I'm taking an informal poll here. Who has had gallbladder problems without being on Rocephin?
Does Lyme itself cause gallbladder problems?
Posted by lpkayak (Member # 5230) on :
me-it's out. easy surgery.
Posted by tdtid (Member # 10276) on :
I had to have mine removed but again it was BEFORE my diagnosis and I haven't been on Rocephin yet. I was having pain and they found it full of stones, so it was removed, but hard to say if it was lyme related or not. Surely wasn't due to the med.
Cathy
Posted by vachick (Member # 8353) on :
I have had a sluggish gallbladder with no stones. Not sure if it is due to Lyme or a general sluggish digestive system that includes swallowing problems and IBS. That may be due to my parasympathetic nervous system imbalance.
Posted by JavaBeing (Member # 6321) on :
Yep...me too.
GI probs first..lack of motility.., then pains in gallbladder area that docs kept insisting was gas or blamed it on the GI tract. Wasn't until a smart naturepath {and my probably annoying insistance that how can the same pain, be in the same spot for 2 years...?} that a HIDA scan was completed. Show low function of only <20%...no stones, no bile build-up.
Our guess: lyme causes the nerve probs in the gut to cause the lack of motility {as discussed in the article of Bell's Palsey's of the GI by Dr. Virginia Sherr} and it's possible it does it to the gallbladder's ability to function as well.
I was only on Rocephin for 3 days, when the gallbladder pains REALLY magnified...but the probs/difficulties were there WAY before we ever tried to go that route.
JavaBeing
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
Thanks for responses so far. I just had a HIDA today. I've had 2 in the past, one borderline one normal. But I've had a lot of aching in the area lately.
Most of my pain is on my right side. I can't help but wonder if maybe a sick gallbladder is a big culprit in my pain. If I might generally feel better if it was gone. And maybe my treatment will improve.
Posted by vachick (Member # 8353) on :
Good question. I have had differing opinions from surgeons and GI docs about taking mine out. Even the ones who were FOR taking it out said that they gave me about a 50/50 chance of feeling better with it out. The others thought I would feel pretty much the same that I do now!
So, I am trying to follow good eating practices, avoid fat/caffeine, and take probiotics in addition to taking supplements to help stimulate my hypothalmus. Not ready to let go of the GB yet.
Posted by Aniek (Member # 5374) on :
I had my ultrasound this morning. No stones, which I expected since I'm not having sharp pain.
If the HIDA shows it's not working properly, I'm leaning towards getting it out. My theory is that if the gallbladder is infected with Lyme, I'll be sick as long as it's inside of me.
Cleaning it out with Actigall or something may help the gallbladder symptoms, but it will still be infected. I remember my LLMD saying at the start of treatment it's really hard to rid the gallbladder of infection, because if it is sick, it isn't moving enough.
Posted by humanbeing (Member # 8572) on :
Although I had mine out due to rocephin, the surgery was a piece of cake...now I can eat fat and not worry--no more pain under my rib.
Posted by Lymetoo (Member # 743) on :
Me......never had rocephin. GB was taken out last year.
Posted by klutzo (Member # 5701) on :
Me too - I have never had any ABX, due to allergies. (No, my ABX allergies are not herxes,as they've been confirmed by allergy skin tests. I do blame them on Lyme altering my immune system to TH2 dominant, however). I've had Herbal tx only.
I am having this problem right now. Ultrasound, bloodwork and HIDA all normal, BUT pain is constant, and I had clay colored stool at the start of this, so there must have been a stone at some point. I have not been able to eat anything for 4 days, am nauseous, have constant reflux and awful chills. At one point my temp dropped to 91.3!
I really think the GB needs to come out, but I have a Mitral Valve Prolapse, and due to my ABX allergies, no surgeon will touch me, not even with a release. They say releases are no good in court. I also can't take any narcotic pain meds to help with the surgical pain. They combine with my BP med to make me stop breathing. It is the only BP med that works, out of 11 that were tried.
I am really scared. How long can a person live with no food at all? All I'm having is water and small amts. of apple juice and Powerade. I stopped all supplements except Probiotics, B Complex, and Mastic Gum to calm my stomach.
I am seeing my PCP tomorrow. The ER doc passed the buck to her. What can she do for me? Nothing. More time will go by waiting to get in to see a Gastroenterologist, who will probably tell me his liability is too high to operate on me.
Even my acupuncturist would not help me. She says she has Chinese Herbal formulas that could fix my overburdened liver and inflamed GB, but because I have so many plant allergies, she can't give them to me, because her liabiity would be "through the roof".
Wouldn't it be ironic that I manage to survive untx'd, mis-dx'd Lyme for 21 years, Lyme tx with herbals only for 3+ more years, and then die from a lousy inflamed GB? Ironic yes, funny, not at all.
Klutzo
P.S. To the Poster who takes supplements to help the Hypothalamus work better....can you post what you are taking please??? I agree this is a major issue. Thanks.
Posted by bobdavis (Member # 510) on :
Do some digging through the archives.
A long time back they discovered that the gall bladder is one place where the lyme bacteria can hide out from the immune system!
So it finds a safe place to hide, then you add recephin and it kills the bacteria and the GB is then full of dead bacteria giving off toxins and you are in big trouble.
I have had GB pain for about 8 or 9 years! I tried the liver/GB flush twice. Both times left me sick for over a week. I avoid fatty foods and am generally OK. Nothing shows up on any tests.
Posted by 5dana8 (Member # 7935) on :
Haven't taken rocephin since 1994- I had only 3 weeks IV at the time. Haven't had any since then & no real lasting GB or liver problems
After 3 years of abx treatment(no rocephin) Had major GB problems last year. Had a HIDA scan-(spelling?) and it showed a low functiong GB. The ultra sounds showed no stones. Was going to have GB surgury but chickened out.
It seems to have settled down a bit lately.. knock on wood.
I ate alot of cooked beets . Don't know if that helped but I read somehere they are good for the liver & GB.
Hope this helps
Blessings Dana
[ 11. February 2007, 07:04 PM: Message edited by: 5dana8 ]
Posted by SouthernCO (Member # 11167) on :
Had a bout of pancreatitis couple of months ago and was told it was due to gallstones. Haven't had any antibiotics yet so that wasn't the reason.
Thanks, Dave
Posted by Vanilla (Member # 11155) on :
I have never taken Rocephin yet my acupuncturist often tells me my gallblamer is acting up oh and my gallbladder acts up too ; - )
Posted by Cobweb (Member # 10053) on :
Sonogram or CT or whatever they did at the time, showed gallbladder stones prior to diagnosis and treatment for lyme. I heard at the time that statins(for cholesteral)which I'm on can cause gallstones,too. Also had a cyst on my kidney-which is not uncommon I'm told. It's a wait and see situation. So far...no major problems. Carol
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