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Feeling Nauseous And Abdominal Pain After Gall Bladder Removal. What Cure Should Be Done?

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Posted on Mon, 18 Mar 2013
Question: Hi, my girlfriend had her gall bladder out about 5 months ago and ever since then she's been nauseous everyday. She just went to a GI and they did a CT scan but they have not given her the results yet. Tonight she was complaining of nausea again and then she felt a sharp pain on the left side of her abdomen. She also said she could feel a quarter sized ball. She's actually in the restroom vomiting as we speak. What should we do?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Hari Charan Perigela (39 minutes later)
Hi,

As per your query, she is having pain on the left side of abdomen.
Gall bladder is located on the right side and is removed. If at all it is removed by Laparoscopic(key hole) procedure, there will be no complications due to the procedure. If it is removed by giving a incision over the abdomen,there is chance of Adhesions after surgery which may lead to abdominal pain. Swelling that she is feeling can be Incisional hernia. Nausea and vomiting can be due to various other gastro intestinal problems. That has to be ruled out by a proper evaluation and investigations such as upper GI endoscopy.

She should take PPI like Rabeprazole with Domperidone.

Let me know once you get the CT scan reports. I will be available to clarify further. I would also like to know about the drugs that she has been taking till now.

Wish her good health
Regards

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Mohammed Kappan
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Hari Charan Perigela (17 hours later)
Thank you for your response. The gall bladder was removed Laparoscopically, with 4 incisions due to it being enlarged. The surgery was actually back in May. She did have another laparoscopic procedure for endometriosis in December to "clean up" scar tissue etc. Before her gall bladder was removed, she stayed a week in the hospital for observation where they did an upper endoscopy and found a hiatial hernia and long red marks on her stomach lining. Hoping for results of ct scan tomorrow.

As far as medications, she has been on topirimate (topimax) (50mg/day) for migraines and sumatriptan with naproxen as needed when she gets migraines. Birth Control continuously for suppression of the endometriosis. Ambien as needed (rarely taken, usually weekends if at all). They have tried her on omeprazole at first, but took her off when it didn't seem to respond to anything. She takes dramamine fairly regular as it tends to be the only thing that helps with the nausea. And she takes ultram for the endometriosis pain as needed. The GI doctor she is seeing is concerned that the endometriosis could have spread to stomach or bowels, which is why he ran the ct, but we are skeptical since her ob/gyn just did the procedure in December. She has not seen much relief today.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Hari Charan Perigela (11 hours later)
Hi
Hiatus hernia and Gastritis (red marks on stomach lining) can lead to nausea and vomiting.
Instead of plain Omeprazole, give her Rabeprazole with Domperidone. She has undergone Laparoscopic treatment for Endometriosis. It is just 2 months back.She might have seen the other areas for possible Endometriosis. But,CT in my view cannot clearly diagnose Endometriosis . It is diagnosed by Diagnostic Laparoscopy where you can see the tissue directly.
Any how, please upload the CT scan abdomen report, I will clarify further.
Wish her good health
Regards.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Aparna Kohli
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Hari Charan Perigela (16 hours later)
I just responded but think I may have hit cancel instead of submit. I apologize if you get two messages. We called today for the results of the ct scan and we were told that they were in but we did not receive a copy. They did tell us over the phone that the ct scan cam back negative for Crohn's (which we were unaware they were testing) but that it showed she had a distorted stomach. After a little research we saw that indigestion could be a cause, but were concerned because before her test she did not have anything to eat since 8pm the night before and her test was not until 2:30 the next day. Could that still be indigestion with such a large lapse in time of no food? What other causes result in a distorted stomach? Additionally, they told her that she needed to come in right away to speak with the doctor, so she is schedule to see him tomorrow - are there certain questions she should be asking or tests she should be requesting? Further, she has been nauseous now for 4 days, throwing up constantly, almost every morning and night (food not a factor). She also has been having issues with bowel movements, constipated at times or painful at other times. The last time she was at the GI doctor, he told her that if the ct came back negative (which I am assuming it did, minus the distorted stomach) that they were going to move on to a stomach emptying test - do you agree with this next step? What would this be looking for? We really appreciate all of your feedback so far. I apologize it was distended stomach, not distorted.
Thank you kindly.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Hari Charan Perigela (12 hours later)
Hi
Your GI doctor is suspecting Gastroparesis,a condition which slows or stops the movement of the food from the stomach to the intestine.It is commonly seen in women and the cause is not known in most of the cases.It is seen in Diabetics. It is not related to indigestion,but related to the movement of the stomach musculature.
As the endoscopy did not show any abnormality except hiatus hernia,Stomach emptying tests have to be done.
In this test,she will be asked to take a meal which contains radio active material.An external camera shows the location of the material.They will calculate the rate of stomach emptying 1,2,3 and 4 hours after the meal.If more than 10% of the meal is present in the stomach after 4 hours,then Gastroparesis is confirmed.
She has to take frequent small meals. She should avoid fibre and fat XXXXXXX foods.It is better to give shakes or soups as liquids empty faster.
If you come back with your test results, I can explain better
I wish her good health and speedy recovery
Regards
Note: For further follow up on digestive issues share your reports here and Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Aparna Kohli
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Answered by
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Dr. Hari Charan Perigela

General Surgeon

Practicing since :1995

Answered : 2716 Questions

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Feeling Nauseous And Abdominal Pain After Gall Bladder Removal. What Cure Should Be Done?

Hi,

As per your query, she is having pain on the left side of abdomen.
Gall bladder is located on the right side and is removed. If at all it is removed by Laparoscopic(key hole) procedure, there will be no complications due to the procedure. If it is removed by giving a incision over the abdomen,there is chance of Adhesions after surgery which may lead to abdominal pain. Swelling that she is feeling can be Incisional hernia. Nausea and vomiting can be due to various other gastro intestinal problems. That has to be ruled out by a proper evaluation and investigations such as upper GI endoscopy.

She should take PPI like Rabeprazole with Domperidone.

Let me know once you get the CT scan reports. I will be available to clarify further. I would also like to know about the drugs that she has been taking till now.

Wish her good health
Regards