Anyone else had gallbladder removed?

[Alicebee101]

I had an ultrasound this morning finally that revealed lots and lots of gallstones. Radiologist says it looks like I'm going to have to have my gallbladder removed.

It's apparently fairly common in people with Crohns.
Anyone else have to do the same?

 

[Jenny06xx]

Yep I had mine removed in 2003 waaaay before my crohns diagnosis .
It was missed soooo many times I ended up with acute pancreatitis and told if I didn't have the op I would die .
I had no end of problems afterwards like diarrhoea , pain an Fatigue which never went just got worse until I got my crohns diagnosis an could be treated properly !!
Hopefully as you've already got your crohns diagnosis any problems will be seen to an sorted right away an not told it's all in your head !
Good luck
Jen xx

 

[Earnellzwifey]

I had mine out in 09, no stones but it was under active, did not help much with my probs b/c they never checked for crohn

 

[chrisnsteph1022]

Yep, lots of stones. Had it removed last summer (during a flare).

 

[AIjen]

Mine was removed long before the Crohn's diagnosis. Several years later I woke up one morning to pain that was remarkably similar to the gall stone pain I was getting before the gall bladder was removed. This happened several times, so I finally went in to see my doctor. He was positive he knew what was going on, but wanted to do a scope of my upper GI (for the life of me I can't remember what that is called right now...!). That turned out to be fine. So when I saw him again, he told me my upper GI was fine and he knew what was going on, but wanted to do a colonoscopy first. Um....OK. So I had my first colonoscopy, which showed autoimmune signs at the illeum, but since that really wasn't what he was looking for, it got buried. When I saw him again, he said he knew what was going on, but just didn't know if it was a good idea to fix it (now get this) because of my PERSONALITY. Um, what? Anyway, before I really give in to the rant this particular event usually causes, I will stop there. I ended up needing to have an ERCP done. A bile duct near my pancreas was spasming shut, so they had to go in and cut that duct open so it could drain. I felt SO much better after it was done! Why he had to drag it out over a month, I will never know........ Five years later I had to have another colonoscopy done because I needed one every five years and that is when the Crohn's was actually diagnosed. Apparently, I had it for at least five years before that. Interesting.....

 

[Samboi]

Had mine removed just over two weeks ago.
It was done laproscopically, and they worked around my stoma.
Recovered very quickly - and now - feel fantastic - best I have felt all year.

 

[2thFairy]

Shazz had hers removed a few months ago... she's got UC.

I had mine removed almost 10 years ago; lots of huge stones.

 

[Jandeacs]

Im waiting to get mine done , already had pancreatitis , caused by inflammed gallbladder but Im waiting for an illeostomy reversal ,there doing it at the same time , im on strong anti-biotics all the time , cant wait to get mine out , know im going to feel better despite my crohns my original surgeon left so i had to go on someone else list . so mine wont be micro surgery
take care

 

[Dixiedoll23]

I had mine removed in February.The doctor said in his own words "it was the ugliest gallbladder he'd ever seen".I guess it was so bad he didn't think he could do it laproscopicly.Thankfully I went to get a 2nd opinion and this doctor didn't think he would have a problem.So all went well.I'm glad I didn't end up getting cut open.
I have noticed with my gallbladder gone, that I am having more diahrea.Not good.

 

[Jandeacs]

Glad you got it done , they told me you might get looser stolls , but again its in the diet isnt , low fat , anyway what a bit more when youve got Crohn's .. lol

 

[Alicebee101]

Thanks Everyone.

Just spoke to my GI and can't even explain how many 4 letter words I would use right now to describe him.
He says that he'll leave the Gallstones for now as he's still not sure what the symptoms are from. I must double my dose of Nexium and see him in 2 to 3 months. Could be acid or trapped air.
And the pain??? Must I just live with this for the next few months and see how it goes?
I'm tired of feeling like a science project.

 

[2thFairy]

Have they checked your blood at all? A lot of times with gallbladder disease, either cholecystitis or chloelithiasis, your amylase and lipase with be raised.

I am disgusted for you! Is there someone else you can see to get a second opinion?

 

[Alicebee101]

Thanks 2thFairy. I would love to go for a 2nd opinion but he is already my 2nd opinion! The first GI was a shocker. There is a major 'brain drain' in South Africa where I live and a severe shortage of good specialists.
I have another appointment with him on the 1st October. Until then I am recording everything I eat and what happens, every time I'm in pain and where it's located. If he still can't figure it out then i have no idea!

 

[2thFairy]

That's craziness!! Your pain may be from something else, but since you have a definite diagnosis of gallstones, that should be taken out and then go from there. It's true that some people have gallstones and no pain, but many people, myself included, had a ton of pain from the gallbladder due to stones.

You are smart to record everything you eat and symptoms. Greasy and spicy foods are a common culprit of pain and/or diarrhea with gallbladder disease.

Wow... I truly hope you won't have to wait months to get some sort of resolution.

 

[LoveMyDogs]

There is a test they can do for the gallbladder. This was back in 1995, so I'm sure that test has improved since then. When I had the test done I went into massive pain this told them I needed my gallbladder removed quick!

It's a test that uses a special dye to highlight the bile ducts on an image. It is performed several different ways: HIDA Scan; MRI or ERCP.

 

[Kip1]

Had my gallbladder removed 7 years ago due to a huge stone. Also had a kidney stone blasted with lythotripsy (not sure how to spell it). My urologist says people with Crohns are more likely to get stones kidney/gallstones. Not sure why.

 

[Alicebee101]

An update on my constant fight for answers...

I'm going for a MR Enterography exam tomorrow morning.

The GI has now said that he thinks I have 3 things going on - Crohns, Acid and Gallstones. He's unsure what is causing the symptoms so he's can't send me to get my gallbladder removed because he has no idea if the gallstones are causing any problems.

The quest continues!

 

[2thFairy]

I'm still amazed that they haven't done a HIDA scan with CCK injection. That can reproduce gallbladder pain and tell them on the spot how well (or not) your gallbladder function is. Still, I suppose your doctor has his reasons.

Well, good luck on your enterography tomorrow! Fingers crossed that there will be some type of resolve for you...and quickly!!!

 

[Ghostwind]

Had my gall bladder out in 2005. They almost refused to remove it because it wasn't "showing gallstones" or giving any readings that something was wrong. When I saw a specialist, he told me that if it looks like duck, sounds like a duck, then it's a bad gall bladder and needed removed. Turns out is was so full of sludge it was only working at 20%. Apparently, the sludge wasn't dense enough to register on the scans.

Removing the gall bladder worked for a few months but then ultimately I wound up with a diagnosis of Crohn's. There is a blood test that looks at the genetic markers to determine if you have Crohn's. Talk to your doctor about the blood test.

Also, if you do get your gall bladder removed and find that diarrhea becomes an issue that won't go away because your body no longer absorbs the bile salts (your gi tracts basically becomes a greased slide), talk to your doctor about putting you on Welchol (650mg). It will make a huge difference.

 

[SugarberryGA]

Mine was removed when I was 22 (now 51). I was diagnosed with Crohn's two years later.

 

[Sniffles2010]

I had my gallbladder removed about 7 months after I was diagnosed with crohn's disease. They did a nuclear scan and it showed that it was only 4% functional.

 

[NikkiMae]

This might be a late response, but I had mine removed about 9 weeks ago. I hadn't been diagnosed with Crohn's yet, and although it didn't alleviate my symptoms, I don't regret it at all. My surgeon did it laproscopically (sp) and it went very smoothly. I was out of the hospital the same day and back to dancing within less than a week. I have heard that after the gallbladder is removed, fatty and fried foods can lead to diarrhea. I was already having those symptoms and haven't eaten fatty or fried foods for months so I can't say I saw any difference.

I hope that you can get it removed before a blockage or a bad flare. Because mine wasn't too inflamed it helped my surgery and recovery go that much better.

There are also vitamins and supplements that are supposed to aid the liver and gallbladder. If you have to wait a while, I would try talking to someone like a nutritionist (my chiropractor actually gave me my supplements.) I will say that because of your stones, this is not a cure. It is just to aid your system.

Just a few things to think about. I hope you can get some answers!

 

[AshleyElaine87]

I haven't yet, but I am kind of pushing for them to take it. I am having flare-like symptoms, but they doctors can't seem to find evidence of a flare. I am also having upper right quadrant pain where my gallbladder is. Yet, all the tests that they have done to see is my symptoms are from my gallbladder come back negative, so I am not sure what to do.

 

[NicoleKS]

Nope, I've had Crohn's for over 16 years and I still have my gallbladder.

 

[Wooddy]

I've have had several episodes of acute abdominal pain sometimes localized in the upper right quadrant since I was diagnosed with UC 15 years ago. Along with other tests, I have had countless ultrasounds, CAT scans, 2 HIDA scans and endoscopies that revealed nothing. I've been referred to surgeons on 3 separate occasions to have my gall bladder removed. Each time the surgeons told me that they didn't think that cholecystectomy would solve my problem.

The pain during these episodes is almost unbelievable. It is very hard to describe, almost like a thousand flaming swords spinning around in my gut. Once, it was so extreme that it sent my heart into A-fib/tachycardia. My pulse was bouncing around above 200 bpm, it took over to hours to convert me back to normal sinus rhythm.

Finally, the last few times this I was admitted to the hospital, some of the doctors told me that I was faking the pain to just to get IV narcotics. Since they were unable to figure it what was causing this pain over the years. They told me that I was a drug seeker and to stop wasting their time. Other doctors told me that it was all in my head and that I should find a psychiatrist.

A week after the last hospital visit, my wife and I were painting the house. I had noticed red urine that was leaving purple stains on the toilet. I remembered that this finding was particularly profound prior to my most recent hospital visit. It turns out those arrogant physicians were all wrong. The abdominal pain was being cause by acute intermittent porphyria. If it wasn't for noticing red urine or the purple stains on the toilet I would have never of gotten tested for it.

What a relief, I am not crazy after all and I still have my gallbladder.

 

[Jenny06xx]

God that reminds of when I was tested for porphyria (sp)
I kept being told I had ibs or it was all in my head ( no tests mind)
1 doctor was soooo helpful he took 1 look at me and said something is definately wrong here let's take a further look around etc .
By the time I got tested for porphyria I was in hospital again in agony an because 1 big doctor could see something was wrong it spurred my gastro on to bother to do tests an crohns was found !! Thank god ( but not lol) if it wasn't for this high up doc I would still be undiagnosed or even worse !
An this was all 8 yrs after pancreatitis an gallbladder removal ( now all put down to crohns ) but never investigated at the time .

The amount of shit some docs put us lot through is disgusting I wish there was an easy way to filter the liars an fakers from the real patients !
Rant over lol
Jen xx

 

[Wooddy]

Yeah, I wish there was a better way to distinguish the liars and fakers from the rest of us. The last time I was in the hospital, the doctors unwittingly gave me porphyrinogenic drugs and kept me NPO which made my condition worse. My head was through the ceiling, the pain had never been so vicious and then the doctors yanked the IV pain medicine and called me a liar!