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? Gallbladder thread

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Irritable Bowel Syndrome
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JustK
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2006
Posts : 28
Posted 2/16/2007 1:49 PM (GMT -7)
I know there was one recently, but can't seem to find it.

Has anyone been told they have IBS and it's really gallbladder stuff? The pain is getting worse but I'm afraid to call the doctor - they always say "it's your IBS, take some advil".

RLQ pain which I've had for months, but it's now more like whole RIGHT side pain. I feel like someone is stabbing me in the middle of my abdomen, right where my ribs meet. Everytime that happens, I feel like I'm going to puke.  Ugh!!!

 

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7Lil
Veteran Member
Joined : Apr 2005
Posts : 3269
Posted 2/16/2007 2:07 PM (GMT -7)
Sounds like it could be your appendix. Have you had that checked? It is pretty serious if that is what it is... You should see your doc immediately or go to the ER. One way to tell if it is your appendix is to jump up and down. If you can do that with ease then it is NOT your problem, if it is excruciating then it IS probably your appendix.

BTW - I'll bump the Gallbladder thread for you.
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JustK
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2006
Posts : 28
Posted 2/16/2007 2:47 PM (GMT -7)
thanks for bumping the threads
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TexasJen
Veteran Member
Joined : Dec 2006
Posts : 649
Posted 2/16/2007 3:38 PM (GMT -7)
I've been told it was IBS when it was really: gallbladder; appendix; uterine fibroids, endometriosis, bowel adhesions.... you get the idea. The year my appendix went bad, it was never the severe, acute pain of an appy about to rupture. Many docs don't even believe such a condition as "chronic appendicitis" exists. In my opinion, they rely entirely too much on test results and not enough on what the patient tells them. Again, my opinion only, is that lazy docs just LOVE to throw out the IBS diagnosis for any abdominal problem without following through on appropriate testing to rule out other conditions.

Your pain could stem from many different things - a spastic colon, IBD, colitis, crohns, ovarian cysts, endometriosis, appendicitis, gallstones, etc. If your current doc is unwilling to investigate your problem any further, then it's time to find another doctor.
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Keriamon
Veteran Member
Joined : Jun 2005
Posts : 2976
Posted 2/16/2007 3:49 PM (GMT -7)
I was told "maybe IBS" for 5 years before my gall bladder was taken out. What a waste of my life and college years.
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TexasJen
Veteran Member
Joined : Dec 2006
Posts : 649
Posted 2/16/2007 4:30 PM (GMT -7)
Absolutely maddening, isn't it, Keriamon? :-) I've read so many of your posts and thought, "Right on!" but I don't think I ever put your whole story together in my mind yet. What finally led to your surgery?
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Keriamon
Veteran Member
Joined : Jun 2005
Posts : 2976
Posted 2/16/2007 4:56 PM (GMT -7)
Oh, the third hida scan. It FINALLY showed it as not emptying properly, so I got it out the next week. I didn't even go back to the original doctor when I got my test results; I made a bee-line straight for a surgeon. When they analysed it afterwards, they said it had been chronically inflamed. My only conclusion was that the inflammation came and went, thus why my attacks came and went, and when it wasn't inflamed--as had probably been the case during the first two hid scans--it worked properly. I only wonder now if it could have been treated with an anti-inflammatory? It's a shame we can't figure out what's wrong with one until we take it out.
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TexasJen
Veteran Member
Joined : Dec 2006
Posts : 649
Posted 2/16/2007 5:10 PM (GMT -7)
Wow! You and I had basically the same thing. Thanks for responding so quickly too. :-) Did you have adhesions in the area as well? Any time tissues are infected or inflamed in any way, the body responds with scar tissue, so I had multiple obstructed areas in the small intestine. Honestly, I think it was the adhesions that caused most of my problem. I was also lucky that the histologist that got the gallbladder was a good friend of mine, and she told me the God's honest truth about how badly infected it was. (For the uninitiated, a Histologist is the person in the pathology lab who actually sections tissues and preps the slides for the Pathologist to look at and diagnose.) I obtained copies of the surgical and path reports and was shocked to learn that I had tumors growing on my gb. Just 4 years earlier, I lost my father to gallbladder cancer because he was of the old-school opinion that you never see a doc until you're at death's door - and that's exactly what happened to him.

Aren't you glad you had the freedom to just go straight to your surgeon? I often wonder about people in the UK or Canada who have to jump through the national health care hoops and have so much less control over their care than we do in the States. But that's a totally different topic. What a horror story that you had to lose 5 (of the best!) years of your life just to get diagnosed and properly treated. I'm glad to know you. :-)
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JustK
Regular Member
Joined : Dec 2006
Posts : 28
Posted 2/16/2007 9:05 PM (GMT -7)
I need to spill my guts, I'm really on edge, I want to cry - is anyone taking me seriously?!? I'm embarressed to call my PCP - they must think I'm nuts with all this pain. It's really there though, it's not in my head. Does this make sense, does anyone actually believe me? I sound pathetic begging someone to believe whats going on. I'm really not a FREAK!

OMG, I sound NUTS! :(
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lion00
Regular Member
Joined : Aug 2006
Posts : 334
Posted 2/17/2007 5:09 AM (GMT -7)
You don't sound nuts, you sound frustrated, annoyed, miserable and with every right. I was exactly the same as you and it's really not acceptable for doctors to make us feel this way. I felt like, omg, is this really there or are they right, it's in my head. But I persevered and refused to be fobbed off. I know the pain is real, and so do you. Your the only one that counts and if you feel the pain then it IS there. Can you try to get a second opinion? I'm sorry I don't know anything about your history or symptoms but I do know how your feeling. I'm lucky my GP is so supportive because without his support I probably would have gone nuts!! I went several years with undiagnosed lupus and saw countless consultants before they figured out what was wrong. Afterwards the relief was immense that at last i know whats happening to me, and it's not in my head. That gives me the strength to put up a fight for a diagnosis and treatment for my bowel problems. It comes to something when a doctor removes your healthy appendix because he hasn't got a clue what the pain is! It was in fact an ectopic pregnancy but you begin to lose faith. Especially here in the uk as you have very little choice over your doctor or your treatment. I really wish you luck and don't give up, YOU ARE NOT NUTS (I prefer to say the doctors are!!!!)
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