Possible gallbladder problem

[IDONTWANTTOGROWUP 9]

Hi, I'm 4 weeks post op. I have been experiencing a dull pain in my upper right abdomen for a few weeks now. Of course right after surgery your incisions are tender as mine were, but for the most part they feel fine. Nothing looks infected. I am not experiencing any nausea or vomiting, no gas or bloating really. Just this dull pain that is constant. I read that 25% of gastric surgery patients deal with gallbladder issues and I can't tell if this is what I'm dealing with. I have been on soft foods now for 2 weeks. My next followup appointment is in 2 weeks. I called the doctors office to see if I need to come in prior to that but my doctor is gone until next Wednesday.

I'm curious if you have dealt with gallbladder problems after surgery, and if this sounds like what is going on with me. I am eating fine. Getting in all my Protein, low carb, almost zero sugar. Drinking enough fluids. So I can't understand why I am dealing with this.

Anyone have any thoughts or ideas on this?

[aNYCdb 310]

I don't have any particular experience here, but my understanding from other folks who have had issues is that no one who has had gallbladder issues has ever described the experience as a "dull pain." It's been described more as a "please kill me, anything to make this stop" kind of pain when you have an attack.

Does this pain correspond to any particular type of activity (after eating/drinking?), time of day? Does it come and go?

[IDONTWANTTOGROWUP 9]

It goes away a little after lying down although it hurts if I roll over. It feels like a charley horse in my abdomen.

[biakitty 12]

It goes away a little after lying down although it hurts if I roll over. It feels like a charley horse in my abdomen.

I had gallbladder issues a few months before my surgery. The pain was so intense that I could not stand straight and cried for hours at the hospital. I also had a hard time breathing. It felt like someone was stabbing me and twisting the knife. Turns out that I had gallbladder stones and they were inflamed. The pain is located on the right side of your body under your breast bone. When inflammed you will feel the pain through your back and shoulders.

Also, I think it is too early to say that the surgery may have caused a gallbladder issue as I had read that a rapid, significant amount of weight loss will cause gallbladder issues. But, I am not a doctor this is just based on my experience and what I have read.

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[raeraerae 59]

I was told I needed to have my gall bladder out over ten years ago and declined surgery. I had a lot of stones. Over ten years I sometimes had sharp pain in my right upper quadrant, sometimes it was dull and sometimes I had referred pain in my shoulder. But most of the time it didn’t bother me at all. My surgeon convinced me to have my gall bladder removed in early March, a few weeks before my sleeve in mid March. And I’m really glad I did. When I saw it after surgery, I was shocked! It was huge, packed with stones and full of wrinkles where the stones pushed against the tissue (which should be smooth).
Anyway, when I first started having gall bladder issues, one of the noninvasive tests was to press on the painful area in the right upper quadrant. If you experience pain relief while pressing and experience a resurgence of pain when the pressure is let go, that could indicate a gall bladder issue. I don’t know if that still the case and don’t have any medical experience with this, just personal. When I had a bad gall bladder attack, I would eat a clove or raw garlic (which it sounds like you can’t do right now) and the pain would be relieved.
I don’t know if you have a gallbladder issue or muscle pain or something else. After most of my post surgical pain went away post sleeve, I still had occasional pain in the right upper quadrant due to the internal stitches in the muscle which take longer to heal.

[GassyGurl 428]

I'm having a similar issue. My PCP prescribed me a medicine used for IBS, stomach cramps, and a whole bunch of other issues. She thinks it could be colon cramps. My issue is very similar to yours, mild constant crampy feeling, but occasionally excruciating. No nausea, vomiting, etc. She told me to ask the surgeon for their thoughts and they recommended another ultrasound, and if that came back normal, a HIDA scan. Of course now that I have medication to try, the pain hasn't been bad enough for me to use it and see if it works. But I searched this site and it seems like stomach cramps are not totally unheard of after surgery and the medicine helps. It's called hyoscyamine. I'm not sold on it being gallbladder, but will go along with the tests just in case. I know gallbladder can be jerks.

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[IDONTWANTTOGROWUP 9]

5 hours ago, GassyGurl said:

I'm having a similar issue. My PCP prescribed me a medicine used for IBS, stomach cramps, and a whole bunch of other issues. She thinks it could be colon cramps. My issue is very similar to yours, mild constant crampy feeling, but occasionally excruciating. No nausea, vomiting, etc. She told me to ask the surgeon for their thoughts and they recommended another ultrasound, and if that came back normal, a HIDA scan. Of course now that I have medication to try, the pain hasn't been bad enough for me to use it and see if it works. But I searched this site and it seems like stomach cramps are not totally unheard of after surgery and the medicine helps. It's called hyoscyamine. I'm not sold on it being gallbladder, but will go along with the tests just in case. I know gallbladder can be jerks.

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The more I look into this I am beginning to think this is not gallbladder pain. I am not experiencing the horrible pain and other side effects that others have experienced. My doctor is out of the office until next Thursday so I am just going to deal with it unless pain becomes severe and then I guess I will go to the ER. I'm wondering if it it just my new stomach reacting to soft foods. I really have no idea what it is but I think most patients at 4 weeks post op have had the pain subside from their surgery.