Ok, so I have been having problems on and off for almost 2 years with what I was convinced was gall bladder problems. I basically have some form of pain with it daily, sometimes just a mild burning, sometimes severe. My GP also thought it was the gall bladder because of the symptons and location of the pain. Every time I had a severe episode and ended up in the ER, the ER dr would just shake his head and say, you don't have gall stones, so no problems. I had the gall bladdar emptying study and it showed the bladder operated at just 39% efficiency, but that was considered normal, huh? The last episode, a couple of weeks ago really upset me. The dr just acted like I was a nut case!!!

Anyway, I had all the test results faxed to my bariatric surgeon, saw her today and she said, girl, you need your gall bladdar out! There are polyps (sp?) in it and sludge. Not good at all. What a relief! Not that I want to have surgery again, but I am so glad she was able to see what the ER docs did not. Anyway, she is going to take it out for me on April 10th. She said I could go to a regular surgeon, but she preferred to do it since she knows all about the band and can check it at the same time - ALL GOOD!

Just needed to get that off my chest!

Hurray - at least your surgeon knows what she is doing! Congrats!

What's the test you had that told her it was full of sludge? I've had some pain in that area of my body, a burning like you describe sometimes, but it's not gotten to the point where I feel that I need to go to the ER, but really, I'd rather avoid it getting that far if I know what the problem is. I did have an ultrasound, and there were no stones.

Someone else on the board gave me the name of a test I'm going to try and have done, but I thought I'd collect more info, since you mentioned it .

Glad that you got someone to listen to your problem. I really hate that some doctors don't listen to people.

Hope you feel better after that gets taken care of!

Hurray - at least your surgeon knows what she is doing! Congrats!

Thanks! and welcome to Bandland!!

What's the test you had that told her it was full of sludge?

It was the ultrasound and an xray. Both showed the polyps, but the ultrasound showed the "sludge" (dr's term, not mine - LOL). AND they were the results that were giving to the ER dr and all he could say is hey, you don't have gall stones, no duh - I already knew that, but I also knew something was wrong. Good luck, hope they are able to determine what is going on more quickly for you.

There's nothing more frustrating than knowing something is wrong and having a doc tell you there's not! Glad you got the mystery solved and hope your surgery goes well. You even get a bonus in having her check out the band at the same time to make sure all is well.

Emily

Sarah, when Joy had hers out, she was experiencing shooting pains in her back, just under her right shoulder blade. It was what I now know as "referred pain". When they did her ultrasound, the gall bladder was throwing a "shadow", a dark area, opposite the ultrasound wand, which showed that her gall bladder was full of stones.

Well, I suppose congrats are in order, in a weird and twisted way. It is so validating when you finally get a real answer, and not told to go away.

I had my gall bladder out about 7 years ago. (laughter) I wasn't having any symptoms, b ut I went in for my yearly check and they pressed on my belly and it hurt! I told them not to press there anymore, but they HAD to get everyone in the office to come and press on my tummy.

I finally threatened to hit the next person who pressed on me because it hurt so much!

I had my gall bladder out the next week. I was old it wasn't an emergency, but they didn't want to wait two days...

I hit the ER at least 3 times before my doc sent me to have the test for the SLUDGE! I had to demand it because I knew what it was! Yep, I had it, once that puppy was gone, the pain was gone and I gained the 30 pounds I had dropped from being too scared to eat because I was having about 3 attacks a week!! They are so painful!!! Then after hours or sometimes days they are gone and you don't even realize it. I'm glad you finally sought a second opinion...Hope you get it out soon!!! Good luck!!

Thanks, everyone. I am really just so relieved that they finally figured out what was going on.

Sarah,

I think gall bladder problems seem to be the last of the problems that doctors finally think of when you're having problems.

When I was finally diagnosed, after nearly 6 months of suffering, I was never so glad to have something really wrong with me. I know that sounds crazy, but you may have some idea what I'm talking about here. When you're sick and in the most pain of your life you'd do anything to relieve it. My band doctor actually told me to seek counseling to figure out why I was having "esophageal spasms" that turned out to be gall bladder attacks.

Welcome to the gall bladder out club. I know I'm a proud member because I'm finally feeling better.

I posted my gallbladder saga here: http://lapbandtalk.com/showthread.php?t=15656 It was a long ordeal but it is gone and I am feeling better. I am not affraid to eat anymore. ~Mandy

Thanks, Mandy, that was very helpful! I can not wait for my surgery (how sick is that - LOL).

I was the same way, I counted down the days until I could feel like myself again. I thought the recovery was a bit harder then my band recovery but most people say it is about the same. I think that the difference for me was my band was in July and it was beautiful outside so walking the gas out was easy. My gallbladder was in Feb and it was cold outside so walking more than just the length of my livingroom was a b it difficult. Good luck to you, I hope all is smooth and this makes you feel back to normal again. ~Mandy