I'm having a lot of new pain all of a sudden on my right side under the ribs and then in the same area in my back and around my side. (although now that I think about it, I've had this before..just always thought it was back pain. It was never this bad though)It's getting increasingly bad as the day wears on. Sometimes it gets to throbbing very badly but its more of a constant pain. Hurts a lot to bend over. I think this is my gall bladder for sure and I'm hoping I find out tomorrow at my HIDA scan.
This will be the first time I'm going for a test hoping for 'bad' news. lol. but if this is causing me all the acid type problems as well, get the darned thing out!!!
Hope your all doing good today.
Sarah

flyte,

Does sound a lot like a gall bladder attack, but it could also be kidney stones too.

Did you eat anything fatty or greasy recently? If you have gall bladder issues, a fatty meal will promote an attack.

Hope you find out tomorrow.

Yep, sounds like classic gallbladder symptoms.

kathy

Thanks guys. Just wondering, is there anything I can do to help relieve my symptoms. Just thought you might know of some tricks if you've been there. Thanks!
Sarah

Poor you, Sarah! I had my gallbladder removed in 2000. The pain was hideous, and sounds just like what you're experiencing. I remember that lying down on my right side alleviated the pain, as did avoiding all fat (even milk, because of the fat in it). Like most other digestive problems, I found peppermint tea very helpful. I battled an unsympathetic ER doctor who told me I just had gas but my own doc gave me Voltaren later and that really helped. (Have a feeling though that this is a drug contraindicated for us gutless wonders. I hadn't been diagnosed with UC at the time.)I do remember being told NOT to do home remedies with olive oil and lemon juice designed to flush out the gallstones. I was told that the stones can be big and just get lodged if you do that, so it's too risky. So I'd say stick with a good painkiller and herbal tea. Good luck!

I had my pouch(1982) done before my gall bladder (1991) went, but the pain sounds about right.

One of the big things to do is to make sure if it is your gall bladder and they take it out, have them make sure that they check the ducts that go out from the gall bladder for stones. I did'nt have this problem.

But my brother who didn't have UC wound up back in the hospital a few weeks after his was removed, because the dr missed stones in the duct. He wound up having to have the stones removed laproscopically.

Beth

Yes - avoid all high fat foods. My doctor told me I had "epilepsy of the spine" when diagnosing my gallbladder pain. The treatment he recommended was to take dilantan for the rest of my life which he told me would make me have 'fat' gums.

kathy

Thanks so much for the info guys
Luckily my mom had some painkillers and gave me some so I should be feeling better. I put off taking anything because I was worried it would get worse and I would need help and not realize because of the painkillers.. but I'm sure they won't work THAT well.
A few questions: How long did you have to wait for your surgery, is this usually an emergency type thing when the pain gets very bad?
Was your surgery done open or laproscopically? How was your recovery? What did you take for pain control in the hospital?
I've learned it's best to be prepared for all this stuff Thank you SO MUCH.
What would we do without each other and this forum? Thank you!!

Sarah

I had this once after a cold and the doctor thought it was Kidney stones and started treating me for that and nothing showed up on the CT scan, so 10 hours later I had an x-ray and it turns out I had pnemonia.

Compared with colectomy and pouch surgery, having the gall bladder lobbed out was a complete doddle! And that was before I'd had my pain threshold elevated by pouch surgery
I had mine done laprascopically. Only very small incisions just where your breastbone joins on your chest (Solar plexus?), and in your belly button. Very discreet. I had pain because they blow your belly up like a balloon to navigate around in there, but it passes in a day or two. And you get pain relief. I was home after about 5 days and was in some pain at home, but really nothing compared with what you've already survived! And what a relief to get rid of a jippy gallbladder Don't worry. Having your GB removed is to colectomy what spraining your ankle is to breaking it in several places

Thanks Soph! I'm worried they'll have to do it the open way because I'm 'prone to adhesions' or something.. I had to be completely reopened and unknotted due to a blockage caused by adhesions last December. (but the whole thing made my scar look much prettier, lol!)
I had my HIDA scan today and was very glad that this wasn't the hospital I'd be having any surgery with. The Nurse said she 'didn't know they could do that' when I tried to explain about the j-pouch. lol. She seemed kinda clueless and I was waiting for her to ask me if I might have appendix troubles instead of gallbladder. I would have then excused myself from the procedure and went to the other hospital I gently asked if they had any information about me and she said oh yah we have your file right here. I guess thats just in case of an emergency and not meant to be read.. or even skimmed through. :P
Anyway I didn't ask her about results because I don't think she knew what she was looking at. I called my doctors office immediatly upon getting home and let them know the pain was much worse and I wanted those results asap. I hope to find out tomorrow.
I called my surgeons office this morning to find out if he performs the cholecystectomy surgery and his nurse says he does! I'm so happy because I love him and am on a first name basis with his assistant. His assistant actually stayed with me for about an hour before the original surgery, holding my hand and discussing our pet chickens to get my mind off my fears..I'm sure he had better things to do or could have just had them give me more anxiety meds to shut me up. lol.
Anyways, cross your fingers for me, I'm hoping they tell me it needs to come out and then I'll be able to get back to my life Thanks again everyone!!!

Sarah

Hi Sarah,
Is it "tomorrow" already so to speak? Never sure with the time zones etc...any news? Yeah, a good nurse vs a bad one/uninterested one can really make such a difference. I'm crossing fingers....!