One day my gallbladder just burst which is similiar to an appendix bursting.

I had the gallbladder removed as emergency surgery. I wouldnt recomend doing that.

First, did your doctor put you on Actigall? That can slowly whittle down gallstones. Also, have you tried a prescription antacid? I take prevacid, the old standby, but there are probably many more drugs of its kind on the market. If there is a a good otolaryngologist (sp?) in your area, it couldn't hurt to get yourself checked. By the time a doctor caught my acid reflux, I had all the symptoms you list, plus headaches, fever, sinusitis, etc. It's one of the reasons Lyme hit me so hard--my immune system had already taken a beating from the acid.

I've also gotten great benefit from some of Zhang's liver herbs--the Lyme abx made my liver enzymes go up, which created the kind of pain you described.

Here's my story...and I'm stickin' to it! Had gallbladder attacks last Oct and Nov. Was told I needed to have it out after an ultrasound showed "numerous stones" and sludge.

Well, I waited till after Christmas....then got cold feet about having it removed. I took Actigall for 3 months and it really helped the pain. I would imagine it cleared out a few things.

So here I am and it's August...still have my GB. I have pain off and on, and watch my diet. No fatty foods, nothing fried [usually!], and I take digestive enzymes.

I've considered having another ultrsound and/or Hida scan. I'd like to know whether or not my GB is functioning or if I'm just kidding myself!

I am so confused about this. I started having gall bladder pain after 8 weeks of Iv Rocephin. The attacks continued for two more months and were terrible but I have not had an attack since the beginning of June. Of course I have cut out fats and I am supporting my liver etc....

I have had three ultrasounds all showing stones and "sludgeballs". The surgeon says I have to have it out and I am booked for two weeks today. My doctor is not so sure.

I really do not want to have surgery unless I have to and now I feel like there is a chance this might go away.

What to do??? More of your experiences would help.

Kara, I am reading into your post that you had peritonitis, is that right? From your sentence, " I had the gallbladder removed as emergency surgery. I wouldnt recomend doing that." gave me the impression that you new the horror or peritonitis. A surgeon burned holes in my colon and intestines which threw me into that horror.
None the less, any surgery to the stomach and surrounding areas leaves a person with issues afterwards no matter what a surgeon says.

Mandy, it clearly shows that medicine is business as norm these days..i.e. your surgeon was in the business of surgery. Thank goodness there was someone who was interested more in your wellness.

No. I didnt have peritonitis (which is an infection that can result from your gall bladder bursting).

My gallbladder burst and I had it removed by emergency. But not enough time went by for me to have developed peritonitis (thank goodnesss...that would have been horrible).

I never had prior symptoms. I just apparently had gall bladder disease. No gallstones. The gall bladder just died.

This was about 10 years before I had Lyme disease.

quote:

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Originally posted by Kara Tyson:

The only thing with having your gallbladder removed is that you need to take digestive enzymes afterwards.

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Kara (and others):

Which digestive enzymes would you recommend?

quote:

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Originally posted by tabbytamer:
Kara (and others):

Which digestive enzymes would you recommend?

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I take Solaray brand "Super Digestaway" $10.59 for 90 capsules.
I take one with each meal.

Actigall works very well, and I think anyone on IV should be taking it....but then I'm not a dr!

I'm not too excited about surgery, since the last time I had surgery, my Lyme flared to the extent that I was never able to go back to teaching. Of course, I wasn't being treated for Lyme then because I didn't know I had it.

I dislike apple cider terribly but I choked it down every day! The first day was the worst!

I had been having unexplained queasiness, etc. the last few months but didn't really think a whole lot about it...also, I took a sudden dislike to certain foods...especially Mexican.

Had an ultrasound that showed multiple stones...saw GP today and he ordered a HIDA scan for tomorrow morning and then see the surgeon tomorrow afternoon. I've never been on IV antibiotics, just Zithromax and Flagyl orally.

I hope that you have found the answer to your pain. I did not know that you could get scans to see gall bladder function. Just shows what you learn on Lymenet!

Thank you all for your replies and for sharing your experiences. Both my surgeon and my doctor are away on holiday and I am unable to contact them. My surgery is scheduled for the day he gets back so I guess I won't chicken out and I will go ahead with this.

I am sure that I have a diseased gall bladder and some of you have reassured me that the whole procedure is not too traumatic

I think trying2bsunny is right, gall bladder trouble must be in the air. Wishing all fellow gall bladder people painfree days ahead.

I did the ultrasound and I am awaiting the results before scheduling the Pipida scan. I dont have any pain, just constant nausea, reflux bloating etc. I have been treated for h.pylori multiple times and always fail the treatment because I have already been on all the antibiotics used to kill it many times. Initialy I had a good response to Biaxin but after I stopped it my belly pain came back. This summer it got so bad that it took over my every day life and I was so sick to my stomach I had no existence.
Its the nausea...its a dull gnawing ache in my upper stomach (right side) area too, but sometimes its all over nasty and any normal activity is really hard to grin and bear it.
I have had all the GI tests except this one. I have reflux, gastritis, etc. My LLMD says I still have h.pylori positive in my blood work, although that would mean I have a really nasty treatment resistent case sice I have tried triple and quadruple therapy for it twice with various combos of meds, Prevacid, Aciphex, pepto, zantac, tetracycline +flagyl, and prev pack at double doses three times now. My GI docs both say its not h.pylori and the + blood test shows only antibodies. The thing is its an IGM result, and doesnt that mean active infection? Help! Maybe its bartonella in there since I am + for that and I am scheduled for Rifampin + Levaquin to start in 2 weeks. Ahhhh!

I have tried all the nutritional stuff too(mastic, ginger, enzymes etc.) and have gone through extensive candida killers.
My Lyme and overall condition would be doing SO well if not for the nausea and toxic belly feeling that make smy whole body feel like an exhausted nauseated blob.
I kind of want it to be my gallbladder causeing this hell so I can get it out and hopefully have some nausea free days.
This gallbladder stuff is not Rocephin related...although I did do the IM shots of it for a short time months ago. When any of you go on IV Rocephin you are supposed to go on Actigall with it. Also, if you have sludge or stones after or during Rocephin, you can stop the Rocephin, switch to Claforan or IV Zithromax and do a Liver/gallbladder cleanse. The sludging/stones are treatable without surgery and you migh be better off waiting to get your GB out because the slude can go away... My problem seems to be hereditary and this stomach hell has been going on for almost 3 years back and forth.
Thank you all for your help. I'll let you know what happens. :-)

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Lyme Disease Help
http://www.wildcondor.com

I think I may have mentioned this before but I wonder if you knew about York Laboratories and their test for food sensitivities that you can do in your own home and send to them for analysis.

They test for IgG mediated food sensitivites which are delayed response sensitivities. Their website for USA is http://www.yorkallergyusa.com/

Also I found that I was gluten sensitive from Enterolab. This is another test that can be done at home and they send the results to you by e-mail. Website is http://www.enterolab.com/

There are a lot of very helpful people at the gluten sensitivity forum at Briantalk who help people get to the bottom of their "gut problems"
http://brain.hastypastry.net/forums/forumdisplay.php?f=141.

I wish you all the best.

I never had "the normal gallbladder attack". I too, like you, suffered for years with horrible stomach symptoms. My stomach burnt literally and I swore I had an ulcer (newp), along with pain,f ullness after eating, nausea, you name it.

It only took my PCP Three whole years to figure out it was my Gallbladder I didnt have either scans you mention though. He did a regular xray and found seven HUGE stones sitting in my gallbladder.

The stomach problems ceased ( along with some other uh connective problems I was having) but some severe pain ended up staying, only to go away years later with this darn lyme treatment.

Good luck to you!
Email me weeniehead
Jodie

Finally had an ultrasound, they said the gallbladder was full of stones and had to be removed. I too had to wait about 2 weeks and it was the longest 2 weeks of my life! I tried sticking to non greasy foods and avoiding caffeine but I was miserable! I did have the surgery and it wasn't bad at all-recovery did take a little longer than I had hoped-just don't push yourself the first couple of days and be prepared to get some rest (you'll need it after all those sleepless nights!)

Anyway, to make a long story short, I was taking Leviquin prior to surgery and had a horrible reaction to it, so be sure to watch for that! I had my gallbladder removed and the abdominal pain was gone, but I still have these crazy symptom that have lead me back to lyme time and time again.

After reading all the responses that you've received it makes you wonder if the lyme can cause all these problems with the gallbladder???

I wish you all the best with your surgery and I feel for you-I remember those long nights and I'm glad you're going to have some relief soon!

All my best-drop me a line if you have any ??? or want to chat.