Chronic vomiting for 12 years, constipation after galbladder removal?

Have you ever had Pancreatitis? I was watching a show on Discovery Health Channel called Mystery Diagnosis and there was a woman who IIRC had some of the same symptoms and the doctors couldn't find a cause. They removed her gall bladder too, with no relief.

She was finally diagnosed with Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction. What happens is, the sphincter doesn't work correctly and causes a restriction which has symptoms that mimic gall bladder problems. Here's something I found on the disease.

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What is Sphincter of Oddi Dysfunction?
The sphincter of Oddi has three major functions: 1) regulation of bile and pancreatic flow into the duodenum, 2) diversion of hepatic bile into the gallbladder, and 3) the prevention of reflux of duodenal contents into the pancreaticobiliary tract. With the ingestion of a meal, the gallbladder contracts and there is a simultaneous decrease in the resistance in the sphincter of Oddi zone.

The sphincter of Oddi consists of circular and longitudinal smooth muscle fibers surrounding a variable length of the distal bile and pancreatic duct. There are three discrete areas of muscle thickness, or mini sphincters: the sphincter papillae, the sphincter pancreaticus, and the sphincter choledochus (Figure 2).

The major physiologic role of the sphincter is the regulation of the flow of bile and pancreatic juice. Cholecystokinin (CCK) and nitrates decrease the resistance offered by the sphincter. Laboratory studies observing the effects of numerous peptides, hormones, and medications on the sphincter have suggested a multifactor control mechanism for the sphincter of Oddi.

There are two types of sphincter of Oddi dysfunction: 1) papillary stenosis and 2) sphincter of Oddi dyskinesia. Papillary stenosis is a fixed anatomic narrowing of the sphincter, often due to fibrosis. Sphincter of Oddi dyskinesia refers to a variety of manometric abnormalities of the sphincter of Oddi.



Symptoms
The major presenting symptom in patients with sphincter of Oddi dysfunction is abdominal pain. The pain is characteristically sharp, postprandial, and located in the right upper quadrant or epigastrium. The pain may be associated with nausea and/or vomiting, may last for several hours, and may radiate to the back or shoulder blades. Fever, chills, and jaundice are uncommon symptoms. Patients may also present with acute recurrent pancreatitis.
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Here is a link to the article: Johns Hopkins Institute

I sincerely hope you find an answer to your problem. Good luck.

As Canyon says, fat is necessary for regular bowel movements. I know; I went on a low-fat diet a little while after I got my gall bladder taken out and got severe and immediate constipation. Went off the diet and had normal bowel movements again. That being said, good fat is better on your guts than bad fat. I can eat ice cream and other dairy, but not trans fat fried foods. I too tend to stay away from fast food and junk; I get most of my fat from cream-based soups and cheeses, with some nuts and olive oil. Look into the French diet, which emphasizes healthier fats.

While constipation is not common after gall bladder removal (most people have diarrhea instead), it's not unheard of either. I read about "bile salts" online; apparently it's an old-fashioned type of laxative that mimics bile in the intestines to break down your food. It sounds like you are vomiting your bile out instead of putting it down into your intestines.

Acid (bile) reflux is actually rather common post-gall bladder, but I can't say that I know many people that throw up; that is rather odd. I would suggest that you look into what Sergeant Bob posted. Come to think of it, my parents' dog has pancretitis and she has gall bladder-like symptoms. She was always a bit underweight, would lay around not feeling good, then would vomit yellow bile. I don't know what's out there for people, but the vet gave my parents some pills for her, and they give them to her when she starts to show signs of being sick. Eating certain things sometimes bring on an attack. She also gets yellow diarrhea sometimes from it.

Actually, pancretitis mimics bad gall bladder as well, so she should probably check out the Spincter of Oddi, as you suggested AND her pancreas too (unless it's been checked already).

Circus, has anyone tried putting you on an anti-vomiting medicine daily/long-term, like Fenergin? Or an anti-spasmodic (might help keep the muscles in your stomach and esophagus from reversing direction on you constantly)?

This is being looked in to for me also.  Everyone thinks is't my gallbladder, but nothing is showing up conclusively on any tests.  The Spincter of Oddi was mentioned.

My understanding is to tell the difference they have to take out the gallbladder first.  So, if the symptoms go away... great it was the gallbladder, if they don't then it's the SOD problem.

I don't really know.

My sister has similar symptoms. Doctors diagnosed her with Cyclic Vomiting Syndrome. There isn't much research on it yet, but they think it may be a neurological disorder. Usually anxiety or excitement triggers the symptoms...does this happen with you?

Anyways, doctors gave her Prilosec to take when she begins to feel nauseous...this helps sometimes. But if she is feeling more nauseous than usual, it's not enough to help, and she ends up going to the ER for an IV.

Please post if you're able to find something that works for you.