GI thing driving me crazy... need opinions, please

[sophiethecat]

Originally Posted by KeirasMom

Gall bladder, which of course you've researched. How are you sleeping? I had gall bladder tested because of my insomnia (I'd wake up feeling panicked) and they actually recommended surgery, but I opted not to have it. My symptoms aren't nearly that bad.

Thyroid--I agree with the fatigue and chills. It could be Hashimoto's which goes from hypo to hyper and back so you have differing symptoms depending on which "swing" you're on. How's your hair (any loss, is it brittle, that sort of thing: nails too)?

Are you taking any new(ish) medications? All those symptoms could actually be related to a hypersensitivity syndrome (I have allopurinol hypersensitivity--6 weeks taking the meds before symptoms developed) and that's something that's commonly misdiagnosed.

There's just so much it "could" be. It's so frustrating when you just want answers and nobody can give them to you.

I'm sleeping real well again now. I definitely hope it's not thyroid. Have always tested normal when they do those tests (but on LCF is where I learned they don't test deeply enough). Hair comes out a little more than I'd like in the shower and when fixing it, but it's quite long and so maybe it just looks like more is coming out than it is. Lately it hasn't been coming out in as much quanitity. My hair is very thick, and so I don't miss anything that's come out so far, lol. Still, I don't want it coming out if it's not a normal thing. Hoping it was just going through a natural shedding/regrowth phase.

I think it's my GB and the stomach issues may be a separate thing, or not. My Mom had her GB out but she was in her 50s I think. I do not want to have mine out if there's any way to avoid it. If I can fix this without surgery, that would be great. I do want to find out for sure what is going on though, so I'll have a better scan done than US and also be scoped if needed to see what the deal is with my stomach. Thanks for your thoughts on this, and for the Dawn!

Originally Posted by Sammyann

Sophie I hope you can find an answer soon. Have they scoped you?

I have the burning and pain but my pain is on the left. My dx was chronic gastritis.

I haven't been scoped, but I think that should be done. I'll talk to the doc about it. Hope your gastritis is better. My DS1 was dx with that and the OTC Pepcid helped him. He hasn't had any issues in months now. to you, Sammyann.

Originally Posted by Jbinme

sending my hope it gets sorted out.

back to you, JB.

Originally Posted by mykidsteacher

Well, that just sounds downright miserable. ((((hugs)))

The right side ribcage pain sent off gallbladder flares to me too. You may have more than one thing going on which can really confuse the issue.

Praying you get some answers at your appt.

Thanks, Tina. I am thinking GB too, and yes there may be a stomach thing as well. I will find out soon I hope.

[vilanteira]

Sophie, your symptoms sound almost exactly like what I'd gone through years back before I first got diagnosed with GERD. I had pretty bad acid reflux for so many years and it remained undiagnosed for a long time because it wasn't as severe at first and I had the big list of symptoms as you're describing that could have been symptoms of so many different health problems. I think my doctor at that time started thinking I was a hypochondriac. A change in doctors finally gave me the proper diagnosis...although that led to so many years of dependence on Nexium and the problems that came along with that. Thankfully through a diet change and digestive enzymes, I was able to get off of Nexium for good.

Anyway, I think it's definitely best to go see a doctor to get properly diagnosed since some people seem to have different symptoms to the same health problems and some have similar symptoms to very different health problems.

I hope you find out what it is soon and get it resolved so you can feel better! Take care of yourself.

[Eieio]

Bummer sophiethect.
sorry u can't get over this.
Well to bore u with all my elements. So, I'll spare u and share two.
The best thing of course is that ur going to the doctor.
I had to change docors cause when I was really sick.
I use to work at the same hospital as he. He got to where he just was like a friend listening to me instead of fixing me. so just a heads up on it happens at times the need to move on to another doctor.
Years ago I had the symptom of the burning piece of coal in my stomache in the middle if the night. It would wake me. It scared the bewiggles out of me. It took time for it cause me to go to the doctor. I'd beeline it to get cold water. It seemed to help.
It happened off and on . No foods seems to bother it, no schedule of it happening. Years later I had vomitted dark color gross stuff. Again scared the be wiggle out of me. Went then to the doctor. My upper gi scope showed and irritation in my stomach at one area. Of course all the things like milk I drank often and some other meds prescribed. Can't remember. But it took time to feel better with it.
Now I still I'm very nice to my stomach.
My last and worse thing to get a doctor to listen to me. This is when I changed doctors.
I had a dx Prolapse colon, My colon had fallen from where it's suppose to live. Boy was I sick for couple years with this problem. My symptom were, constant pressure in my lower body, big problem with BM's they hardly ever happened. Was a tough time. The lady doctor which I m so thankful to find, did the surgery herself. With the colon laying on top of my girl parts, she said best to remove them. So out came every thing. Hysteromy, which I had never had problem with. She tacked my colon back up where it belongs. I do believe she saved my life. It was instant relief.
I think u go to the doctor today next Monday. Keep us posted!
Things take time to dx. Bummer.

[Kissa]

Sophie, I am so sorry things are no better. But I am delighted that you are seeing your doctor again.

I have no advice as I have the constitution of an ox. But I can send love and wishes for a quick diagnosis and recovery.

[Joedi]

Everything I thought of has already been mentioned - so just wanted to send you a big hug n lots of love.
Hope you get it sorted out ASAP !
Hugs
Jo
X

[b_lou_who]

may help, may not, but if it is a diverticulitis thing I have friends and family who all swear by aloe juice as a life changer, one guy even to the point of personality improvement after years of suffering with difficult to diagnose symptoms.
I also have close friends with gallbladder issues who grow kombucha (although you can buy the beverage) and have seen dramatic health improvement by drinking the "tea" every day.

Neither of these can hurt you, they are inexpensive and readily available.
Hang in there, I have internal troubles of my own. My system has never been the same since I contracted lysteria (and almost died from it) almost a decade ago. I'm now allergic to rice even. Taking really good probiotics twice a day makes a world of difference to me, but I have to be a fanatic about doing it.

[sophiethecat]

Originally Posted by Beeb

Originally Posted by gotitnow

Can't add to what everyone has said but want you to know that I care. So sorry you are going through this. Pray you are all better quickly!

Phyl

Thanks Beeb & Phyl.

Originally Posted by Star73

Try going gluten and dairy free. Pain under your ribcage and epigastric area (right above your stomach) can be caused by gluten and/or dairy intolerance. So can many of the other symptoms you have such as dizziness, diarrhea, burning, achiness, FATIGUE! etc.

If the small bowel is inflamed from ingesting these things that you are allergic to or have an intolerance to then other foods can irritate it too. All you have to do is an elimination trial and see how you feel. Go a couple of weeks without gluten and dairy and see how you do. Or try gluten first and then dairy later. Celiac.com and celiac.org are great sites to explain about which foods contain gluten and the hidden preservatives etc...

Originally Posted by cprcheetah

I had VERY similar symptoms when I was diagnosed with GERD (Gastric Reflux) at one point I was in so much pain I curled into a ball and couldn't move. Also check into Gluten and/or Dairy free...my husband also had similar symptoms when he was diagnosed.

Originally Posted by Star73

Bad breath can be caused by leaky gut syndrome and eliminating gluten and dairy can help with this. If you google "leaky gut" there is a lot of info about it.

Coffee and tomato sauce can irritate the small intestines because of the damage done by offending foods. I find that they don't bother me at all now since I've been gluten free and have limited dairy. Before, I couldn't tolerate them at all... So, it may not actually be the coffee and tomato sauce, it may just be that they are acidic and are irritating an already irritated lining..

Thank you, Star & Cheetah. Actually, I eliminated dairy for a week now so far as I have found (through experience, not a medical test) that I am lactose intolerant to some degree. If I have very much dairy by itself or large amounts of it even with other foods, I have horrible, horrible times ahead of me for at least a couple hours. I can get by with some dairy - cheese on pizza, cheese on casserole, some ice cream, scoop of sour cream on Mexican, etc. (not all at once! of course, lol) but there are limits and then I'm in trouble.

But that's not the only reason I eliminated dairy. It began to dawn on me that dairy may be the reason I've had bad cystic acne over the last couple years. In late spring 2010, I changed the way I was eating and cooking and so increased my dairy big time. Within a couple months, I started getting hormonal cysts which confused me because I hadn't broken out very much, especially like that, in a decade! But nothing "clicked" with me, as I didn't know or think about a dairy connection.

After the high dairy woe started, I was eating lots of cheese, by itself and in dishes, using lots of cream, butter, sour cream, cream cheese, more milk used in cooking than before. And when I started LC, add to that having sometimes buttermilk fruit smoothies, or protein shakes with milk. The lactose issue started to get my attention by then!

The only time I decreased dairy consumption back to my previous "normal" levels was my first month or two on JUDDD, when I went all the way off LC eating. That's when my skin was it's nicest in a very long time. Then over the holidays I went back to my previous way of using a lot of dairy, and back came the cysts. But I didn't connect it to that at the time.

I know I wasn't having too many problems with skin the decade before I went on the high dairy diet in 2010. Before that, I was just eating small amounts of dairy products. I haven't been a milk-drinker since I was a teen. For the last decade, milk itself was mainly used in cooking some before I started the high dairy woe. But even though I can apparently tolerate some dairy (maybe up to 2 servings per day), I wanted to go ahead this last week and cut it all out (except what's used in some baked goods or packaged foods that I don't know about).

So far having no dairy for a week, I'm not getting any big cysts, but I can't be sure right now because I'm at that part in my monthly cycle where my skin is better anyway due to more estrogen. In another week or two, I'll have a clearer picture of how things are going.

Actually, I've been reading A LOT about the dairy/acne connection over the last week, and that's what has me kicking myself that I didn't connect it all a lot sooner.

Sorry for going on about it. If I get this stuff figured out, I'll do a whole thread about it.

Oh.... I also gave up those whey protein shakes I was using and liking so much over the winter, because I noticed some lactose issues even with using almond milk with it - and then I read that whey protein concentrate is a potent form of all the things wrong with dairy for those of us who have LI or acne.

I thought I would wait on cutting out gluten to test for sensitivity since this would be much harder to me than removing dairy. Much, much harder. I haven't even missed the dairy for some reason Which really surprises me given how much I loved it, or thought I loved it. And I don't think I'll have to give it all up forever. As mentioned before, I was doing fine years ago with some dairy now and then.

Originally Posted by hockey_gal

Sorry to hear about your health problems. Hopefully you can get to the bottom of it soon!

Thank you, HG!

Originally Posted by gotsomeold

I have GERD and a hole in my esophagus. My symptoms didn't match exactly but were close.

Have you been scoped (upper and lower)?

Let us know what happens when you see the doctor.

No, I will ask them about scoping. Thank you, Nancy.

Originally Posted by Dottie

My mother had all kinds of gallbladder tests, including a scan, and it never showed stones. They finally took it out and it had a bunch if little tiny ones stuck in the ducts.

This is what I'm afraid is going on, that there may be sludge or stones not getting picked up on ultrasound. I hope to get it figured out soon. Thanks, Dot.

[Star73]

Sophie, it's funny you say that cheeses don't really bother you. I'm the same way! If I drink a glass of milk, my throat clogs up a little (sorry gross) and I start feeling congested and bloated, but cheese doesn't do that. It must be the way it's processed. I'm very happy about it

[sophiethecat]

Originally Posted by Star73

Sophie, it's funny you say that cheeses don't really bother you. I'm the same way! If I drink a glass of milk, my throat clogs up a little (sorry gross) and I start feeling congested and bloated, but cheese doesn't do that. It must be the way it's processed. I'm very happy about it

Yaayyy, Star!

Cheese doesn't bother me as long as I don't have a lot, like I shouldn't just eat a bunch of cheese sticks or a lot of cheese and crackers. Then I might be asking for it, but if I have the cheese with other substantial foods, I'm usually fine (such as on pizza, lasagna, with Mexican etc.)

Yeah, what's life without a little cheese? lol. It would sort of be the opposite problem than LC, where you can't have the pizza because of the crust... now you can't have the pizza because of the cheese. It needs BOTH, at least in my book.

[sophiethecat]

Originally Posted by Tamilda

You are doing the best thing you can do right now and seeing your doctor. Having worked for a surgeon who specialized in Gastroenterology, symptoms fit alot of things from gall bladder disease, which you don't need to have stones to have a diseased gall bladder, to an ulcer. Just document all of your symptoms and tell the Dr. everything. Hopefully you will be feeling better soon. "hugs"
Tami

Thanks, Tami. I've been suspecting GB since around the holidays when this really started to show itself more often and with more symptoms. And the stomach thing may be an ulcer. I have been wondering if it's 2 different things going on or if they are more connected than I know. I expect my Dr. will refer me to a gastro doc this time.

Originally Posted by sazzie

So sorry you're going through this, and hopefully, your doctor will be able to sort things out for you so that you'll be back to your cheery healthy self.

Thanks, Sazzie!

Originally Posted by alibaba

Same thing with my Dad. It was sludge, apparently, which doesn't really show up, but causes the same problems.

I've been wondering about this since the ultrasounds have shown everything as being just fine. It could still be GB. Did your Dad end up having his GB removed or could they treat it some other way, or with diet? Thanks, Ali.

Originally Posted by Cuthbert

This sounds dreadful, but after reading your symptoms I like the idea that it may have something to do with leaky gut, but would keep in mind that it may be more than one thing going south on you a the same time. The mild burping may be an indication of some kind of bacteria making its way north of where it should be.

Thanks, Cuthbert. I hope the GI issues aren't something to do with wheat/gluten because well, that would just stink if I had to cut out all wheat. But I don't know much about wheat/gluten sensitivity so maybe there are varying degrees of it and wouldn't require complete abstinence. But we'll see what they come up with at the doctor's office.

Originally Posted by vanilla_latte

Bless your heart!!

I had my gallbladder out and like many mentioned, the mention of pain around the ribcage made me think of that. The last hours long attack I had before getting it out, had me wishing for death, and I'm not kidding.

Maybe "leaky gut" or Celiac's??

Whatever it is, I certainly hope and pray you find out what it is.

Thanks, Vanilla.

[jem51]

You've touched on hormonal issues and some of your sx sound like too much testosterone....or some type of hormone imbalance.

You may have already crossed that bridge but if not, it's a simple blood test.

These types of imbalances can cause all kinds of sx including digestive.

[sophiethecat]

Originally Posted by vilanteira

Sophie, your symptoms sound almost exactly like what I'd gone through years back before I first got diagnosed with GERD. I had pretty bad acid reflux for so many years and it remained undiagnosed for a long time because it wasn't as severe at first and I had the big list of symptoms as you're describing that could have been symptoms of so many different health problems. I think my doctor at that time started thinking I was a hypochondriac. A change in doctors finally gave me the proper diagnosis...although that led to so many years of dependence on Nexium and the problems that came along with that. Thankfully through a diet change and digestive enzymes, I was able to get off of Nexium for good.

Anyway, I think it's definitely best to go see a doctor to get properly diagnosed since some people seem to have different symptoms to the same health problems and some have similar symptoms to very different health problems.

I hope you find out what it is soon and get it resolved so you can feel better! Take care of yourself.

Thanks so much, V. I'm definitely going to bring up GERD, acid reflux, ulcer, gastritis, etc. It sure is hard to pinpoint it with all the multiple symptoms, including what I almost know has to be GB.

Originally Posted by Eieio

Bummer sophiethect.
sorry u can't get over this.
Well to bore u with all my elements. So, I'll spare u and share two.
The best thing of course is that ur going to the doctor.
I had to change docors cause when I was really sick.
I use to work at the same hospital as he. He got to where he just was like a friend listening to me instead of fixing me. so just a heads up on it happens at times the need to move on to another doctor.
Years ago I had the symptom of the burning piece of coal in my stomache in the middle if the night. It would wake me. It scared the bewiggles out of me. It took time for it cause me to go to the doctor. I'd beeline it to get cold water. It seemed to help.
It happened off and on . No foods seems to bother it, no schedule of it happening. Years later I had vomitted dark color gross stuff. Again scared the be wiggle out of me. Went then to the doctor. My upper gi scope showed and irritation in my stomach at one area. Of course all the things like milk I drank often and some other meds prescribed. Can't remember. But it took time to feel better with it.
Now I still I'm very nice to my stomach.
My last and worse thing to get a doctor to listen to me. This is when I changed doctors.
I had a dx Prolapse colon, My colon had fallen from where it's suppose to live. Boy was I sick for couple years with this problem. My symptom were, constant pressure in my lower body, big problem with BM's they hardly ever happened. Was a tough time. The lady doctor which I m so thankful to find, did the surgery herself. With the colon laying on top of my girl parts, she said best to remove them. So out came every thing. Hysteromy, which I had never had problem with. She tacked my colon back up where it belongs. I do believe she saved my life. It was instant relief.
I think u go to the doctor today next Monday. Keep us posted!
Things take time to dx. Bummer.

Wow, EI, you certainly went through a lot! Glad you got it fixed up. Thanks for the and right back at ya!

Originally Posted by Kissa

Sophie, I am so sorry things are no better. But I am delighted that you are seeing your doctor again.

I have no advice as I have the constitution of an ox. But I can send love and wishes for a quick diagnosis and recovery.

Originally Posted by Joedi

Everything I thought of has already been mentioned - so just wanted to send you a big hug n lots of love.
Hope you get it sorted out ASAP !
Hugs
Jo
X

Thanks, Kissa & Jo!

Originally Posted by b_lou_who

may help, may not, but if it is a diverticulitis thing I have friends and family who all swear by aloe juice as a life changer, one guy even to the point of personality improvement after years of suffering with difficult to diagnose symptoms.
I also have close friends with gallbladder issues who grow kombucha (although you can buy the beverage) and have seen dramatic health improvement by drinking the "tea" every day.

Neither of these can hurt you, they are inexpensive and readily available.
Hang in there, I have internal troubles of my own. My system has never been the same since I contracted lysteria (and almost died from it) almost a decade ago. I'm now allergic to rice even. Taking really good probiotics twice a day makes a world of difference to me, but I have to be a fanatic about doing it.

I may have time to get to the health food store today, so I'll check out the aloe and kombucha. I used to drink a kombucha twig tea off and on, thought it was pretty good at the time. I should probably be taking some probiotic too now that you mention it. Since I'm dairy-free at least atm, I am no longer getting my daily yogurt. Thanks for all the help, Lou.

Originally Posted by jem51

You've touched on hormonal issues and some of your sx sound like too much testosterone....or some type of hormone imbalance.

You may have already crossed that bridge but if not, it's a simple blood test.

These types of imbalances can cause all kinds of sx including digestive.

I've had my hormones checked over the years, by regular doctors, gyn and endos, and nothing is ever out of the normal range. But after all I've read over the years, I feel like it's my skin - sebaceous glands and hair follicles - that are so sensitive to androgens. I almost always cleared up on the BCP but I no longer wanted to take it in my 30s. Was on Spiro for years, and it helped some, but then I eventually wanted to go off it. Metformin, I've been on through most of my 30s and it alone seems to keep things in check very very well, but that ended when (looking back) I started the big dairy thing a couple years ago. If the dairy did this to me, I will be kicking myself to kingdom come! For not catching it - for not letting it "click" what was going on, you know. But at least if that's the culprit, I will have an easy fix.

Thank you, Jem. Big

[Yam-Yam]

Sophie: I just want to encourage you to keep bugging your doctor. And, if he does not find out what it is with certainty, change doctors. Soon.

My brother kept going back to his doctor with burning and pain in his stomach for two years. Doc kept sending him home with remedies for acid reflux.

When things got really bad, he was finally diagnosed with stomach cancer and it was too late to do anything about it. You remember how shocked I was and all my family was in February.

This is not said to scare you but to get you to bug your doctor for some answers and answers now. Go to a specialist.

I'm so sorry you are going through this. But it's no way to live and you deserve answers.

you!! Worried about you, big time.

[jem51]

Sophie, another thought; iodine.
I started using lugols because I thought w my aging maybe I could boost my energy.
That didn't really happen but, surprise!, my digestion improved.

It is also good for skin.

[sophiethecat]

Well my doc has me set up with a specialist for next Monday who will run the various tests. (My doc is actually a nurse practitioner who recently took over for my old doc of 24 years).

Anyway, she agreed that the right side issue is likely my gallbladder, which is what I've been trying to tell them for months, lol. She said maybe nothing showed up on the ultrasound because it might not be stones or sludge but rather lowered functioning of the GB.

For the stomach thing she prescribed a medicine that takes care of acid, bacteria, and something else. She had a blood test done to check for H. Pylori, which causes ulcers.

I guess I'll have more to report after the appt. with specialist next Monday. Thanks everyone for your care and concern.

[DD80]

Originally Posted by sophiethecat

Well my doc has me set up with a specialist for next Monday who will run the various tests. (My doc is actually a nurse practitioner who recently took over for my old doc of 24 years).

Anyway, she agreed that the right side issue is likely my gallbladder, which is what I've been trying to tell them for months, lol. She said maybe nothing showed up on the ultrasound because it might not be stones or sludge but rather lowered functioning of the GB.

For the stomach thing she prescribed a medicine that takes care of acid, bacteria, and something else. She had a blood test done to check for H. Pylori, which causes ulcers.

I guess I'll have more to report after the appt. with specialist next Monday. Thanks everyone for your care and concern.

Keep us updated! I'm interested to hear what they find out! I hope you are feeling better!

[gotsomeold]

I'm glad you are moving in some direction - hope it is forward!

[Muffabuff]

Hope you are feeling better soon. In the meantime a cup of strong peppermint tea can be very soothing for your tummy. It also relieves nausea. If you don't like peppermint, ginger tea or ginger ale is very good as well.

[Eieio]

Ok it' Monday 10 pm here in sw mo.
Hope SOFIETHEcat at is doing well.

[Star73]

Originally Posted by sophiethecat

Well my doc has me set up with a specialist for next Monday who will run the various tests. (My doc is actually a nurse practitioner who recently took over for my old doc of 24 years).

Anyway, she agreed that the right side issue is likely my gallbladder, which is what I've been trying to tell them for months, lol. She said maybe nothing showed up on the ultrasound because it might not be stones or sludge but rather lowered functioning of the GB.

For the stomach thing she prescribed a medicine that takes care of acid, bacteria, and something else. She had a blood test done to check for H. Pylori, which causes ulcers.

I guess I'll have more to report after the appt. with specialist next Monday. Thanks everyone for your care and concern.

I hope you get some answers! I know it's frustrating! My gallbladder was basically nonfunctioning and it had to come out! lol... They did a HIDA scan on me. A lower functioning or nonfunctioning GB can cause painful symptoms just like stones or sludge. It sounds like you are on the right path. I would still consider going gluten free. Many naturopathic docs believe gluten is the cause for GB problems.

[sophiethecat]

Thank you guys, for all your concern and well wishes.

I had the HIDA scan Tues. a.m. and the test made me sooo sick. When she injected the hormone that made my GB contract, I was *this* close to getting sick right there on the table. It messed me up for the rest of the day - on the couch sick.

Anyway, I saw the doctor-surgeon yesterday, who confirmed what I've been feeling - that my gallbladder has reduced functioning. Most people's GB functions at 50% and higher. The "iffy" range is 35 - 50%. At 34% and below that they definitely must take it out. Mine is right at 35%. He recommended that I get it out.

Of course, me being me, I told him I was feeling much better since I changed my diet and stopped drinking so much, and that I would like to wait and see if things improve.

He actually laughed at me and told me repeatedly that I'd be back to have it removed. I laughed too, because he wasn't saying it in a mean way - he's a nice and humorous guy, and known as a good doctor, and I am quite sure he knows what he is talking about. And honestly, I have heard of numerous others who tried to heal their GB and had to have it removed anyway. So what I told him I know he has heard it all before and then seen those patients in the OR sooner or later. But --sigh-- I just *can't* sign up for surgery yet, not when I am feeling better.

He agreed that my change in diet has probably helped.... but that the GB cannot be nursed back to health. And that I am in a type of "remission" where the symptoms improve but always come back sooner or later. And this goes along with what I've experienced since this started. It would be bad for a while, then improve for a while. Things have been better for over 2 weeks though. It was only when I had the test on Tues. that I've been dealing with some pain.

I know I must sound nuts. and refusing to believe the truth. After all, this condition has caused me all kinds of problems, including spending day after day on the couch or in bed, very sick. I mainly wanted testing to confirm what I'm dealing with. I needed to know it was GB and not something else (thankfully all blood work came back fine - liver is in great shape too). Now that I know for sure, I feel better in that regard. And maybe I'm just putting off the inevitable. But I am afraid of surgery for different reasons. Also I don't want to part with an organ if I can help it get better instead. Maybe that's crazy talk when your doctor told you that is not going to happen....

Now yesterday evening I did have some pain and almost thought about calling to schedule the surgery, lol, but things are fine this a.m. and I'm still wanting to "wait and see". I guess when the pain comes or that awful nausea, I will be singing a different tune and mad at myself for not getting it out.

This is just something I guess I need time to process, you know? I just need to get used to the idea of this and what I will need to have done for it.

So that's an update for now.

[KeirasMom]

Thinking of you.

[Star73]

Sophie, just have the surgery

Mine was functioning only at 17% when I had the HIDA scan. I had it removed. The surgery wasn't bad. I had it the Wednesday before Thanksgiving and celebrated Thanksgiving with my family and went back to work on Monday

They told me the same thing about how it will not improve and will cause you problems until it is removed. I was tired of the pain and nausea it interrupting my life. I'm glad you got an answer to your problem!

[mykidsteacher]

I'm glad you have an answer. I'd probably want to try to make it better before surgery too, so understand where you are coming from. Or at least I'd wait till I felt bad again. LOL

I will pray that you can make some improvement.

[Sheridan]

I'm glad you found out what was going on. Not knowing for sure (and if you're like me, have an active imagination) is awful. I hadn't commented before but I'm not in any way surprised to hear your news after the HIDA scan.

I understand where you're coming from about wanting to see if you can heal it, I really do. But honey, get the dad-gum thing taken out! It's going to be a constant thing to think about, trying to 'manage', trying to avoid or alleviate symptoms... and you're on the borderline of functionality. Your doctor, who has a lot more experience than you, has recommended - based on that experience - to take it out. Listen to him.

You don't want to spend precious time out of your life (and the life of your loved ones) worrying with and trying to manage this thing. Yes, you feel better right now, but look back and be honest with yourself. Do you want to spend any more of your life being as miserable and limited as you've been before you got the diagnosis? I wouldn't.

I would want mine removed if I'd received a dx like you did because I know that cardiac issues very often present themselves as GB symptoms. It's not uncommon for cardiac problems to be mis-diagnosed (especially in women) if a person still has their GB. This may not be important to you now, but might be crucial later on.

All my best to you, honey. Glad you're past the "not knowing" stage.

[Jbinme]

I'm glad you found out what's going on. I'm sure you'll get it taken care of as soon as you're ready and then you'll feel ALL better!

[Luna Loca]

Awww, I'm sorry.

I honor you for listening to your instincts and taking the time you need to at least process this. Like many of the others who've posted to this thread, I agree that the advice of your doctor is probably spot-on, but I understand your reluctance to move forward on this until you're emotionally ready. And you'll be ready when you're ready.

[SoHappy]

My guess is ulcer. If you have Helicobacter pylori, a course of the proper antibiotic can set you right again. It sounds like you have a periodic ulcer flair up.

[piratejenny]

"...the GB cannot be nursed back to health."

Aw, man!

Sorry to hear this.
I'd need a little time to come to terms with the idea of surgery, too.
Good luck with everything!

[imajule]

I know SEVERAL people, including myself, who have had to have the gallbladder surgery after a weight loss. Best of luck!

IMHO, Go ahead and take a little time to wrap your brain around the idea but remember, a 'bad' gallbladder can actually cause a toxicity in the body and make you very sick. My children's stepmother waited and waited-hoping to feel better-and actually had to have emergency surgery and was in the hospital for 5 days. Just something to consider...my advice is don't wait too long!