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Posted 4/10/2013 1:08 AM (GMT 0)
So, of course I have gallbladder issues. I'm supposed to have surgery on the 17th to remove it. But now I am terrified to do the surgery because of the Lyme and whatever else I have. I haven't even been properly diagnosed with Lyme yet (still looking for an LLMD or just any doc who will treat me), but I know I have it and Im scared that it would cause problems with the surgery?

Has anyone has gallbladder issues/surgery with Lyme disease?
Posted 4/10/2013 3:44 AM (GMT 0)
I had my gallbladder removed almost a year ago, as I was suffering from attacks for 3 years prior. After the birth of my son they got a lot worse. I then got really ill with severe GI symptoms, fatigue, fevers....we thought removing my gallbladder would help me feel a lot better.

I don't want to scare you but, 3 weeks after surgery I just wasn't recovering and this started my journey of test after test. Several months later I was diagnosed with Lyme Disease.

I no longer suffer with those horrible attacks and I healed from the surgery. My GI symptoms have improved a lot.

I was popping several Zantac a day. My gallbladder was full of stones and I was miserable. I am glad that I had the surgery.

Now I am treating the Lyme and working on healing from all my other symptoms. I wish you all the best :-)

 

Posted 4/10/2013 4:21 AM (GMT 0)
I'm actually considering putting the surgery off. I know my system isn;t strong enough right now, and I am scared I will have issues healing from it or that it will cause worse symptoms, etc.
Posted 4/10/2013 6:34 PM (GMT 0)
Yes, had my gallbladder out way before I knew I had Lyme. Was glad to see it go, too...the surgery ended 14 years of near-constant nausea. I only had 1 pain attack, but that was enough to get me the ultrasound and a diagnosis of a gallbladder full of huge stones.

After surgery, the surgeon told me my gallbladder was loaded with stones and also inflammation. I healed just fine after the surgery.

But I do agree you should listen to your body, and if you don't feel you are strong enough for it, then best to put it off until you feel up to it.

One thing to do to prep yourself for surgery is make sure you are getting adequate nutrition. Vegetable juices are a good way to do this (best to use organic veggies if you can). Check out Dr. Walker's book on vegetable juices, "Fresh Vegetable and Fruit Juices: What's Missing in Your Body?" by N.W. Walker D.Sci. ISBN 0-89019-033-X

Edited to fix typo in book author's name...

Posted 4/10/2013 9:49 PM (GMT 0)
Hi Megara,

I was having very strange GI symptoms for six months before they realized that I had gallstones. I never had a single "ATTACK", but just severe bloating, acid reflux, constipation, etc. I was miserable and lost like 20-25 pounds (and I'm already thin). Anyhow, they took it out and then in about 2-3 weeks after the surgery, I got all these crazy neurological symptoms (numbness in face, feet, legs, twitching everywhere, horrible over-the-top anxiety, etc.).

I was finally diagnosed with lyme a year later. My LLMD thinks that having the surgery caused my immune system to not be able to fight the lyme (the stress/trauma of the surgery) and the lyme went nuts. I believe that he is right.

However, I was so miserable that it would have had to come out at some point. My gallbladder had many stones and was inflamed. Why, I don't know. There is no history of gallbladder disease in my family and I'm fit and eat very healthy. I think it was the lyme bugs that did it in....

I know it's a tough decision to make... Good luck to you.
Posted 4/11/2013 1:38 AM (GMT 0)
Hey I am having all these gut issues too! I have been on a diet that lets me eat hardly anything and I still have pain after I barely eat much.  I too have lots like 32lbs. I don't know what the next step I should take to see if it is gall bladder.  What tests do I need to take?  Does it hurt on your left side up high and go to the back of your back.  I take so much antacid stuff and natural stuff it is crazy. Is this normal for lymes people?....
Posted 4/11/2013 2:01 AM (GMT 0)

andy cotton candy said...
Hey I am having all these gut issues too! I have been on a diet that lets me eat hardly anything and I still have pain after I barely eat much. I too have lots like 32lbs. I don't know what the next step I should take to see if it is gall bladder. What tests do I need to take? Does it hurt on your left side up high and go to the back of your back. I take so much antacid stuff and natural stuff it is crazy. Is this normal for lymes people?....

Lyme apparently attacks the gallbladder quite often. From what I have read, it's pretty common.
I hear that Bartonella is the stuff that messes with the stomach and whatnot.

Have you been tested for Lyme and co-infections and diagnosed? Are you on antibiotics?
Posted 4/11/2013 8:13 AM (GMT 0)
Gallbladder pain can be on the right, middle or left, can be front or back.

The main test is an abdominal ultrasound (noninvasive, no radiation).

They also can do a Gallbladder function test, in which they give you a medicine that stimulates gallbladder function, then they measure how well the medicine worked. I've never had this test, so I don't know the details about it.

Many other things can also cause left-sided pain, including damage to the lining of the stomach from antibiotics (Doxy is notorious for being very hard on the lining of the stomach).

Suggest consulting a Naturopathic or Integrative Physician, preferably Lyme Literate, about the pain and symptoms you are describing, as they may be more skilled at determining a cause than other types of doctors...
Posted 4/11/2013 4:19 PM (GMT 0)
Well I canceled my surgery. I'm just too scared to go through it, with everything I have going on.
Posted 4/12/2013 3:18 AM (GMT 0)
I have gallbladder polpys. I have to get a sonogram once a year because they have increased in quantity. Dont have any idea if this is lyme related.
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