I stopped the Rocephin right away and two weeks later had an another ultrasound. It still had a lot of sludge in there, so Dr. J wanted me to see a GI doc.

The GI doc said to give it six weeks to clear and if it didn't clear by then, we would have to consult a surgeon. So I had my six week ultrasound yesterday, and the technician said that all the little sludge formed into actual stones. ugh.

I see the GI doc on 4/26 and I wanted to go in knowing my options. Do I have to have the gallbladder removed if it hasn't cleared by now? Or will it clear on its own eventually?

Its not causing alot of pain yet, but I have some aching there occasionally (but I ache everywhere, so its not that noticable.)

I'm starting IM Bicillin next week and I am terrified of that (I have a fear of shots), so the last thing I need to deal with right now is surgery. I hope there is another option...............

I was also on Rocephin, but for me, it only took 3 weeks and I had a BAD Gall bladder attack where I wound up at the ER. It turned out I had sludge and stones and I wound up in surgery just a week or so later to have it removed. This was just this past January.

My advise? Just do it! You do NOT want to go through a full blown gall bladder attack...take my word for it! That was BAD!

The surgery honestly wasnt that bad. The first....Id say week....wasnt much fun (thats for sure) but after that, it wasnt bad. The worst of it for me wasnt even the pain but the sheer exhaustion!

I was told there is a small chance the stones could disappear, but its rare. Its up to you, obviously, but Id opt to just remove it. And believe me, Im no advocate for surgery

Here's an abstract from PubMed which might help you understand what's going on:

Harefuah. 1994 Sep;127(5-6):163-5, 215.

[Sonographic demonstration of pseudo-cholelithiasis after ceftriaxone]

[Article in Hebrew]

Barzilai M.

Radiology Dept., Carmel Medical Center, Haifa.

The term biliary pseudolithiasis was coined by Schaad (1988) to describe the appearance of gallbladder sludge following treatment with ceftriaxone. After cessation of the drug the condition resolves, hence the term "pseudolithiasis." The third generation cephalosporin, cefatriaxone, is a very potent, broad spectrum antibiotic indicated in meningitis, osteomyelitis, pyelonephritis, Lyme disease and many other severe infectious diseases. Up to 46% of those receiving this antibiotic develop gallbladder sludge. Most are asymptomatic, but a small proportion may develop right upper quadrant pain, nausea, vomiting and even cholecystitis. Ultrasonography may demonstrate many, small, echogenic particles within the gallbladder, as well as larger echogenic foci casting acoustic shadows. However, it can not differentiate these pseudostones from real stones. There are reports of surgical intervention in such cases. 2 boys, aged 5 and 10 years, respectively, treated with ceftriaxone for meningitis are presented. Both developed symptoms during treatment and in both gallbladder sludge was identified by ultrasonography. In 1 intraluminal gallbladder findings were identical with the appearance of surgical stones. Follow-up ultrasonography after the drug was stopped showed no evidence of pseudostones in either case. Awareness of this phenomena might save many unnecessary operations.

Publication Types:
Case Reports

You may need multiple flushes. Ahhhh!!
http://curezone.com/cleanse/liver/default.asp

Hopefully, the sludge has cleared out and I got rid of some of the small stones. Anyway, I'm trying to avoid the surgery if I can.

I'm watching what I eat all the time. Easy on the fat and no caffeine, chocolate, or spicy foods!

Don't rush into any surgery, although I think it's good to consult with a reliable surgeon. Normally the gallbladder is only removed if absolutely necessary. Absolutely necessary, of course, can mean different things to different people.

One reason is if the stones, or pseudostones if you'd like, get stuck in the cystic duct (that runs from the gallbladder into the common bile duct, that then runs into the duodenum and dumps the bile into the intestine). This can cause an inflammed/infected gallbladder and is an indication for it's removal.

Another reason is if the stones get stuck in the common bile duct, which can cause a serious infection in the duct. This is life-threatening as toxins back up into the liver.

Another reason is simply the chronic pain associated with stones sticking and then passing through the ducts, without causing any infections.

My thought is that those who have stones or sludge from Rocephin are not forming new stones all the time as are those with the more common forms of gallbladder problems. (that is...if the Rocephin has been discontinued). Therefor, if the drug is stopped and the sludge has a chance to be disolved with drugs and/or any other form of therapy, that should be given a good chance. This is all depedent upon the patient being able to tolerate well any pain associated with the condition and being careful and watchful for any signs of infection/inflammation.