Dd may need gall bladder surgery :-(

[JustMe]

Dd (16) woke up in the wee hours about 2 weeks ago in severe pain in the upper abdominal area (I thought it was pancreas) and, after talking with the on-call telephone advice nurse, off we went to the ER. They did blood tests (normal) and an EEG (normal) then gave her meds to treat acid reflux/GERD and she got better. Of course, by then it was hours so who knows if the meds helped. She has had acid reflux in the past, so it seemed likely. She was given a prescription for 2 weeks worth of the relevant info. Spoke to her pediatrician who felt this sounded right and said we only needed to come in if things seemed to get worse or not get better.

Then a couple of days ago the pain skyrocketed again; of course this happens at night, but we were able to get into the afterhours clinic. Ended up having to go the ER again anyway, as we needed immediate labs to rule out pancreatitis; labs negative again, but an ultrasound showed "bilary sludge" and a gall bladder polyp. Saw a pediatrician the next day (ours was out) who referred to a pediatric surgeon as she states the normal gastic doctors here do not treat kids and the pediatric surgeons are also the specialists. Appt is Monday afternoon.

Sigh. We have a trip to Guatemala in 2-3 weeks for almost 2 weeks. Looks like that most surgery can be laparoscopic , basic recovery is at least a week and then some. We cant go with her having this kind of pain. Maybe there is some kind of medication she can take to get her thought the trip? Additionally this surgery group (the only appropriate one in my area) gets some bad reviews. They are mostly around billing issues, but there is one talking about bad post-op care. Next nearest place is 2 hrs away, but not even sure that dd's insurance will pay for it.

I know, one step at a time; we'll see what happens Monday, but if anyone has any advice I'll take it!

Thanks,

[Smillow]

My DH had his gall bladder removed laparoscopically in 2007 and recovered quickly. He had developed pancreatitis because a gall stone blocked his bile duct and his pancreas started digesting itself, so he was in the hospital a week before it calmed down enough for surgery. I do think he had digestion issues after his gall bladder was removed. I think he used papaya enzyme supplements to help. I hope she feels better quickly. I had never seen anyone as sick as DH was the night we went to the emergency room.

[firstbaby]

My sister had her gall bladder removed and the hardest part was confirming that’s what the problem was before removing it. She did have to follow a super strict low fat diet for quite some time after the surgery, fyi.

[dogmom]

First, my experience with online physician reviews is they are practically useless. Most normal people don’t review their physicians. So take them with a pound of salt.

I wouldn’t assume it’s the gallbladder until you see the specialists. Gallbladder issues usually present as nausea and vomiting with chest/right shoulder pain. Polyps are rare in pediatric population and the whole gallbladder thing might be an incidental finding that had nothing to do with her pain. I would have a higher suspicion for things like endometriosis. People put a lot of stock in CT scans, but they are just a bunch of shadows that need to be put together with the symptoms, labs and history. (I found a liver cyst and an ovarian cysts on CT, but all my symptoms were from Giardia. I just needed Flagyl which took weeks for someone to give me.) There have been hundreds of cases in my career when a surgeon looks into a patient’s abdomen with a presumptive diagnosis of A and finds B instead. That’s just what happens.

I’m just saying that I would still be waiting on a definitive dx at this point.

[JustMe]

Thanks for the reassuring responses!

We'll see what tomorrow brings.

[JamiMac]

I had gallbladder problems 10 years ago when I was pregnant. I actually had mine removed 3 months later because I wanted the baby to be a little older. ( 8 weeks) Mine presented with severe pains in the upper middle of my abdomen and they also thought pancreatic issues. I didn’t not have any nausea or upper right pains. The pains were horrible, but would pass after a while. The best thing I did was having my GB removed. The pain stopped instantaneously and forever.


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[JustMe]

[QUOTE=JamiMac;4336979]I had gallbladder problems 10 years ago when I was pregnant. I actually had mine removed 3 months later because I wanted the baby to be a little older. ( 8 weeks) Mine presented with severe pains in the upper middle of my abdomen and they also thought pancreatic issues. I didn’t not have any nausea or upper right pains. The pains were horrible, but would pass after a while. The best thing I did was having my GB removed. The pain stopped instantaneously and forever.

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Did anything help keep the pain at Bay before you had your surgery? If surgery is indicated for her, I am worried they won't be able to do it before our trip.

[KpbS]

I too had mine removed about 3 years ago. I started having problems quickly and an ultrasound revealed I had 6-7 gallstones. The pain was awful and felt like my diaphragm was going to explode. I also had episodes of nausea and vomiting. It was so terrible. I would not worry about the reputation of the group. Go ahead with the consult and surgery if needed. I would also plan on canceling the trip unless this pain turns out to be appendix related, a surgery with a faster recovery time and less potential impact on digestion. It took me a full two weeks of rest (in bed for 3+ days) to get close to back to normal.

[JustMe]

Well, if anyone is still reading ( I know I have been posting a lot lately), we had the consult and it was pretty confusing. He basically said there was a good chance the gall bladder was causing the pain, so we could do the surgery, but that also might not be the issue. It might be an ulcer or something else. The best I could get when I pushed for a recommendation is he said if we have the surgery at least we will know if that is causing the problem. He said there is no other way to know.

He said if I decide soon, he can schedule surgery for next week and he said she would be ready to go on the trip. He seemed to think recovery would just be a few days. I have never heard that short from all of my research (I have seen about a week), but seemed convinced of this.

We all want to avoid cancelling the trip if at all possible. Everyone really needs it for various reasons, and I did not get refundable flights.

[sariana]

I'm still reading but haven't posted because I have no experience with this and thus have no advice. But I'm so sorry you're dealing with this, and a wishy-washy surgeon is no help. I hope you find a way for your DD to feel better soon.