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Hey Doctor, So For About 4 Years Now I’ve Had

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Posted on Sat, 27 Jul 2019
Question: What I also wanted to know was what treatments are actually available for gallbladder dysfunction is surgery really the only option that’s all I can seem to find?
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (-5 minutes later)
What I also wanted to know was what treatments are actually available for gallbladder dysfunction is surgery really the only option that’s all I can seem to find?
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (5 minutes later)
Hey doctor,

So for about 4 years now I’ve had problems with my digestive system. It all started with mild reflux that wasn’t that bad but my doctor ended up putting me on PPI’s at the age of 17 which I was on for about a year. What I didn’t realise at the time since I was young was that it was really my diet causing the acid reflux and after changing to healthy eating incorporating vegetables and lean meats primarily, the acid reflux problems I used to vanished but now I have even worse problems after taking the PPI’s. I went through numerous tests including gastroscopy/colonoscopy, blood tests and ultrasounds which showed nothing at the time but my gastroenterologist now believes my gallbladder may be dysfunctional since there’s no gallstones and I have to do HIDA scan at some point. However what I’ve been reading up about is how PPI can do damage to your gallbladder or at least alter the it’s ability to function. I know it’s speculative and theoretical at best but is it possible that the prior use of the PPI’s caused my gallbladder dysfunction and digestive problems even though I haven’t been on them for about 2 years now? The symptoms I currently have and have had since taking the PPI’s are bad upper righted side pain that comes and goes which is triggered by fatty foods especially, nausea and central epigastric pain and for some reasons digestive enzymes seem to help quite a lot which evidently shows my system is working too well. To put this in context prior to the reflux issues I never had any digestive problems I could literally eat anything with no issues but now I feel sick eating anything and I’m not overweight either I’m quite thin around 58kg and am active too.
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (0 minute later)
Hey doctor,

So for about 4 years now I’ve had problems with my digestive system. It all started with mild reflux that wasn’t that bad but my doctor ended up putting me on PPI’s at the age of 17 which I was on for about a year. What I didn’t realise at the time since I was young was that it was really my diet causing the acid reflux and after changing to healthy eating incorporating vegetables and lean meats primarily, the acid reflux problems I used to vanished but now I have even worse problems after taking the PPI’s. I went through numerous tests including gastroscopy/colonoscopy, blood tests and ultrasounds which showed nothing at the time but my gastroenterologist now believes my gallbladder may be dysfunctional since there’s no gallstones and I have to do HIDA scan at some point. However what I’ve been reading up about is how PPI can do damage to your gallbladder or at least alter the it’s ability to function. I know it’s speculative and theoretical at best but is it possible that the prior use of the PPI’s caused my gallbladder dysfunction and digestive problems even though I haven’t been on them for about 2 years now? The symptoms I currently have and have had since taking the PPI’s are bad upper righted side pain that comes and goes which is triggered by fatty foods especially, nausea and central epigastric pain and for some reasons digestive enzymes seem to help quite a lot which evidently shows my system is working too well. To put this in context prior to the reflux issues I never had any digestive problems I could literally eat anything with no issues but now I feel sick eating anything and I’m not overweight either I’m quite thin around 58kg and am active too.
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (4 minutes later)
What doesn’t make sense to me is how a fit, thing young male has gallbladder problems at the age of 21 I don’t know anyone my age experiencing digestive problems like I do and for it to start happening about 6 months into taking the PPI’s can't be a coincidence? I tried a bunch of different ones while on it but was mainly on Nexium 40mg twice daily which what I found out later on was quite a high dosage but that’s what my doctor gave me which is crazy.
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (0 minute later)
What doesn’t make sense to me is how a fit, thing young male has gallbladder problems at the age of 21 I don’t know anyone my age experiencing digestive problems like I do and for it to start happening about 6 months into taking the PPI’s can't be a coincidence? I tried a bunch of different ones while on it but was mainly on Nexium 40mg twice daily which what I found out later on was quite a high dosage but that’s what my doctor gave me which is crazy.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (3 hours later)
Brief Answer:
Go through detailed answer my dear patient.

Detailed Answer:
Hello my young patient and thanks for choosing "Ask a Doctor" service for your query.
I have gone through your query in details and yes you are true at a tender age of 16-17 having gastritis acid peptic issue or even gall bladder problem is highly unlikely.
But unfortunately the golden rule of medical science is that there is no rule.Any thing can occur at any age.What you read as common age is 95 out of 100 people get the problem at that age and we take it as common age for that disease but in rest 5 patients presentation can even be very early or late(no rules).
Your case seems to be related more to anxiety.Usually young patients with acid peptic disorder heartburn etc are anxious in nature.This anxiety or overthinking stimulates the nervous system and cause increased secretion of acid and even reverse motion of acid in stomach causing reflux gastritis.
This anxiety may be due to concious mind or may be subconscious mind.

As far as gall bladder is concerned your ultrasound is normal.Your symptoms past history is clearly suggestive of acid peptic disorder.So doing HIDA scan and all make no sense.

Intially I would suggest you to start the proton pump inhibitor for 21 days along with an anti anxiety medication
Fluoxetine 10 mg once daily
Clonazepam 0.25 mg once daily(you take this answer print to your GP very likely he would give you the prescrption.
The information you have read about PPI's is just sham.They are among the safest medicines available in market.If you want to read more only read on reliable sites like NCBI.
PPI has nothing to do with your gall bladder rather the cause of problem is stopping Nexium suddenly.
In case of acid peptic disorders these medicines are never stopped suddenly otherwise symptoms returns agressively called rebound phenomenon.

A better way would be to take Nexium 40 mg twice then make it 40 mg and 20 mg a day then make it 20 mg twice followed by 20 mg once followed by Ranitidine 150 mg once.In this way you would taper off the medicines and symptoms won't return if proper precautions are taken.
Hope I explained things to you in easy language.
Follow ups are welcome.
Thanks!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
doctor
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (0 minute later)
Brief Answer:
Go through detailed answer my dear patient.

Detailed Answer:
Hello my young patient and thanks for choosing "Ask a Doctor" service for your query.
I have gone through your query in details and yes you are true at a tender age of 16-17 having gastritis acid peptic issue or even gall bladder problem is highly unlikely.
But unfortunately the golden rule of medical science is that there is no rule.Any thing can occur at any age.What you read as common age is 95 out of 100 people get the problem at that age and we take it as common age for that disease but in rest 5 patients presentation can even be very early or late(no rules).
Your case seems to be related more to anxiety.Usually young patients with acid peptic disorder heartburn etc are anxious in nature.This anxiety or overthinking stimulates the nervous system and cause increased secretion of acid and even reverse motion of acid in stomach causing reflux gastritis.
This anxiety may be due to concious mind or may be subconscious mind.

As far as gall bladder is concerned your ultrasound is normal.Your symptoms past history is clearly suggestive of acid peptic disorder.So doing HIDA scan and all make no sense.

Intially I would suggest you to start the proton pump inhibitor for 21 days along with an anti anxiety medication
Fluoxetine 10 mg once daily
Clonazepam 0.25 mg once daily(you take this answer print to your GP very likely he would give you the prescrption.
The information you have read about PPI's is just sham.They are among the safest medicines available in market.If you want to read more only read on reliable sites like NCBI.
PPI has nothing to do with your gall bladder rather the cause of problem is stopping Nexium suddenly.
In case of acid peptic disorders these medicines are never stopped suddenly otherwise symptoms returns agressively called rebound phenomenon.

A better way would be to take Nexium 40 mg twice then make it 40 mg and 20 mg a day then make it 20 mg twice followed by 20 mg once followed by Ranitidine 150 mg once.In this way you would taper off the medicines and symptoms won't return if proper precautions are taken.
Hope I explained things to you in easy language.
Follow ups are welcome.
Thanks!
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Raju A.T
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (7 hours later)
Hey doctor I read through your response but I no longer have acid reflux problems anymore after I had changed my diet I stopped having that issue all together. I wouldn’t really say I have high anxiety either but I don’t really get how my symptoms suggest acid problems? My pain is in the exact spot of where my gallbladder is located on the right side it’s an ache like pain that is triggered especially by fatty foods and accompanied by nausea/epigastric pain how is that at all an acid problem makes 0 sense to me and why would my gastro want me to do a HIDA scan if she thought it was an acid problem plus PPI don’t work for it either so why would I go back on them? My mother also had gallbladder issues as well so it could even be in the family?
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (0 minute later)
Hey doctor I read through your response but I no longer have acid reflux problems anymore after I had changed my diet I stopped having that issue all together. I wouldn’t really say I have high anxiety either but I don’t really get how my symptoms suggest acid problems? My pain is in the exact spot of where my gallbladder is located on the right side it’s an ache like pain that is triggered especially by fatty foods and accompanied by nausea/epigastric pain how is that at all an acid problem makes 0 sense to me and why would my gastro want me to do a HIDA scan if she thought it was an acid problem plus PPI don’t work for it either so why would I go back on them? My mother also had gallbladder issues as well so it could even be in the family?
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (2 minutes later)
I also did read about PPI reducing the gallbladder function on NCBI so I don’t think it’s a sham?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/0000/
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (0 minute later)
I also did read about PPI reducing the gallbladder function on NCBI so I don’t think it’s a sham?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/0000/
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (9 minutes later)
Let’s say once I’ve done the HIDA scan and it is my gallbladder not functioning properly what are the treatments available for it is surgery the only option in that case?
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (0 minute later)
Let’s say once I’ve done the HIDA scan and it is my gallbladder not functioning properly what are the treatments available for it is surgery the only option in that case?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (3 hours later)
Brief Answer:
If nothing is helping then going for HIDA is good decision.

Detailed Answer:
Hi again my dear patient,
Sorry for disappointment but my answers was based on fact
1)Epigastric pain and nausea are usually associated with gastritis.
2)Most common cause of pain in an individual without gall bladder stone or swelling of gall bladder(cholecystitis) is acid peptic disorder.Both these problems reflects in ultrasound.
3)PPI s may reduce gall bladder functions but they are all rare cases and ppi's are among one of the most frequent medicines used. Even some PPI's are over the counter. So hope you can understand that if they are that harmful then they would not be OTC.
However yes rare cases are there and as you are not relieved by PPI's and neither are you an anxious personality and concidering the fact that fatty food triggers your problem going through a HIDA scan is not a bad idea.
In HIDA your doctor is going to check the ejection fraction of bile from gall bladder. If ejection fraction(Amount of bile ejected in response to food /stimulus)is normal your gall bladder motility is normal.

Nows let's move to your query,
As per your query if gallbladder is non functional then surgery is the only option. Laproscopic removal of gallbladder would be done by making three small holes under general anaesthesia.Good news is that appendix and gall bladder would be the next 2 organs which would become vestigial in few hundred years as gallbladder as such has no special role in digestion except for the fact that it stores few ml of extra bile which liver secretes. Even in most of the cases these days with the help of proper enzyme substitution(lipase) digesting fat Post gallbladder removal is not an issue.
Medical treatments are not there. Surgery is the only available treatment and is very common.
Lastly you stopped NEXIUM 2 years back. Frankly speaking in my opinion they have nothing to do with your case.

Hope this clears your doubts.
Follow ups are welcome.
Thank you and get well soon.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Kampana
doctor
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (0 minute later)
Brief Answer:
If nothing is helping then going for HIDA is good decision.

Detailed Answer:
Hi again my dear patient,
Sorry for disappointment but my answers was based on fact
1)Epigastric pain and nausea are usually associated with gastritis.
2)Most common cause of pain in an individual without gall bladder stone or swelling of gall bladder(cholecystitis) is acid peptic disorder.Both these problems reflects in ultrasound.
3)PPI s may reduce gall bladder functions but they are all rare cases and ppi's are among one of the most frequent medicines used. Even some PPI's are over the counter. So hope you can understand that if they are that harmful then they would not be OTC.
However yes rare cases are there and as you are not relieved by PPI's and neither are you an anxious personality and concidering the fact that fatty food triggers your problem going through a HIDA scan is not a bad idea.
In HIDA your doctor is going to check the ejection fraction of bile from gall bladder. If ejection fraction(Amount of bile ejected in response to food /stimulus)is normal your gall bladder motility is normal.

Nows let's move to your query,
As per your query if gallbladder is non functional then surgery is the only option. Laproscopic removal of gallbladder would be done by making three small holes under general anaesthesia.Good news is that appendix and gall bladder would be the next 2 organs which would become vestigial in few hundred years as gallbladder as such has no special role in digestion except for the fact that it stores few ml of extra bile which liver secretes. Even in most of the cases these days with the help of proper enzyme substitution(lipase) digesting fat Post gallbladder removal is not an issue.
Medical treatments are not there. Surgery is the only available treatment and is very common.
Lastly you stopped NEXIUM 2 years back. Frankly speaking in my opinion they have nothing to do with your case.

Hope this clears your doubts.
Follow ups are welcome.
Thank you and get well soon.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Kampana
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (1 hour later)
Fair enough doc you raise some good points I definitely will go for HIDA scan and see how it goes. One other question I had in terms of gallbladder removal I’m in this Facebook group with people who have had their gallbladders removed and a lot of them seem to be suffering from “bile reflux” after removal whether it be a couple months after or years after. What exactly is this and why does it occur it post gallbladder removal it seems like quite a lot of people get it can this be a potential side effect I could get from removing it?
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (0 minute later)
Fair enough doc you raise some good points I definitely will go for HIDA scan and see how it goes. One other question I had in terms of gallbladder removal I’m in this Facebook group with people who have had their gallbladders removed and a lot of them seem to be suffering from “bile reflux” after removal whether it be a couple months after or years after. What exactly is this and why does it occur it post gallbladder removal it seems like quite a lot of people get it can this be a potential side effect I could get from removing it?
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (29 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Follow up.

Detailed Answer:
Hello again XXXXXXX
Bile reflux is seen in almost 30 to 70% of patients after cholecystectomy. However it may be mild moderate or severe in nature. Mild reflux is the most common and apart from calling it a side effect of this surgery the only possible explaination is that gallbladder is designed to store bile secreted by liver. These bile salts are liberated into common bile duct only when they are required to digest food however after surgery bile keeps surging into bile duct and into duodenum 24*7 as there is no place where it could be stored. Possibly this constant exposure irritates the mucosa lining of duodenum and may cause complication like reflux.
However initially by taking small meals and limiting the amount of fat for few months body adapts to it.

Hope I was easy to understand.
Thank you.
Do rate answer and in case you have suggestions to make answers better do write them.
Regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng
doctor
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (0 minute later)
Brief Answer:
Follow up.

Detailed Answer:
Hello again XXXXXXX
Bile reflux is seen in almost 30 to 70% of patients after cholecystectomy. However it may be mild moderate or severe in nature. Mild reflux is the most common and apart from calling it a side effect of this surgery the only possible explaination is that gallbladder is designed to store bile secreted by liver. These bile salts are liberated into common bile duct only when they are required to digest food however after surgery bile keeps surging into bile duct and into duodenum 24*7 as there is no place where it could be stored. Possibly this constant exposure irritates the mucosa lining of duodenum and may cause complication like reflux.
However initially by taking small meals and limiting the amount of fat for few months body adapts to it.

Hope I was easy to understand.
Thank you.
Do rate answer and in case you have suggestions to make answers better do write them.
Regards.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Nagamani Ng
doctor
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (8 hours later)
Thanks for that doc from what I’ve read with people that have it bile reflux sounds pretty painful to live with more painful than living with the gallbladder in my case. Is it possible to keep the gallbladder even with dysfunction if the symptoms are only mild and not an emergency a what is the worst that can happen if you don’t have any gallstones either? I’ve found not overheating, avoiding the really fatty and fried foods and sticking to vegetables and lean meats has been not that bad to cope with. That’s pretty much what I’m dealing with at the moment as I feel it may be dysfunctional once the scan confirms it but they are only mild symptoms at the end of the day and I don’t know if removal would make things worse.
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Follow up: Dr. Ramesh Kumar (0 minute later)
Thanks for that doc from what I’ve read with people that have it bile reflux sounds pretty painful to live with more painful than living with the gallbladder in my case. Is it possible to keep the gallbladder even with dysfunction if the symptoms are only mild and not an emergency a what is the worst that can happen if you don’t have any gallstones either? I’ve found not overheating, avoiding the really fatty and fried foods and sticking to vegetables and lean meats has been not that bad to cope with. That’s pretty much what I’m dealing with at the moment as I feel it may be dysfunctional once the scan confirms it but they are only mild symptoms at the end of the day and I don’t know if removal would make things worse.
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (38 minutes later)
Brief Answer:
Follow up.

Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX

Yes, if the gall bladder is just dysfunctional and the patient is mildly or totally asymptomatic you can keep it but there would be a risk of stone formation in future (USG monitoring can be done twice a year).

First, go through the scan and don't panic too much. Things would get better in a few days once we have done all tests.

Just remain calm and go for the test. I assure you everything would be ok.
Thank you


Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee
doctor
doctor
Answered by Dr. Ramesh Kumar (0 minute later)
Brief Answer:
Follow up.

Detailed Answer:
Hello XXXXXXX

Yes, if the gall bladder is just dysfunctional and the patient is mildly or totally asymptomatic you can keep it but there would be a risk of stone formation in future (USG monitoring can be done twice a year).

First, go through the scan and don't panic too much. Things would get better in a few days once we have done all tests.

Just remain calm and go for the test. I assure you everything would be ok.
Thank you

Note: For further follow up on digestive issues share your reports here and Click here.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Arnab Banerjee
doctor
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Dr. Ramesh Kumar

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Practicing since :1986

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Hey Doctor, So For About 4 Years Now I’ve Had

What I also wanted to know was what treatments are actually available for gallbladder dysfunction is surgery really the only option that’s all I can seem to find?