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Hey Doctor, So For The Last 4 Years I’ve Been
Question: Hey doctor,
So for the last 4 years I’ve been having digestive problems which started out with acid reflux that was treated with PPIs over a year but then and progressed to mainly epigastric pain and nausea where I no longer need PPI’s I’m off them now. I’ve undergone numerous tests including gastrosocoy, colonoscopy, abdominal ultrasounds, numerous blood tests which have all been normal. However recently in the last 4-5 months my symptoms have changed again to what seems to be bile reflux that doesn’t respond to any form of acid suppressor along with a lot of upper right side pain and diarrhea especially when consuming fatty foods. Now in the past when I did my abdominal ultrasound over a year ago my gallbladder was fine no stones or nothing, but now with these new symptoms I’ve been given a HIDA scan to do but should another ultrasound been done first? I definitely feel there’s something going wrong with my gallbladder but my worry is that the only treatment for gallbladder issues seems to be surgery right? I’ve read a lot about people removing their gallbladder and suffering even worse bile problems that seem to be very hard to treat. What sort of conditions are involved with gallbladder dysfunction and the symptoms I am having and what treatments are involved with that?
So for the last 4 years I’ve been having digestive problems which started out with acid reflux that was treated with PPIs over a year but then and progressed to mainly epigastric pain and nausea where I no longer need PPI’s I’m off them now. I’ve undergone numerous tests including gastrosocoy, colonoscopy, abdominal ultrasounds, numerous blood tests which have all been normal. However recently in the last 4-5 months my symptoms have changed again to what seems to be bile reflux that doesn’t respond to any form of acid suppressor along with a lot of upper right side pain and diarrhea especially when consuming fatty foods. Now in the past when I did my abdominal ultrasound over a year ago my gallbladder was fine no stones or nothing, but now with these new symptoms I’ve been given a HIDA scan to do but should another ultrasound been done first? I definitely feel there’s something going wrong with my gallbladder but my worry is that the only treatment for gallbladder issues seems to be surgery right? I’ve read a lot about people removing their gallbladder and suffering even worse bile problems that seem to be very hard to treat. What sort of conditions are involved with gallbladder dysfunction and the symptoms I am having and what treatments are involved with that?
To add to all of this my symptoms are fairly mild I haven’t had any severe attacks or anything like that, so even if something wrong with my gallbladder I’m not really wanting to remove it as it sounds like it may make things worse off for me so I’m a bit scared to do the HIDA scan and be diagnosed with something where they want to remove it.
Brief Answer:
Go for HIDA scan.
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thanks for choosing "Ask a Doctor" service for your query,
Have seen your details and i appreciate your concerns,
As now you are not responding to ppi and are having bile reflux this means and have problem digesting fatty food.All these are clear indicator of the fact that the amount of bile that is being released by your bladder is quiet low in comparison to normal bile secretion as required to digest fatty food.Ultrasound won't help in your case HIDA scan should be performed to access the situation of gall bladder.Most of the time gallbladder issues need surgery.99% people can live a near normal life post gallbladder removal surgery(gall bladder just stores bile while bile is secreted by liver so fat restrictions are there but you could take around 40 grams of fat daily.
If symptoms are mild then just go for HIDA scan. Doctor may prescribe you Urodeoxycholic acid.If not relieved then go for surgery.
Hope i was helpful,
Follow ups are welcome,
Thank you.
Go for HIDA scan.
Detailed Answer:
Hello and thanks for choosing "Ask a Doctor" service for your query,
Have seen your details and i appreciate your concerns,
As now you are not responding to ppi and are having bile reflux this means and have problem digesting fatty food.All these are clear indicator of the fact that the amount of bile that is being released by your bladder is quiet low in comparison to normal bile secretion as required to digest fatty food.Ultrasound won't help in your case HIDA scan should be performed to access the situation of gall bladder.Most of the time gallbladder issues need surgery.99% people can live a near normal life post gallbladder removal surgery(gall bladder just stores bile while bile is secreted by liver so fat restrictions are there but you could take around 40 grams of fat daily.
If symptoms are mild then just go for HIDA scan. Doctor may prescribe you Urodeoxycholic acid.If not relieved then go for surgery.
Hope i was helpful,
Follow ups are welcome,
Thank you.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Yogesh D
Interesting i’ll go for the HIDA scan and see what happens in terms of Urodeoxycholic acid how does this work exactly and if my symptoms are only mild and let’s say my gallbladder was dysfunctional which is what it sounds like it is if my symptoms are tolerable do I actually need to get it removed? I just feel I’m very young to be going to that sort of extreme do you not think?I’m in this group on Facebook about people who’ve had their gallbladders removed and there’s about 4000 people in there and they pretty much all said not to get it out of you don’t have to because it bile reflux.
The real question is why exactly is this happening in the first place do you think and is it even repairable or fixable in anyway is there not the chance being quite young that it’s healable or at least manageable while I’m young?
Brief Answer:
Follow up.
Detailed Answer:
Hello again dear,
If symptoms are tolerable you need not to go for any surgery.
You just need to curtail fat in your diet as it stimulates bladder which secretes bile and get regurgitated back.
Gall bladder is an useless organ and removal is quiet common even in young persons.
See principle of life is that those who get cured will never write on Facebook or quota while the remaining 1%,would be there on Facebook sharing bad experiences. So if 4000 are having trouble after surgeryy then atlas 400000 are almost normal after it.
First get the HIDA scan done attach reports any further professional comment can be given only after that.
Thank you.
Follow up.
Detailed Answer:
Hello again dear,
If symptoms are tolerable you need not to go for any surgery.
You just need to curtail fat in your diet as it stimulates bladder which secretes bile and get regurgitated back.
Gall bladder is an useless organ and removal is quiet common even in young persons.
See principle of life is that those who get cured will never write on Facebook or quota while the remaining 1%,would be there on Facebook sharing bad experiences. So if 4000 are having trouble after surgeryy then atlas 400000 are almost normal after it.
First get the HIDA scan done attach reports any further professional comment can be given only after that.
Thank you.
Note: For further follow up on digestive issues share your reports here and Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Vaishalee Punj
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