Anyone know anything about gall bladder problems? Would an attack be an emergency?

[KidsHappen]

I am really trying to puzzle out what is going on with me. The ER dr. said that my problem could possibly be gall bladder related but that he didn't see any stones on either the C/T scan or the ultra-sound. He said it was more likely that I had passed a kidney stone because of previous history, location of pain (most upper right back and flank) and blood in my urine plus the fact that the pain let up some after administration of pain meds and toradol (relaxes ureter).

 

However, the pain is almost as severe as it was a few hours before I went to the ER and I am also starting to have pain in the front upper abdomen as well. The pain goes staight through from front to back. After reading about the two different problems extensively on the internet I am beginning to think that it sounds more like a gall bladder problem than an already passed kidney stone. Obviously if I make through the night without another ER visit I will contact my dr. tomorrow.

 

At this point I am just trying to determine how I would know if it is really an emergency or if I just need to make it through the pain for a few hours. I have read that both a kidney stone and a gall bladder attack are about the same in intensity and that both usually pass within a few hours. The pain was not quite as bad as labor was for me (of course some of my dc weighed 10.5 lbs. and I had them without pain meds while I had morphine for this). I do have pain meds that they sent home with me and I could probably manage the pain if I had to because the alternative is not good. My dh is out of town, my 16 (with only a permit) would have to drive me to the hospital and then stay there (because she can't drive home by herself), and my 15 year old would be stuck at home alone with the two younger children. This might would work for a few hours but definitely not any longer.

 

So my question is, how would I know if it is an emergency? Is there any sure way to tell a gall bladder attack from kidney stones? If it is the gall bladder would anything horrible happen if I didn't go in and just waited for the pain to pass? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

[kalanamak]

 

 

So my question is, how would I know if it is an emergency? Is there any sure way to tell a gall bladder attack from kidney stones? If it is the gall bladder would anything horrible happen if I didn't go in and just waited for the pain to pass? Any help would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

Fever. Any tube that is supposed to drain freely can get "ascending infection" if blocked. Up the gb from the germ ridden small intestine, up the kidney from the bladder. Gall bladders can turn gangrenous, and perf. In our age, this usually doesn't kill you (antibiotics and all) but it is no picnic. **Every** one I've seen the person was febrile and so sick they wouldn't be typing a post.

Jaundice.

Vomiting, or any pain that feels better if you sit up and lean forward. Many a gall stone has passed and caused a brief backup of pancreatic juices, leading to a bout of "gall stone [or sludge] pancreatitis". This kind is less likely to be life threatening than one from poisons or booze, but pancreatitis can be fatal. (Did they check your liver and pancreatic enzymes?)

Age or risk factor for aortic aneurysm or aortic dissection. Any significant pain in the abdomen can, rarely, be one of these. Did they do an ultrasound looking at the ducts, etc, or did you have a CT?

Any signs of pneumonia. A right lower lobe pneumonia can act like right upper quadrant pain.

I'm making you feel wonderful, aren't I? The problem is bellys can hurt like stink and get over it, or they can hurt like stink and kill you. You should be jumpy about this.

HTH

[KidsHappen]

A C/T scan of both kidney and gall bladder, an ultra-sound of gall bladder and ducts, and an x-ray of lungs. They also did urinalysis and blood work. I am assuming that they would have checked liver enzymes but I don't know about the pancrease. The dr. was very thorough.

 

The night before I went to the ER I had significant sweating, chills that caused violent shaking, nausea and extreme pain. The symptoms got somewhat better the next day and then got much worse as the night went on. By the time I got to the ER, I was incapacitated by the pain and my dh described my behavior as almost ferral. I did not have any fever. Blood pressure was 180/110. The pain was much worse when laying down than when sitting or standing. I have lost 20 lbs. in the past two months without trying but I have attributed that to stress.

 

The pain right now is almost as bad as it was the first night but no other symptoms other than digestive upset and nausea. I don't know what an aortic aneurysm is so I can't really say if I am at increased risk for it. My dm just died of a heart attack at age 60 but I am assuming that a heart attack doesn't last 5 days. Like I said the dr. was very thorough and did a pretty extensive work-up. It seems like he wouldn't have missed anything major. I was just wondering there could be something else wrong with the gall bladder other than stones.

 

Thanks for all the input. It helps some.

[HomeOnTheRanch]

I don't know. I've had gall bladder attacks, but I've never had to deal with kidney stones. I didn't go to the dr. for them, so I didn't know what they were at the time. I was out of town visiting in-laws with the first one. If I'd been at home, I'd probably have gone to the ER. I eventually had my gall bladder out, but not because I was having an attack at the time.

 

Good news: DH is working in the ER today. I've gotten to talk to him a few times because he says it is soooo slow today. Hopefully you won't have much of a wait if you do go.

 

(((Gentle Hugs)))

:grouphug:

[Laura in VA]

and I just had mine removed a little over a week ago. Didn't have any stones, but it had basically stopped working. I had a HIDA scan and my gall bladder did not show up during the test, meaning that I had "sludge" blocking the duct and that would not show up on an ultrasound. My symptoms weren't as severe as the ones you described having. I had a lot of pain in my upper right quadrant that went straight through to my back, but I did not have any nausea, which a lot of people do experience with gall bladder attacks. If you take some of the pain meds and they don't alleviate your symptoms, I would at least call the ER and explain to them that you were there earlier and would like to speak with a nurse.

I hope you feel better, and please keep us posted.

[Quiver0f10]

 

The night before I went to the ER I had significant sweating, chills that caused violent shaking, nausea and extreme pain. The symptoms got somewhat better the next day and then got much worse as the night went on. By the time I got to the ER, I was incapacitated by the pain and my dh described my behavior as almost ferral. I did not have any fever. Blood pressure was 180/110. The pain was much worse when laying down than when sitting or standing. I have lost 20 lbs. in the past two months without trying but I have attributed that to stress.

 

This does sound like gallbladder to me. When I have had an attack I get very sweaty and thus the chlls and I get shaky and light headed. I was told any fever and vomitting to get to ER asap. Most GB attacks are over in just a few hours, but I have had two that lasted days because a stone had gotten stuck somewhere. Are you jaundiced? You mentioned blood in the urine, which is what I was told the first ER visit I did, but it was actually very dark urine because of the jaunidce. So if your urine is dark and you are still in pain it very well could be a stuck stone.

 

I hope you get relief soon!

[Diana in OR]

I had gallbladder problems for years. They didn't officially diagnose it for so long, b/c no stones ever showed up on the u/s tests. I had the kinds of attacks you're talking about, too. For years I insisted it was my gb, but couldn't get a dr. to believe me.

 

I finally had the HIDA scan, which showed my gb wasn't working, like the other poster mentioned. I had it removed, and have been pain-free ever since.

 

So yes, it could be gallbladder.

[Carol in Cal.]

The emergency room authorizer with my insurance company told me, "I don't want to scare you, but please be seen soon, because this could be life threatening." Oh, no, that did not scare me at all. Nope. Not one little tiny bit.

 

I was outside of my home state, and my insurance company was practically begging me to go to the nearest emergency room, out of network. THAT scared me.