posted
I had an ultrasound that showed my gallbladder was normal size, no stones, and had a tiny amount of sludge in the neck.
I then was basically forced by my family Dr. to have a HYDA scan. I got two completely different interpretations of the same test.
My family Dr's office called and said everything was Ok. My LLMD called and said I have low ejection fraction and my gall bladder is diseased and needs to come out. (Of course he waits until 9:15 at night to call and tell me. So much for getting any sleep.)
Who the heck do I believe anymore? I can't get any straight answers from my family Dr. and my LLMD is no better.
Is there another test I should ask for to get (for once) a straight answer? I don't want to have my gall bladder out and I know Dr.s take them out now like they used to take out tonsils. I don't want surgery when everyone says that only makes the Lyme worse.
I feel like the antibiotics are killing my liver and my gallbladder. I lost 130 lbs in 14 months when I first got sick. Could my gallbladder just be trying to recover from that? Any suggestions? What tests do I ask for now? I'm to the point that I want to stop all medication and see if my body can heal itself.
Posts: 237 | From WV | Registered: Mar 2007
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posted
Get a copy of the test and see for yourself. If indeed there is a low ejection fraction, your GB could be diseased.
Mine was, and I didn't regret having it out. I resisted for a yr and a half.
One tiny problem though. I got a nice hospital infection from the surgery.
One thing to consider is prescription Actigall. My dr allowed me to take that for 3 months and it alleviated 80% of the pain and I was able to put off the surgery the first go-round.
The HIDA scan is a very good test and I'm glad you had it done. Many Lyme patients have no stones, but a non-functioning GB. I had stones and a non-functioning GB.
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
posted
Hello Mo
Even though you can live without your gallbladder, it does have a function in our digestive system and you live better with it as long as it is healthy.
Surgery is always risky and there is much scientific evidence that scar tissue in the body holds bacteria, fungi, viruses.
I would be very slow to have it surgically removed unless in acute pain. Especially if one doctor says it is healthy. That would be enough to stop me from surgery.
Instead, I would be looking at my diet. I have included 2 links below. The first one is a comprehensive definition of the gallbladder, its functions and its potential diseases. The second one is from the cancer centers and relates to cancer of the gallbladder. It is interesting to note the emphasis they give on the role of malnutrition in causing disease to the gallbladder.
Yes we can be obese from eating and still have a body starved of nutrition. Even though this website is dedicated to cancer victims, the diet they recommend to heal can be even more effective in preventing disease to your gallbladder.
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
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luvs2ride
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8090
posted
I found another website that seems to be very informative on how to nourish your gallbladder.
Bile is continually being made and secreted by the liver into bile ducts in varying amounts.(1) Some of it goes directly into the small intestine and some into the gallbladder. The gallbladder stores the bile to be squirted down the ducts into the small intestine to help to breakdown the fats when you eat a meal that contains fats. It also acts as a reservoir that uptakes excess bile when there is pressure in the bile ducts.
BILE FUNCTION
The bile has two major functions in the body. Firstly, it breaks down the fats that you eat so that your body can utilize them. Without adequate bile you do not metabolize your fats well which can result in a deficiency of the fat-soluable vitamins (A, D, E and K). You may also have problems digesting the essential fatty acids. Amongst other symptoms you could have trouble utilizing calcium, have dry skin, peeling on the soles of your feet, etc. One way you can tell you have trouble digesting fats is if you have excessive burping that starts shortly after eating a meal that has fat in it. You might feel nauseous or experience gas and bloating. Often the bile is thick and you can thin it out with The Beet Recipe which you can find here under gallbladder diet, or with a whole food beet product found in the GALLBLADDER STARTER KIT on this site.
Secondly, bile is a very powerful antioxidant which helps to remove toxins from the liver. The liver filters toxins (bacteria, viruses, drugs or other foreign substances the body doesn't want) and sends them out via the bile, which is made in the liver. The pathway of departure is from the liver through the bile ducts and into the gallbladder or directly into the small intestine where it joins waste matter and leaves through the colon with the feces. A healthy liver produces about a quart to a quart and a half of bile daily. If you have gallbladder problems, you would do well to cleanse your liver and bowel also. Many people with sluggish gallbladders have a tendency towards constipation.
WHAT GOES WRONG To understand gallbladder pathology or what goes wrong with your gallbladder click on gallbladder diseases.
(1)Torsoli A, Corazziari E, Habib FI, Cicala M. Scand J Gastroenterol Suppl. 1990;175:52-7.
-------------------- When the Power of Love overcomes the Love of Power, there will be Peace. Posts: 3038 | From america | Registered: Oct 2005
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klutzo
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 5701
posted
Check out www.gallbladderattack.com for more info on how to save your gallbladder if you want to. (Luvs and I were writing at the same time!)
I had mine out in April, and it was probably one of the three* best things I've done for my Lyme in all the 22 yrs. I've been sick, because it gave me back my normal energy level, and I can even drive again after more than 10 yrs.. It had been bad for a long, long time, but I was so used to feeling that sick that I did not know it.
However, there are possible complications after surgery, like dumping syndrome, and you can end up having to be on a very low fat diet forever like I now have to do..... I still can't digest fat and am going to be tested for malabsorption, which is what killed my mother when she was only 3 yrs. older than I am now.
The surgical team tore my left rotator cuff more than half way through by putting my arm in a position it could not tolerate during surgery, even though I warned them I had bad rotators, and I am now having Physical Therapy 3 X weekly, trying to avoid another surgery to correct the pain and loss of function in my shoulder.
M GI doc and my surgeon told me I could eat whatever I wanted immediately after surgery and ever after. This has been true for almost everyone I know.
But, my TCM doc warned me that after the GB is removed, you can still form stones in your liver and get them stuck in your ducts unless you eat low fat. Five mos. after surgery and eating whatever I wanted, I suddenly had 2 bad attacks, just like before surgery, because I ate some fatty foods. She was right, in my case.
In talking to people I know, I seem to be the only one who has this problem though. Most other people I know with no GB can eat whatever they want now. I take massive amts. of digestive enzymes to no avail.
Despite my continued problems with digesting fats, I feel better than I have in over ten years now that the GB is gone. BTW, I had two ultrasounds and two HIDAs, both normal. I had to have an EGD with a biliary microscopy to prove to the doctors that my GB was bad.
Prior to surgery, I had gotten to the point where I could not eat anything at all, was losing 5 lbs. per week, and my hair was falling out. I would not have had the GB removed if I were not so sick. Many people live with stones and have no symptoms from them. I would not remove an organ if I was not feeling sick from it.
Klutzo
* The other two things I've done that helped me the most are taking Armour Thyroid, and taking L-Tryptophan for secondary depression.
Posts: 1269 | From Clearwater, Florida, USA | Registered: May 2004
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Itsy_bitsyone
Unregistered
posted
Mo...
Since you are MoTown and in WV...I am assuming Motown is morgantown?
There's only one LLMD out there that I am aware of...and she is a girl. In addition, if there is another, even SHE isn't aware of it...
Just curious if that's where you are. Myself and MtGirl use the one and only ILADS LLMD in Morgantown....
I'd be skeptical about the gall bladder thing too...I would want a third opinion before doing something like an operation!!
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posted
Thanks for all the responses and all the great links.
After receiving the phone call from my LLMD last night, I called my family Dr this morning. She said that the results her office called about that were normal were the ultrasound results.
She says the Hyda scan shows my gallbladder isn't working and she said "it needs cut out."
I'm really scared. I don't want to lose my original equipment so to speak. I think I'm going to have a second opinion before I have it taken out.
Itsy-bitsyone, I'm sending you a pm.
Posts: 237 | From WV | Registered: Mar 2007
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Itsy_bitsyone
Unregistered
posted
I returned your PM and asked a rather stupid question that had I read THIS post I probably wouldn't have asked...ha ha ha ha
Anyway...
I can HEAR her saying that in my head.
She can be the sweetest person on the face of the earth...but I wouldn't want her mad at me because she has "another side"...which I caught a glimps of one time....
And she certainly doesn't pull any punches, does she?
I wouldn't want to lose my plumbing either. BUt maybe you will feel better if you do it??
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posted
Sorry to hear that, Motown. Lyme can cause GB disease.
Hang in there, and keep us posted, OK?
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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AliG
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9734
posted
I just asked my health food store guru about gall bladder because I just started Rocephin.
He told me Dandelion Root & Milk Thistle. He showed me in the book the Dandelion Root info. I don't remember exactly what it said but you might want to do a search.
It's supposed to help with the sludging I believe. It might at least be worth a try if it's not a crisis that has to be dealt with immediately. Might want to print info for LLMD & ask if you could give it a shot.
-------------------- Note: I'm NOT a medical professional. The information I share is from my own personal research and experience. Please do not construe anything I share as medical advice, which should only be obtained from a licensed medical practitioner. Posts: 4881 | From Middlesex County, NJ | Registered: Jul 2006
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We're neighbors and I love my LLMD's! Have one in state, and one out of state - they cooperate and are a fantastic team. Also some other very cooperative docs supporting me. Very special group indeed.
Had an upset gallbladder a while back, doc ordered an ultra sound, cleared for doing a liver/gallbladder detox and went well. Not pleasant but successful.
I also took Actigall and have learned to know when I needed it. I was/am on lots of detox supplements, etc.
My gb and I are getting along fine and Buffy the Vampire slayer hasn't visited for a while! Felt just like a stake in my chest....
Happy Healing! Robin
Posts: 47 | From morgantown, wv | Registered: Feb 2007
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5dana8
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7935
posted
hi motownlyme
if you move just a fraction of a inch while they are scanning after the GB on the HYDA scan it can effects results.
I didn't know this untill after my test was over, darn it.
But my test showed only 25% fuction. I was told mine needed to come out but I was a huge chicken. Still am & waffeled on the surgury.
I know it's a tough decision to make. Really good idea to get a second opinion.
God Bless & hope you can find some answers & relief soon Dana
-------------------- 5dana8 Posts: 4432 | From some where over the rainbow | Registered: Sep 2005
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CaliforniaLyme
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 7136
posted
MY GB is gone and I also have no change in function!!! Don't miss it*)!
-------------------- There is no wealth but life. -John Ruskin
All truth goes through 3 stages: first it is ridiculed: then it is violently opposed: finally it is accepted as self evident. - Schopenhauer Posts: 5639 | From Aptos CA USA | Registered: Apr 2005
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AliG
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 9734
posted
Thanks TuTu!
I'll ask him about the actigall, when I go on the 29th, if he's going to continue me on the Rocephin.
I remembered someone had said that (perhaps you?! )& wanted to ask at the first visit, but forgot EVERYTHING I wanted to ask when I went. I had a bad case of newIDcouldbeaduckphobia.
-------------------- Note: I'm NOT a medical professional. The information I share is from my own personal research and experience. Please do not construe anything I share as medical advice, which should only be obtained from a licensed medical practitioner. Posts: 4881 | From Middlesex County, NJ | Registered: Jul 2006
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