10+ year abdonimal pain after gall bladder removal. Doctors haven't helped. I'm Desperate.
Hi, below is a GPTd condensed version only containing necessary information. If you don't want my long story, feel free to skip to the orevelant information. My goal by the way is to hopefully hear something that my doctors haven't mentioned. All information gained from this post will be relayed to my doctor if it seems to make sense. Thank you.
Ever since I had my gallbladder taken out when I was a teenager (31 now) I've had upper abdonimal pain that feels like twisting and pulling, when it's at its worst I'm in the fetal position massaging the area and pulling my skin away from my upper right abdominal area until it passes. I'm diagnosed with IBS and GERD. Although thr Gerd hasn't been a noticeable issue since a long term omeprazole treatment.
I've had colonoscopys done and endoscopy, they always find something but not anything that would contribute to my pain. I used to have attacks all the time when I was younger but they were manageable. The older I get the less often I have them but the more intense and debilitating the pain is. Sometimes these episodes are met with nausea, vomiting, and spike liver levels. I haven't drank in over a year, these episodes have been happening whether I eat well or not, but usually I'm not eating well or as well as I could around the time they really flair up a lot. Doc has had me on cholestyramine which has helped me have normal bowel movements I haven't seen for years, but now sometimes it hurts to poop and my lower right abdominal area will be painful through the day, coming and going. Sometimes I poop and I'll have shooting pain up my rectum and can't sit down for 25-30 minutes.
Sometimes I can feel the pain coming on (in my upper right abdominal area) and I can quickly eat or drink something hot or cold and it won't turn into an "attack" sometimes it doesn't help at all though. My doctors have spent years on this and we've gotten nowhere.
Summary of Symptoms and Medical History
Background:
Gallbladder Removal: Over 10 years ago (high school or shortly after) due to gallstones and gallbladder attacks.
Current Age: 31
Symptoms Onset: Began after gallbladder removal.
Symptoms:
Primary Pain: Upper right abdominal pain (behind the rib cage, feels like twisting or grabbing).
Triggered within 2-4 hours of waking up.
Sometimes alleviated by:
Drinking water or eating (inconsistently effective).
Massaging the rib cage or pulling skin away (reduces pain 60-70%).
Episodes last from minutes to hours and have become less frequent but more intense over time.
Associated Symptoms:
Nausea
Pale feeling
Lightheadedness
Rarely, pain radiates to the right armpit, behind right pec, or lower right abdomen (appendix area).
Occasionally followed by:
Pain near bladder after bowel movement.
Rectal pain lasting ~30 minutes.
"Residual" circular pain (~marble-sized).
Other Notes:
Pain sometimes associated with elevated liver levels.
Endoscopy revealed an esophagus and stomach lining resembling a chemical burn.
History of IBS and heartburn (heartburn has resolved in recent months).
Current Treatments:
- Cholestyramine:
Helped reduce IBS pain and episodes for several weeks.
Normalized bowel movements after long-term irregularities.
Dose recently halved by doctors.
- Omeprazole:
Used intermittently for heartburn in the past.
- Lifestyle Changes:
Weight loss: 206 lbs → 155 lbs (June to present) after quitting alcohol (self-diagnosed alcoholic).
Medical Evaluations:
ER Visits:
Multiple CT scans and bloodwork.
No life-threatening conditions identified.
Endoscopy:
Significant irritation in esophagus and stomach lining.
Bloodwork: Generally normal, with occasional elevated liver levels.
Impact on Life:
Work and Relationships: Debilitating pain has significantly affected both.
Weight Loss: Doctors attribute to stopping heavy drinking.
Concerns and Frustrations:
No clear diagnosis despite extensive testing (pain is "not life-threatening").
Increasingly severe pain episodes.
Persistent unexplained symptoms (bladder/rectal pain, associated nausea, and liver level changes).
Fear and frustration about ongoing impact on quality of life.