartburn/indigestion ever, to the point of sweats and throwing up. After the 2nd episode (they were a week apart), it felt like I was having a heart attack along with someone stabbing me in the back with a hot knife. I went to the ER and they said it was an inflamed stomach and was sent home with some pain meds. A few days later (ON my b-day/anniversary), my mom made my favorite meal, salmon veracruz. That night I got violently ill and again felt like I was having a heart attack and being stabbed in the back. My mother took me to my doctor the next day and he immediately sent me down to the ER after hearing my symptoms. I was admitted that afternoon, my CT scan was the next morning with the dye and it was immediately clear that my gallbladder was completely blocked, though no stones were visible. My surgery was that Monday morning. When the surgeon checked on me the next day he brought me pix of my gallbladder cut open. It had so many stones in it that they were not visible, it was completely packed solid, to the point of almost bursting. Turns out the oil in salmon was the trigger for my final attack. I took the pix to the first ER that I went to and showed them the complete misdiagnosis they did on me and was not made to pay for any of that ER visit. For the first few months after my surgery, I did not have solid stools (sorry TMI), but both the doc and surgeon told me that was normal because any oil or grease I ingested was going straight through my system instead of being filtered through my gallbladder. After a few months that stopped and I have only had heartburn maybe 5 times in almost 5 years. But nothing like those attacks. Very mild, and a TUMS helped a lot.

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E.1.

answers from Sacramento on

My cousin had gall bladder issues for years but no insurance for surgery. He kept symptoms minimal by eating a vegetarian diet and as less oil as possible. Ultimately he had to have it removed though.

1 mom found this helpful
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D.M.

answers from Joplin on

well i had my gallbladder removed in 2001 and my pain was in the stomache area i would get pains and bloating that would last 30 mins to an hour sometimes mine got to the point where one night i woke up and my stomache was in so much pain that i could not breathe my mom rushed me to the hospital and they gave me morphine and ordered an ultrasound turns out the toxin levels were so high i had to wait a week for the surgery. after that one stone had blocked the entry to my pancreas so they had to do a second procedure to retrieve it so that is my whole experience you can read on the net or make an appointment to discuss it with your doctor for diet info etc.get it checked but if it is your gallbladder and diet,etc. does not seem to be working for you as far as getting things in control get to the doctor do not let it continue because people have died as i almost did because of gallbladder complications for waiting too long my mother had hers out to she had pain in her ribs she described hope this helps.

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H.P.

answers from Houston on

A sedentary lifestyle can do it. Too much grease can help. Once it gets to a certain point, anything can trigger it. It would be best to go ahead and see a gastroenterologist now, to get a good look at it and learn how to manage it.

Something that might help you feel better is apple cider vinegar. The recipe that I have is to mix 1-2 tablespoons with a cup of water. I don't measure it, though; I just pour it. Just on GP, you can add a splash to a bit of apple juice multiple times daily.

See a GI, just to get a handle on it. You don't want to wait to find out that you could have done something sooner.

I had to have mine removed.

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L.E.

answers from Provo on

My worst pain was in my upper back. My ribs hurt a lot too. I was pregnant so the doctor kept blaming it on heartburn but it didn't feel like heartburn. I couldn't tell if there was any connection to foods I was eating, but it did get worse at night. Antacids eased the pain only a little. Finally I was in so much pain and vomiting nonstop that I ended up in ER. Ultrasound confirmed stones, one of them blocking a duct of some kind. Doctor said my gallbladder was diseased and would keep producing stones even if he got rid of the ones that were there. Since having my gallbladder removed, I do take an acid relux med. It wasn't until I missed a dose during pregnancy years later that I understood what heartburn actually felt like and why it is called that. If I go off my acid reflux med, my throat, chest, back, tongue, stomach all hurt and burn.

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J.T.

answers from Victoria on

I was starting to think it was in the water! We have had so many in our close group have gallbladder issues. I know that diet can effext the pain and help it. My friend T and my sis inlaw E both had to have gall bladder surgery as well as another friend who had hers out too. My aunt cut back calories , cokes and drinks and eats very healthy...as we all should... and she is not only feeling much better she is loosing weight too. she alos exercised daily. i found out it wasnt just to help her weight she was having gall baldder issues. my hubby said he has a harsh pain after he eats shooting throught from his back to his stomache. if he eats healthy its not there. idk unless he gets a doc opnion because he over reacts some times.??? but he has had heart issues before..so i just dont know if that is a true symptom or not. sorry i wasnt more help.

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G.D.

answers from Detroit on

I had mine removed in 1999. I was very obese, but also very young (early 20s). I had pain under my rib cage-very sharp. I would be doubled over. Sometimes felt it in my back as well. The dr had a very hard time diagnosing me-he ran every test he could and came up short. My sister in law had hers removed after tge birth of her twins and suspected that was my problem as well.
I didn't change my diet until after surgery. I was warned and found there were many foods I couldn't eat. No junk food, no greasy food, and nothing acidic. I couldn't eat an entire slice of tomatoe for years-had to cut it in half.
Eat healthy and excersise-if only it was as simple to do as it sounds, right?

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M.S.

answers from Boise on

Having your gallbladder out is not something you will want to have done. Some people do fine and then a few years down the road end up getting sick. Some people like me are more sick after the gallbladder being removed then when it was in.
What you should do is eat a 2 week diet of vegetables mostly cruciforous, fruit mostly berry,and drink a mixture of Applecider Vinegar (1/2tsp) /unsweetened Cranberry Juice (2oz)/ (1tsp) Fresh Lemon Juice in (8oz) spring water before each meal.
This will clean out the gallbladder, make it quit hurting, and make it work properly again.

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