Gallstone in bile duct after gall bladder surgery?

[Spryte]

Anyone have experience with this? Does it feel like a GB attack?

 

I was warned this could happen. It seemed terribly remote though.

 

But - it's a strong possibility now.

 

My gall bladder was removed in 2005. This feels exactly like a GB attack. The ER suspects this is the cause, and wants my primary to order a mrcp (?), my labs are good so don't justify doing it in the ER. All the other obvious culprits have been ruled out, as best they can be. I do have a kidney stone that hasn't dropped yet, and an ovarian cyst but ... Neither quite fit the symptoms.

 

Any experience would be appreciated.

[foxbridgeacademy]

Not me, my mom though. She went to the ER and told the Nurse that she had a stone in her liver duct(because it felt like a GB attack but no GB). The Nurse assured her there was no way that was possible. My mom pulled it up on her phone and they Nurse still was skeptical, until the scans came back showing that yes you can have stones in your liver.  Her pancreas was also having issues because she let it go so long (hates going to doctor).  She ended up having to have surgery to remove the stones and open the duct back up.

[trulycrabby]

Yes! After thyroidectomy, the bile duct thickens and functions like the gallbladder. Gallstones can and do form there.

 

Another possibility is sphincter of oddi dysfunction. Opiates can actually cause this sphincter to spasm (painful!), so if you were given opiates in the er and it made the pain worse, then this might be what's going on.

[Spryte]

Foxbridge, I'm glad your mom's ok. im so sorry she went through that. And I really hope it's not that, here.

 

trulycrabby, thanks. That was a good lead. No opiates though. I'm allergic to almost ok the pain meds. It made one of the docs panic a bit, because I was in so much pain. He did finally find that I can take tramadol. I don't think that's an opiate, though, and I didn't take it till the end of my stay.

 

I'm a bit worried that I did this to myself. I have been doing a ketogenics diet for 3 mos. HFLC. I wonder if it was too much, without a gallbladder?

 

And is it possible for this to resolve on its own?

 

I'm texting my doc today, but I am a bit scared. It's still very painful, though nothing like last night.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I'm so sorry  :grouphug:  :grouphug:  I live in fear of this, because I've had so much trouble with my digestion in general since I had my GB out, and I feel so much better overall on a lower-carb, higher-fat diet as well. It seems so unfair, doesn't it? I hope you feel better and they can fix whatever it is ASAP. 

[trulycrabby]

Foxbridge, I'm glad your mom's ok. im so sorry she went through that. And I really hope it's not that, here.

 

trulycrabby, thanks. That was a good lead. No opiates though. I'm allergic to almost ok the pain meds. It made one of the docs panic a bit, because I was in so much pain. He did finally find that I can take tramadol. I don't think that's an opiate, though, and I didn't take it till the end of my stay.

 

I'm a bit worried that I did this to myself. I have been doing a ketogenics diet for 3 mos. HFLC. I wonder if it was too much, without a gallbladder?

 

And is it possible for this to resolve on its own?

 

I'm texting my doc today, but I am a bit scared. It's still very painful, though nothing like last night.

Tramadol is a synthetic opioid; I have trouble with others but can take this one.

 

If the pain lingers a few more weeks, then my advice is to seek treatment. The thing is, the common bile duct is upstream to the pancreas, and untreated problems can find their way to the pancreas and cause pancreatitis.

 

:grouphug:

[Spryte]

Thanks. I was pretty happy to find a pain med I can take. Such a relief. We sound like we might have some similar allergies. Not fun.

 

I actually thought it was pancreatitis last night (did I already say that? I'm a bit out of it.). It felt a lot like a bout I had with pancreatitis years ago. Thankfully my labs were fine. For the moment.

 

I'll see my primary this week, hopefully. And get some guidance.

 

It's so silly how upset I feel about my keto diet. I was making weight loss progress, for the first time in forever. Now I'm not sure I should keep going that route. It's a bummer. And I sure as heck don't feel like going for a run today!

[Suzanne in ABQ]

My mom stones in her bile duct several times after having her gall bladder removed.  She's had MRCP several times.  This was back a couple decades, and treatment has probably improved, but to treat her, they went in with an ultrasound wand (I can't remember the name of the procedure), which broke up the stones into tiny grains, which she then passed.  Eventually, after several episodes, they did a biliary bypass surgery.  She hasn't had any problems since then.