Been feeling ill lately after eating. Abdominal pain and nausea. No vomiting, thankfully, though I've come the closest I've been in years where alcohol wasn't involved.

Went to the doctor, and he asked where the pain was (upper right side), what I usually eat, when it's worst, etc. Then he proclaimed, "That sounds suspiciously like your gallbladder. I wanna get an ultrasound," and the ultrasound tech came and got me.

They gave me some anti nausea medicine and an acid reducer (Prevacid) on the chance it's something else (I had ulcers as a kid, though I distinctly remember what that felt like and this is NOT it), and told me it'll be early next week before I hear back from them. For the sake of simplicity and expediency I hope the test comes back with something useful.

In the meantime, it fargin' HURTS when it gets going. Feels like someone's jabbing a hot knife into my gut. It also sucks something fierce that between the testing and treatment phases of whatever it is my insurance deductible reset and my current plan is no longer offered.

On the subject of health insurance, my current individual BCBST plan isn't offered any more, and my employer has worked out a deal with Blue Cross of TN to get a company plan. That's great - it's about $20 more than the Humana plan the gubmint autoselected for me, but WAY better terms. However, it's now the first of the month, everyone's already paid (did it back close to the original Dec. 15th deadline), and we neither have a policy number nor insurance cards (they claim they're "still putting everyone in the system" or something). The good news is that my employer is very interested in getting that expedited because one of the owners just had a pretty major health scare, and now has to see specialists about that.

On a brighter note, I'm finally starting to get to a place with my left arm where I'm almost comfortable going to the range and playing with my rifle again. This is good; I'm about a month early judging by my recovery last year.

I feel you. About 2 years ago I had a bout with my gallbladder. Luckily I was able to deal with it by adjusting my diet.
Hoping I don't regress if I have another bout the doc says it will have to go.

Once your insurance is squared away, seriously consider having it removed. I had an attack four years ago and had mine taken out. It was a simple procedure and I've never regretted it.

quote:

Originally posted by Dresden:
Once your insurance is squared away, seriously consider having it removed. I had an attack four years ago and had mine taken out. It was a simple procedure and I've never regretted it.

I suspect that's what's probably going to end up happening. While it'd be nice if I can control it without surgery (since January 2015 I've been under 6 times because of my hands/arms and I'm getting sick of it), I'm "most for" the solution that relieves my pain the fastest.

For the moment, a happy effect of the Prevacid is that while I still have the pain, the nausea (usually) isn't quite so bad, and when that gets going I have 2 different anti nausea medications standing by.

I don't want to scare you, but there was a local surgeon, a few years ago, who was supposed to take out the GB in a simple laparoscopic procedure. What ended up was the patient losing a kidney.

Gaviscon really helped with acid reflux,had mine taken out 6 months ago, can't really have onions any more,pizza, spaghetti with marinara sauce.

Did they draw labs? How are your liver function tests and bilirubin level? Lipase level. Have you vomited much? Answers to these questions will help decide if you need surgery or not (biliary colic vs cholecystitis) Hepatitis, severe fatty liver, gastritis/gastric ulcers can also mimic GB pain.

They did draw blood; I'm still waiting on the results of that, too. I assume they're going to wait on the results of the ultrasound and contact me all at once.

I've vomited once since this started. I've come close a couple of times since then, but I really hate puking, so I do what I can to avoid it.

Sounds like this could be a whole lot of unpleasant things.

If it's bad, dump that GB! I had my first and only attack in Cancun the night before we were flying home. I've been through some stuff, but that was rough. Every 30 seconds, I felt the worst pain in my life for several hours. BTW, don't try to go through Customs bent over holding your gut.

My wife had her gallbladder removed a few years ago. Her procedure was straight forward and she has not had to make any changes to her diet or lifestyle since.

I had mine out this past May. I went to the ER, they kept me 2 days and said everything looked good. A week later I was back and they took it out. They said it would have been a lot worse if it didn't come out immediately. My regular doctor warned me 6 months earlier I should have it checked out. BCBS did not want to pay for the first visit at first, said it wasn't necessary.

quote:

Originally posted by vulrath:

quote:

Originally posted by Dresden:
Once your insurance is squared away, seriously consider having it removed. I had an attack four years ago and had mine taken out. It was a simple procedure and I've never regretted it.

I suspect that's what's probably going to end up happening. While it'd be nice if I can control it without surgery (since January 2015 I've been under 6 times because of my hands/arms and I'm getting sick of it), I'm "most for" the solution that relieves my pain the fastest.

For the moment, a happy effect of the Prevacid is that while I still have the pain, the nausea (usually) isn't quite so bad, and when that gets going I have 2 different anti nausea medications standing by.

I had a couple of what I would call twinges before the big attack. Had to have the wife drive me to the ER and being a middle aged male with thoracic pains got me right in. The ER Doc took one look and poked me right under my sternum. After I came off the ceiling, he called for an ultrasound to confirm, but he told me "It's your gall bladder and you want it out of there". Surgery was laparascopic, I had two little incisions about an inch long and a puncture wound where they fill your abdomen with gas to improve their view of the field. I would have been home the next day, but I am on blood thinners so they wanted to keep me for a couple of days to be sure that I wouldn't spring any leaks.

Back to work in a week. If you have another attack, I'd get it out posthaste.

quote:

Originally posted by 12131:
I don't want to scare you, but there was a local surgeon, a few years ago, who was supposed to take out the GB in a simple laparoscopic procedure. What ended up was the patient losing a kidney.

Yep. It you end up going the lap-cholie route, and you probably will, make damn sure the person doing your surgery is thoroughly experienced.

In the interim, cut waaaayyyy back on spicey foods and fatty foods, including dairy. That may help prevent the pain or at least reduce it.

Good luck,

RMD

Yeah, I've done that already for the most part.

I'm lactose intolerant, so I tend to steer clear of milk products as best I can (though pizza is delicious). The spicy food is a bit more of a challenge, though.

Still, it has helped a lot.

As I previously posted, I had mine done in May. What I was told they did and who did it, I don't believe.
I came out of surgery at midnight and insisted on not having morphine or other type of drug. By 0500, I was up on my feet and using the bathroom. The doctor showed up at 1300 hours and said I could go home. Funny thing, he told me he had his kidney stones removed the day before, and still did my surgery? He couldn't find the photos they took to show me how bad it was. I'm wondering if he really did the surgery, or did his assistant do it? I never saw him in the operating room before I went under, or when I awoke.
Two months ago while changing the oil in my Yukon, I twisted hard while rolling over to get out from under the SUV and I tore open one of the upper scars from the surgery. I had to keep it covered up and use an anti-biotic for a few days. Never had the pain from before surgery but I wonder how good of a job he actually did.

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
As I previously posted, I had mine done in May. What I was told they did and who did it, I don't believe.
I came out of surgery at midnight and insisted on not having morphine or other type of drug. By 0500, I was up on my feet and using the bathroom. The doctor showed up at 1300 hours and said I could go home. Funny thing, he told me he had his kidney stones removed the day before, and still did my surgery? He couldn't find the photos they took to show me how bad it was. I'm wondering if he really did the surgery, or did his assistant do it? I never saw him in the operating room before I went under, or when I awoke.
Two months ago while changing the oil in my Yukon, I twisted hard while rolling over to get out from under the SUV and I tore open one of the upper scars from the surgery. I had to keep it covered up and use an anti-biotic for a few days. Never had the pain from before surgery but I wonder how good of a job he actually did.

I can't speak for your operation but I rarely go into the room prior to my patient having anesthesia induced but I'm present throughout the entire operation. Most surgeons don't go in the room beforehand as we are completing paperwork etc. It would be unusual for you to have a problem occur this far from your surgery. The skin tearing is strange as well. Unfortunately scar tissue only has about 80% strength compared to regular healthy skin. By chance have you gained some weight since your surgery? That could be a factor in the scar tearing open.
To the OP, unfortunately there is not a definitive test to identify a bad gallbladder like a pregnancy test. Ultrasounds and nuclear medicine HIDA scans are helpful but far from perfect. If there is uncertainty with the test results please see a surgeon. Hope all works out. If you want to travel I'm working tomorrow and can get that gallbladder out! Cholecystectomy for a Sig!

At the time of the tear, I had lost 20 pounds. With the winter season here I'm not as active and have not been eating as healthy and am putting weight on. In past surgeries (3 knee scopes, diverticulitis, and scar removal) I rember seeing the surgeon before, but that may have been in pre-op.

Drink water with lemon juice in it. Eat Cucumbers..not a cure but some temp relief.

If I can add some advice also: if it is your gallbladder, have it taken care of sooner rather than later. Besides the obvious pain, some pretty serious complications can occur (blockage of some of the ducts, infection, pancreatitis). Much better to schedule an elective surgery at a time of your choosing than to have a serious complication.

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
As I previously posted, I had mine done in May. What I was told they did and who did it, I don't believe.
I came out of surgery at midnight and insisted on not having morphine or other type of drug. By 0500, I was up on my feet and using the bathroom. The doctor showed up at 1300 hours and said I could go home. Funny thing, he told me he had his kidney stones removed the day before, and still did my surgery? He couldn't find the photos they took to show me how bad it was. I'm wondering if he really did the surgery, or did his assistant do it? I never saw him in the operating room before I went under, or when I awoke.
Two months ago while changing the oil in my Yukon, I twisted hard while rolling over to get out from under the SUV and I tore open one of the upper scars from the surgery. I had to keep it covered up and use an anti-biotic for a few days. Never had the pain from before surgery but I wonder how good of a job he actually did.

When I was practicing, the rule was the surgeon was required to speak to the patient in the holding area usually before any pre-op medication or anesthesia was given. After surgery it is usually not feasible to hang around waiting for the anesthesia to wear off. The surgeon may have another case or may have to return to the office. While I would not be surprised if you did not see the surgeon before the surgery, it is surprising what patients sometimes do and don't remember . Case in point, I had a woman once, who spent three days in the hospital after surgery, during which time , I saw her every day. When I went to discharge her on the third day, she seemed distant bordering on hostile . When she returned to my office for a follow-up two weeks later, she was most apologetic for the way she had acted at her discharge. She said she was upset that I had not been to see her between the surgery and the day she was discharged. It was only after she returned home and spoke with multiple friends and relatives , who had come to see her in the hospital, that she realized she had no recollection of the three days following her surgery .