Gallbladder Issues Anyone...?

[NorthernElf]

So I'm interested in hearing about anyone else's experience with gallbladder issues. For the last two week I have been having some pains in my right side and in the last week it has localized to under the rib cage. I called my doc yesterday but he was leaving out of town so I made an appointment for Monday...but this morning the pain was really bad, as was the nausea so I went to emerg. Doc ran blood tests and there is no infection (no appendicitis or pancreatitis or liver issues). He thinks it's either a stone trying to get out of my gallbladder or a very spastic colon. Well, this is pain like I have never had before - stabbing and it comes in waves. So I'm sitting here on tylenol 3 and buscopan, eating light, low fat, and bland. Most of us here are pretty familiar with spastic colon issues and I gotta say this is way more painful & localized than anything I've ever had before.

Is there a relationship between gallstones & celiac ? Gallbladder problems ? Anyone have any stories to share ?

[cassP]

im not an expert on stones.. they would have to do an xray/mri/or catscan to see if you had stones, right?

you might be interested in looking in to liver flushes.. ive done several. they're a real pain in the a to do tho- if they're not gonna be productive. ive done 4 or 5 of them, and i only had 1 flush where i got out like 200-300 stones- so that was well worth the effort. but the last few ive only gotten 3-10 out.. not worth the effort at all.

i imagine that Celiac can include issues with liver and gall bladder- it's not a "classic" symptom, but our digestive systems have been taxed, and that can put a strain on other organs.

anyways...i had more luck with the flushes when i prepared the month prior with Chinese Tinctures & Gold Coin Grass ( www.sensiblehealth.com )

im not sure if i'll ever do another flush- but i still on occasion take the above tinctures.

the Chinese Tinctures help to detoxify the liver

& the Gold coin Grass is supposed to soften and eventually break up the gall stones

if you end up doing either (flushes &/or tinctures), make sure you understand all the rules so u do them right, otherwise it can make u sick or be too hard on your liver.

IF you're hesitant to any of the above suggestions, and IF you're intestines are up for it-> u might consider eating light one day and then doing an Epsom Salt Laxative drink- it'll give u "D", but it will also open up those ducts a little, so maybe if a couple of stones were stuck they might be able to come out better.

[Salax]

I had the same thing. It took the doctors way to long to figure it out but I knew it was my gallbladder. No stones, and they did the hidda scan told me it was fine. It wasn't. I had to have the doctor specifically ask for the hidda scan with CCK contrast. This will show how hard or not the gallbladder is working. So, if you don't have stones and still have pain ask for this test. My gallbladder was working at 13%! Luckly they found out just as I started throwing up bile. So it was BAD BAD.

Good luck and I hope they resolve it quickly, I know it hurts. *comforts*

Salax

[polarbearscooby]

My gallbladder litterly died because of celiac. About a year before I was diagnosed

[mommyto3]

An ER doc diagnosed me with "gallbladder spasms" after they couldn't find anything on an ultrasound for my excruciating pain. I'm like, gallbladdeer spasms huh, you think so? Duh, of course the thing is in spasms! But what was causing the spasms??? To me his diagnosis was just another way of saying "we have no idea". He gave me pills and sent me on my way but I never filled them.....

I had these pains for 12 years to the point of lying on the floor for hours and just waiting it out in horrible agony. Sad but I kind of learned to just live with it. Since going gluten free 6 months ago I haven't had any episodes (knock wood!)

Good luck!

[Mari]

Some people are able to dislodge stuck stones by fasting followed by a dose of epsom salts and then taking one 300 mg Magnesium oxide capsule each day. some experts advise drinking 5 glasses of water a day, no coffee/tea or high sugar drinks or foods which are dehydrating. Magnesium relaxes the bile ducts. I also eat fresh grapefruit which has a similar effect. I have been doing liver flushes for about 20 years and in a program which also kills intestinal parasites, improves kidney function and dissolves hard calcium stones in the gall bladder and bile tubes in the liver. (some people use organic apple juice or malic acid to soften hard gallstones). I passed thousands of stones. After 5 years gluten-free I'm making very few gallstones. Sludge can also clog the gall bladder and bile system and I read that Drs advise using a high fiber diet to help with that problem so I included either hemp seed meal or gluten-free oat bran with meals. Other have found rice bran easier to tolerate.

I have read that in some people with celiac disease that have gall bladder problems clear up naturally so it could be that the swelling and inflamation in the small intestine is hindering bile flow and when the reaction subsides the stones formed in the bile system come out naturally as they do in a normal person.

[*Daniella*]

Yes, I had my gallbladder taken out about three years prior to getting diagnosed. I was having tummy gas and intestinal pains so the docs tested my gallbladder with a HIDA scan. I ended having only 11% ejection fraction. The docs thought that would cure my gas and intestinal issues. It wasn't until another 3 years of pain did I get diagnosed with celiac. I truly believe both are related.

[MelindaLee]

I had localized pain under my right rib cage. The best way I could explain it was someone's fist was under my rib cage. I saw my Dr. who ordered ultrasound and then a HIDA scan. When the HIDA scan was negative, they sent me to the GI dr. My GI doc asked if the HIDA scan reproduced my pain, which it did. He believed it was my gallbladder, but ordered an upper and lower scope to rule out anything else. It was this rule out biopsy which found my celiac. (Biopsy was positive, and they did the blood test to confirm) They still took out my gallbladder. From what I have read, gallbladder issues are common with celiacs. I don't know if that answers your questions...but that was my experience.

[Mrs-owen39]

I to had my gallbladder removed about a year before realizing I have problems with gluten. My gallbladder completely died, I was in severe pain and throwing up over 18 hours when I finally was taken to the hospital. After a year of research on Celiac and Gluten issues this seems to be a common occurrence. In one article it was speculated that about 80% of gallbladder problems are related to gluten.

On the lighter side, I will have to come up with lyrics for this adventure as I lost my gallbladder on vacation to Corpus Christi, Texas, just sounds like a county western song begging to be sung. Hang in there and bright blessings in your quest.

[cassP]

hey- have any of you with GB issues- did you ever have "referred pain" to the ab muscles right above the GB- like severe sharp Ab Muscle spasms???

i KNOW my pain attack the other day was my muscles- i DO have alot of muscle and fascia issues from my job & posture- but it was so excruciating.... and im trying to solve my problems so that i dont have the pain again.

the doc gave me muscle relaxers- which help to a degree. i also read that the GB is in fact a muscle.. (maybe an organ comprised of smooth muscle).

anyways, i know the GB pain is more deep and inside, but i have been reading that organ issues can "refer" to the nearby muscles... so i was wondering if any of you had the same problem

[lynnelise]

My gallbladder stopped functioning about 5 years ago, confirmed by a HIDA scan w/ cck. After having it removed I continued to have less severe right rib cage pain until I quit eating gluten. I think gluten issues and gallbladder problems are definately connected.

[Aphreal]

My gallbladder hemorrhaged about 7 years ago. I had to have emergency surgery to remove it and I also had to get stones removed from the duct.

So let's back up 12 years. I was pregnant and having what felt like heartburn from hell or maybe a heart attack. I was given an Ultrasound and you could see the stones.

I refused surgery because I was PG. The pain was excrutiating. I lay in hot water as waves and waves of pain washed over me. This was my treatment for years. I was either Pregnant, nursing or something and did not want to get surgery. Diets did not help.

So on that faithful night, I woke and I just knew I was having a heart attack. The pain was on the right side, under my ribs and in my back. This time was different so DH took me to the ER. They put me on some strong medication and did an emergency ultrasound. The stones had gotten so bad, they had turned into a thick sludge. The gallbladder ruptured and started to bleed out. The sludge going into the bile ducts. I had it removed the next morning. Well I say next morning. It was about 4 when I got there, had a bunch of procedures and tests and it was about 10 when I had it removed.

I do not know if this is related to my bowel issue but it's not something you want to just let go. I could have developed sepsis and died from this. I let it go and go and go. I would keep a real close eye on this and make sure they do a GB US to see if there is anything in there.

[Naezer]

I am not sure if this helps but i had my GB out after an excruciating attack one week after delivering my son in 1999. doc said there was sludge but not stones. I was diagnosed with celiac 10 years later. Had intermittent attacks under rib cage. i would feel like I cannot breath. Went to Er first time but after that i "rode it out" at home. Once I went on the gluten-free diet, I thought I was in the clear but, low and behold, I had an attack last week after being gluten-free for 2 years. I am not sure what is going on but there must be a coorelation between the two. It is crazy when we sit here and talk about our histories and realize that sometimes "hindsight is 20/20"

God bless you in your struggles.

[Jenn624]

Shortly after having my gallbladder removed last May, the gluten intolerance became apparent. Everyone blamed my intestinal and bowel issues on my lack of a gallbladder. Now that I am gluten-free, I don't have those issues at all.

[Gfreeatx]

I had my Gallbladder out as well about a year before my diagnosis. I didn't have any stones either, but it was functioning around 10%.

[*Daniella*]

I was experiencing a lot of side pain but it was overshadowed by the undiagnosed celiac symptoms. The doc ordered a HIDA scan and told me my gallbladder was working at 11% ejection fraction. He thought for sure it would relieve my other symptoms...it did not. It wasn't for another 3 years did I finally learn I had celiac disease. I believe my gallbladder problems was due to celiac disease.

[Alika Nash]

An ER doc diagnosed me with "gallbladder spasms" after they couldn't find anything on an ultrasound for my excruciating pain. I'm like, gallbladdeer spasms huh, you think so? Duh, of course the thing is in spasms! But what was causing the spasms??? To me his diagnosis was just another way of saying "we have no idea". He gave me pills and sent me on my way but I never filled them.....

I had these pains for 12 years to the point of lying on the floor for hours and just waiting it out in horrible agony. Sad but I kind of learned to just live with it. Since going gluten free 6 months ago I haven't had any episodes (knock wood!)

Good luck!

I too have been one of those sufferers, although my issues have been all over from bone, muscles, organs, neurolgical...I just learned to live with it every day like you say. Crazy how we become so tolerant to living in pain.

I know i was just recently diagnosed with celiacs and also other various organ problems, my gall bladder being one; they found i have pollups in my gall bladder. I would certainly have that looked into. Good luck to you.

[jcski]

I actually just had my gall bladder taken out four days ago and when they did all the testing that's when I found out I had Celiac's. I've read several articles about gallbladder and celiac disease bieng connected especially when there are no stones, I think the medical community believes there is a connection all though they haven't proved it yet. I didn't have stones but my gallbladder was had a ejection fraction of 13% and I was nautious everytime I ate for about four months not to mention the pain in on the right side just under my ribcage. Definately have the HIDA Scan, they didn't see anything on my Ultrasound.

[sandrad]

Same thing here. Just had my gallbladder out in jan. No stones but was only at 35% function...not as bad as some others but the surgeon said it was best to remove it.

I also had "gallbladder spasms" several hours after eating(usually at bedtime) id get them and i could feel it gurgling.

I was on t3's for a few months and realized after stopping them that they actually made my pain worse.

My original surgeon in regina never thought i had gallbladder issues and did an endoscopy to ceck for ulcers and other things. In the drs report it said possible celiac. Im still trying to locate the biopsy results(the surgeon moved shortly after i did).

[wjallen05]

I am a 25 (will be 26 next week) year old mother of 4 (ages 7, 5, 4 & almost 3). I was self-diagnosed with Celiac Disease in Febuary 2011 and have been Gluten Free since April 2011. I have had a few accidental glutenings and it is like being poisoned. In December 2010, I went to the family doctor, desperate for an answer. I was in pain all the time. No energy, bloating, gas pains, back pain, nausia, etc. They sent me to the hospital to have a HIDA scan, showed I had gallbladder disfunction, and a few other things (sorry I cannot remember) Anyway here is my interesting story....

When I was 4, I was diagnosed with Lactose Intolerance. I could not eat any lactose at all- though when I was about 10 or so, we discovered the "dairy pills" and I was fine as long as I took that with the food. When I was about 22, I had a saliva test done (forgive me I do not remember the name for this) and she told me that I had low bile, low vitamin B5, low adrenal, and a couple other things I can not remember. I asked about my lactose intolerance and she said it did not show that. I was shocked! I slowly started eating dairy products without taking the lactose pills, and nothing happened. I thought it was a miracle! Everything was great until one day in March of 2009, I started having the worst pain of my life, it was coming in waves, and I knew it was my intestines or something of the like. I had severe diarrhea which lead to severe bloody diarreha and eventually just blood. My husband took me to the ER and they did a CT scan and it showed I had Colitis. They gave me some pain pills and sent me home. 3 hours later, I was pretty much begging for death, so we went back to the ER, a different dr looked at my CT scan results, and he was shocked that they sent me home. They admitted me, had to put me on Hydro Morphin on an automatic drip through my IV. After 5 days of being there, they discovered I had E. Coli. (side note- I sent in another saliva test after getting home from the hospital, and she concluded that the E Coli was from a hamburger. I no longer eat beef.)

I lost 11 lbs in that week. I went down to 125 and I am now at 120 lbs, when I am sick I'll weigh around 116. I was never the same after the E. Coli. I was sick all the time. I started getting Acupuncture which did help but I was still sick a lot and felt like I couldn't eat anything. In the beginning of this year, she suggested I try a Gluten Free diet. That is when I started experimenting with low gluten, to eventually NO gluten at all- and I have been gluten free ever since. I could still eat dairy just fine until about a month ago. Now even the smallest amount makes me sick.

I chose not to have my gallbladder removed. As long as I didn't eat Gluten I was ok. I didn't have the classic gallbladder "symptoms" it was more of celiac symptoms. Now, I can't eat anything. I am sick no matter what especially after eating pork (we love pork- we raise our own pig every year) and eggs (we also love eggs and have our own laying hens) and now I can't drink my beloved coffee. After just half a cup, I'll be running to the bathroom and be in terrible pain. I get bad pain in my upper back between my shoulder blades and in my shoulder. I know it's my gallbladder and I've decided it's time to have it removed. I have an appt in two weeks. I really hope it helps. I will continue to stay gluten and lactose free, but I hope I can go back to my eggs, pork and coffee.

[shadowicewolf]

-raises hand-

Yep yep. I've had ultrasounds and bloodtests done on mine. It showed NOTHING. Go in to have a HIDA scan (my new doctor had a hunch due to my pain and nonstop indigestion), and lo and behold i find out my gallbladder is only working at 5% of what it should be (low normal is 30%).

I meet tommorow with the surgon who's gonna take the blasted thing out of me. Hopefully i feel better after that.

[MandaSue]

So it sounds like everyone had severe symptoms before calling? I tend to "over-think" any medical suggestions so I'm just looking for feedback on the following. I realize this initial post was old, but any suggestions would be great.

I've had a friend who recently had an emergency gall-bladder surgery. So now her, and other people have been recommending that I get tested (simply because they know I've had minor "stomach" pain for year, and was diagnoses with celiac's in August 2011. I've still had some minor symptoms after going gluten free (but i've been told that this could be "normal" in the first year while healing).

I have had random mild pain on my lower back- right side (exactly where everyone above has described). one time over the summer this was consistent enough that I did call my doctor. but it was just consistent for a day or so-- no severe. My doctor told me just to take advil and call back if it got worse; it didn't. I'm generally fine other than feeling this minor pain now and then (I should also note that I feel it right now, as I'm thinking about it recently-- but haven't noticed it that much when it was not suggested to me I do have a lot of other family/life stress right now just in fitting in appointments so it is really not a good time to just go as a "prevantative"...but obviously, I want to take my health seriously....

ok, so my question is: what to watch for? would you call a doc now, or wait for it to get worse (i know that sounds bad)...

[ktotheroll]

I definitely agree the two are connected. My doctor can't agree with me because there isn't research to back it up, but I didn't have all that many Celiac symptoms before my gallbladder was removed after 2 major attacks (a few months apart, oddly enough). Post-surgery, though I began experience any and every symptom of Celiac. I'm not sure how, but having my gallbladder taken out definitely triggered the emergence of my Celiac disease.

[jeanzdyn]

I do have pain that I believe is my gall bladder. It is often below the rib cage and on my right side. My Mother had her gall bladder removed, and she talked about her symptoms --so I know from her the location and kind of pain.

It helped me to read your descriptions of what the pain feels like too.

I do not have the pain so often that I have pushed for the doctor to investigate, but after reading this thread I plan to spend more time telling my doc about this.

I do not know about having your gall bladder out causing the emergence of celiac disease. I now believe that I have had celiac disease or gluten intolerance for over 30 years, at least at some level. In 1979 I had a long period of gastro-intestinal distress, not bad enough to be hospitalized, but I was quite uncomfortable for a very long time. The doctor called it irritable bowel syndrome and advised me to drink mylanta twice a day, which I did for a couple of months --until I felt better. I have always been prone to diarhhea and have struggled with that at various times in my life. At one point, around 1991, I had chronic diarhhea but no health insurance. I did not see a doctor, I did research and learned that acidophilus was a great help to me. I also cut back on my bread consumption, which made the symptoms virtually go away for a few years. What I call gastric distress has been a constant for a long time.

In 2011 I decided to get a colonoscopy, being at an age where that is recommended. The result was the gastroenterologist saying "we think you have celiac disease". Well, that did not really surprise me, given my history and my own knowledge of gastro-intestinal disorders.

I have now been gluten free since January 1, 2012 and I do feel better.

I just don't think that celiac disease is triggered 'over night' by one event, like having your gall bladder removed. I think the celiac disease may have been present, but not at a level that was recognized as yet.

[Capegin]

I'm just reading this, and I'm starting to wonder about my gallbladder surgery. Sorry if this is long, but I'll start at the beginning. Also, sorry if this post would be better on another board... it was just the gallbladder topic that got me thinking!

A few years back, when I was pregnant, I woke up with excruciating pain in my ribcage area. I went to the ER, and they found stones with an ultrasound. The pain went away, and the ER doc suggested I just hold off on pursuing it as I may never have another attack.

Fast forward about two years. I was having abdominal pain and went to my primary. The pain was totally different from my gallbladder attack, which I explained to the primary and surgeon. I had another ultrasound, and based on that the primary referred me to a surgeon to have my gallbladder removed. In talking with the surgeon, I told him the pain was different and that it seemed to be better when I cut WAY back on the fiber in my diet. His response? "Fiber? Don't you mean fat?" No. I meant fiber... I know the difference! Anyway, I had my gallbladder out.

Last summer, I was EXTREMELY iron deficient, and was sent to a hematologist. She tested (through blood test) for Celiac, and said it was negative and assured me that iron deficiency wasn't uncommon in women my age, particularly postpartum. She told me to take iron and to follow up in six months.

But reading this board, a lot of pieces are coming together. My iron deficiency has been there since I was a little kid... doctors then told my mom that I wasn't responding to supplements, but that it was probably because I had some sort of Mediterranean anemia (which the hematologist refuted). Now, my 15 month old DD is in the midst of the testing process for Celiac, and I'm wondering if maybe I had a false negative? I still have occasional abdominal pain, sometimes it feels like menstrual cramps but in the wrong areas. I would say I have a very little bit of D each day or every other, but not crisis level (sorry for the detail). Has a false positive ever happened anyone?

Thanks!