gall bladder pain but my gall bladder is gone

[mamalisap]

I had my gall bladder taken out several years ago laproscopically.  A little over a year later, I started having severe upper adominal pain.  I have been treated for Gerd and IBS.  Although I got a little relief, I still had problems.  I have had x-rays and CT.  They showed nothing of any interest.  I have gone to a gastrointestinal specialist.  I have been tested for H. pylori, Barrets and on and on.... nothing.  I have had an upper endoscopy which showed a hiatial hernia.  I was told to lose weight.  I have lost 30 pounds so far.  With Thanksgiving, I have "cheated" a little.  I have not eaten huge quantities of food.  I ate some sweet potato casarole on Thanksgiving Day.  It has butter in it.  I have eaten a few cookies.  Emphasis on a few.  I feel like I am having a gall bladder attack.  I have lots of gas.  My GERD has been botherig me too.  I have been sleeping on my couch as I can sleep sitting up.  I have been doing the sleeping on the couch thing for about a year.  help me.  Is there a post gall bladder surgery issue that could be contributing to this?

[Cherie762]

they leave a sphincter in when removing gall. it can spasm and cause great pain I cant take heavy narcotics for this reason, I also cannot eat very fatty foods, depending on yourr snesitivity , some have no affects ftom sphincter

[CalGal]

Here's a link to some information on SOD: http://hopkins-gi.nts.jhu.edu/pages/latin/templates/index.cfm?pg=disease1&organ=3&disease=12&lang_id=1

In the meantime try to follow a lot fat diet - it may not be the quantity you're eating, but the quality.

Talk to your doc about doing an MRCP. It's non-invasive and may be able to tell you whether or not there's something going on within the biliary system. Stones or sludge can form after surgery, or become 'swept' into the comon bile duct during surgery, and they can cause irritation and spasms long after surgery. Some anti-spasm meds may help.

[sugarbowe]

Sounds familiar but I didn't have hiatial hernia.  You might want to check out Sphincter of Oddi problem which is common for women that had laproscopic gall bladder surgery.  I'm currently seeing a pancreatic specialist trying to find out my problem.  Fortunately the test came back indicating I had no problem with my pancreas.  However, still waiting to find out about the Spincter of Oddi problem.  There is a yahoo group that has lots of good information if you want to check it out.  http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/Pancreatitis_sphincterofoddi/