My adult daughter has been on IV Rocephin for 4 months.
Just after eating peanut butter and crackers this evening she experienced severe pain just below her breastbone.
After a half hour she was doubled over in pain and pressing on the area.
After an hour the pain has started to subside where it is only half as bad as it was at its worst.
She has never had this happen before.
The pain was severe but localized to that one area. Nothing off to the side or to the back.
Does this sound like a gall bladder attack? She has blood drawn every week to keep track of how she's doing but I'm not sure if they're testing the gall bladder.
Thanks, Paul.
Posted by sfcharm (Member # 9392) on :
Paul,
Sounds like gallbladder. It's right in the center below the breast. I had my gallbladder removed exactly six months into taking Rocephin. I continued on the rocephin IV and did it for 11 full months.
I ended up with my gallbladder removed after five attacks. Two landed me in the ER they were so bad. I had to get shots to stop the vomiting.
I was taking ursidiol the entire time but they couldn't save my gallbladder.
She should definitely be checked out so that nothing serious happens. I would contact a GI Dr. asap. I had upwards of 100 stones in my gallbladder when it was removed.
The rocephin is notorius for making the stones. I've had no problem since having my gallbladder out in January. I'm off the rocephin since June and all antibiotics since August.
Good luck.
Barb
Posted by KS (Member # 12549) on :
Definitely sounds like it could be her gallbladder....sounds like my experiences. They are likely monitoring her LFTs (i.e. liver enzymes) on a weekly basis.
Three weeks into IV Rocephin, my LFTs were slightly elevated, by the 4th week I was getting a call from the doctor saying "STOP EVERYTHING" as my liver enzymes were almost at 900 (extremely high).
At that point I explained the severe episodes of pain I was experiencing and they said it was likely my gallbladder sludging. My liver and gallbladder issues resolved once I came off the IV Rocephin.
If she has another attack, you should definitely look into it further....she may need to stop IV Rocephin (there are other IV antibiotics that aren't as rough on the gallbladder/liver) or have her gallbladder removed or pulse the IV Rocehpin to give her body a chance to heal between treatments.
There are some alternative type therapies that may help to cleanse her gallbladder. I'm sure others will be along to help make some suggestions.
Posted by Nessa1815 (Member # 15697) on :
Is she taking Urso or anything in that family of drugs to prevent gall stones?
I'm heading into my 7th week. No problems.
I hope you keep a good eye on her and maybe even take her to the er.
Good luck....how scary. Posted by SForsgren (Member # 7686) on :
Ursidiol or Macro Pharma Nessman Cholenest
are good options for helping to support the gb while on Rocephin
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
oh yes! Definitely ask her dr about Actigall [ursodiol] ASAP.
Posted by Paul M in MA (Member # 14630) on :
Thanks everyone for the great information. I have a consult set up with her LLMD for tomorrow.
I'm not sure if he'll want her to continue on the Rocephin or switch to a different abx.
Even though the Rocephin worked wonders for the first 2 months, she's slowly gone downhill recently. I'm all for switching the meds at this point.
Thanks again for the info. Paul.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Many use Claforan as a second choice. The gallbladder still needs to be protected.
Posted by Melodymaker (Member # 16434) on :
My husband has had three attacks like you describe. LLMD had his gallbladder scanned and he has stones, likely from the rocephin. (16 weeks)
Did some research on the web, and found info that these stones are not like regular ones. They are from the Rocephin binding to calcium in your gallbladder.
We also found several indications on the net that the stones may dissolve after stopping the rocephin.
Hubby is off the Rocephin next week, so we are following an extremely low fat diet to avoid attacks. Then we are praying the stones will dissolve.
We'd really like to avoid having his gallbladder out, so we are taking every measure we can to prevent that.
Praying for you and your daughter.
Posted by kim812 (Member # 17644) on :
I was on Rocephin and Actigall for six months but still ended up with gall stones.
Had a bad attack and ended up in the ER. They did a scan and saw mutiple stones.
I went off Rocephin for two months and the surgeon decided I needed to have it out even though I hadn't had any more attacks.
Come to find out that the stones had dissolved while I was off the Rocephin. My line had been pulled already so I couldn't start it up again.
I wish now they had done another scan before surgery so that I wouldn't have had to go through all that.
Posted by METALLlC BLUE (Member # 6628) on :
The Lemon Olive drink can force stones from the gallbladder. Look it up doing a search here on Lymenet.
Posted by Melodymaker (Member # 16434) on :
MB, It's my understanding that forcing the stones from the gallbladder can cause them to become lodged in the various ducts creating some serious problems.
I am all for natural healing, but I am concerned about pancreatitis and other problems that can occur from force flushing the gallbladder.
Hearing that Kim's stones dissolved after she was off the rocephin gives us additional hope that this will be true for my husband too.
We will be sure to have another ultrasound before he even considers surgery. Good info on the web about the stones dissolving after rocephin is stopped.
Posted by kim812 (Member # 17644) on :
I did stay on the Actigall even after stopping the Rocephin.
My LLMD had me do that because he said that would help the stones to dissolve.
If I had it to do over again I would have had another ultrasound done before surgery but I didn't know..
I trusted the surgeon when he said it had to come out ASAP.
Definately have a scan done before making the decision. Good Luck
Posted by Paul M in MA (Member # 14630) on :
Thanks again for all the info. My daughter had more gall bladder attacks so the doctor decided to remove it. My daughter was all for it due to the pain.
She had it out this past Tuesday and is recovering very quickly. She says the pain is gone, even the pain in her back.
She feels nauseous at times but I think the body needs some time to adjust to the gall bladder being gone.
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