Hi there, everyone! First of all, I want to say how glad I am to have found this place!! I'm sorry that others are suffering like I am (or much worse), but I am thankful that you all are here!
First, I'll tell you a little about
myself and my situation. I apologize in advance if I sound like I'm whining...it's 6:30 in the morning here, and I've been up all night in misery. So I'm feeling a bit pathetic. As I was saying....I'm a 34 year old female, and I've had nothing but problems with my guts since I had my gallbladder removed in the Spring of 2001. Initially, it was spasms and frequent, sudden D. I assumed, and was told by my surgeon when I talked to him about
it, that this was normal and it would resolve itself once my body adjusted to no longer having a gallbladder. Well....not so much. As time has gone on, my symptoms have become worse and worse. I am now in constant pain, although sometimes it is more severe than others, it is never gone. Recently, I ended up in the ER because I was experiencing severe pain in the upper right quadrant (adjacent to where my gallbladder used to be. The site where my gallbladder was is CONSTANTLY in pain) and extreme nausea.
I am not the type that V's (I'm emetophobic, so it's hard for me to use that word without sending myself into a panic) easily...Thankfully, I can go many years without doing so. For me to be to the point of V'ing, told me that something significant was going on...more than my usual queasiness and pain. This was a pain like a hot knife being stuck in me, and I felt so sick to my stomach....it was horrible. I went to the ER, and they gave me a shot for the nausea, had me drink a GI cocktail, and gave me morphine for my pain. I remember looking at my husband with tears in my eyes, because for the first time in a very VERY long time, I wasn't in pain. After the pain and nausea were under control they had me drink some contrast ( I think...I was doped up at the time!) and did a CT scan, where they also injected me with something so they could see the vessels (again...doped up at the time...a little fuzzy on the details!). They found absolutely nothing wrong with my stomach, or my intestines or other internal organs. Good thing. So now, I'm left with unanswered questions, and I'm still suffering.
I went to my family doctor for a follow up after the trip to the ER. And he wants to do an endoscopy. I told him...it's not my stomach. I don't even get heartburn. Not my stomach. It's my intestines. And something is amiss where my gallbladder used to be, because it shouldn't still be hurting like this. My husband had his gallbladder out 3 weeks ago, and he mentioned what I was going through to his surgeon, and he thinks that perhaps a clip was placed on the bile duct incorrectly (or something like that), and suggested I get an ultrasound done.
My normal symptoms, other than what I just mentioned, are alternating constipation and diarrhea, leaning more toward constipation. A lot of times, it feels as though nothing will move at all....I barely even pass gas. Lots of spasms, and pain. And frequently, I can feel the concentrated bile as it moves through my system, which can take days. The rest of the time, it is pure bile diarrhea, with spasms and cramps that drive me mad. That is what I'm going through tonight, and I was up until 2 am with it last night. Maddening pain, panic attacks, queasiness (which, because of the emetophobia triggers more panic attacks)....this is my life. And I have 3 beautiful children that I have a hard time keeping up with because I'm suffering so much. And my poor husband....he tries to understand, and he really is very sweet and understanding about
everything. But I feel so bad for what I must be putting him through.
I'm sorry about
the long, rambling post of me complaining. I know that it could be much much worse than it is. My mother has Chrons disease, and I see what she goes through. But I can't even get out of the house. I can't sleep, I can barely eat. It's torture, and I'm at the end of my rope.
Thanks for listening.
