I wasn't going to ask this question. But who knows anything about gallbladders?

I went to my doctor with bad pain in the upper part of my stomach, just below my breasts. I do have acid reflux. He felt around and it hurt on my right side too. He ordered an ultrasound. I am in between insurance and do not have any coverage until July. I can't afford to private pay. That was yesterday and I am still in pain. I am taking Nexium pills twice a day.
I don't know if I am imagining all this, but now my right upper back hurts, but my left side hurts too. He asked me if I had black or tarry stools and I didn't until tonight....Now I do.. Have any of you had these symptoms? Or different ones? It seems as if everyone has something different...The other thing that concerned me is my temperature since yesterday is running about 99.2.

I guess if the pain becomes unbearable I will go to the E.R. and they cannot refuse me care. Please let me know your experience with gallbladders.

Yes, you have all the symptoms of gall stones. I also experienced a lot of pain in my shoulders and was told that is part of it. I found that if I stayed away from all fatty and fried foods I would feel a "little" better. The attacks started becoming more frequent, it was like a band of pain around my back that was winding around to my solar plexus. When this happened, I was unable to lie down, sit up or anything else. I just couldn't get comfortable. The last attack came when I ate chili for dinner. Wow! I ended up in the emergency room and after an ultra sound, was told I was off to the operating room. My Doctor told me it wasn't life threatening, the pain was from the gall bladder having spasms when the stone was blocking the bile which put me into almost a frenzy of pain. I had the Old surgery, this was before the laproscopic surgery was around. I lost 26 lbs through the ordeal as well.
Later, I met a friend who also had his gallbladder removed only his was gangerous! If he didn't have surgery right away he would have died! So it is nothing to fool around with, if you have another attack, go to the hospital for an ultra-sound where they will determine what needs to be done....in the meantime, plenty of fluids, rest as much as you can and be very careful what you eat. Avoid spices, eat bland until this is taken care of. I let mine go about a year and felt so good after that I am still shaking my head as to why I didn't do it sooner!
Also, eat very small amounts several times a day to avoid another attack.
I wish you the best of luck with this!

my friend had gallbladders while she was pregnant get them taken out right away they only get bigger and more pain, so please for your sake go get them taken out! goodluck

What is the gallbladder?
The gallbladder is a structure on the underside of the liver on the right side of the abdomen. The function of the gallbladder is to store bile that is produced in the liver before the bile is secreted into the intestines. Bile secreted into the intestines helps the body digest fats.


What are gallstones?
Bile is composed of three major components: cholesterol, bile salts, and bilirubin. When the gallbladder is not functioning properly, the components of the bile become out of balance leading to the formation of solid crystals. The majority of stones (80%) are composed of cholesterol, the remainder are pigmented stones consisting of bilirubin. Stones can be large or small, single or multiple. These factors do not necessarily predict the frequency of symptoms or the severity of the disease. In many cases gallbladder symptoms are caused by the dysfunctional gallbladder that is forming stones rather than the stones themselves. The exception to this is when stones block off the cystic or common bile duct.



What are the risk factors for gallbladder disease?


Age: more common in patients greater than 40

Obesity

Rapid weight loss

Sex: more common in women, especially women of childbearing age who have had children

Estrogen intake

Ethnic background: Certain ethnic groups have a higher prevalence (Native Americans, Mexican-Americans)

Diabetics have a higher rate
Lipid lowering agents
What are the symptoms of gallbladder disease?
Asymptomatic cholelithiasis - The large number of patients with gallstones have no symptoms at all. Stones in these patients are found incidentally during medical tests for other conditions.
Biliary Colic - For patients who do have symptoms, gallbladder symptoms can be variable. Classic gallbladder attacks consist of right upper quadrant abdominal pain which is pain just under the rib cage on the right side.) The pain often radiates around the abdomen to the back and is associated with nausea and sometimes vomiting. The pain is severe and lasts from 30 minutes to several hours. Often this is followed by less intense soreness in the area that lasts for a day or so. Attacks are often instigated by a fatty meal. Gallbladder disease can also cause chronic nausea.
Cholecystitis - A more serious form of gallbladder disease, cholecystitis is an infection or inflammation of the gallbladder often caused by obstruction of the cystic duct. The symptoms are similar to biliary colic but more prolonged. Patients can also have fever, chills and an elevated white blood cell count.
Choledocholithiasis (common bile duct stones) - Stones can drop out of the gallbladder into the common bile duct. These stones often pass into the intestines without incident. Sometimes they can cause obstructions in the bile duct leading to jaundice and life threatening infections of the bile ducts.
Biliary pancreatitis - When stones pass by the pancreatic duct the pancreas can be irritated leading to this potentially serious condition. Symptoms usually consist of mid-abdominal pain radiating to the back with nausea and vomiting.

You're in a rough spot. This could be nothing but a manifestation of your reflux or this could be a VERY serious condition. When you have pain radiating to your back, the first thing I worry about is pancreatitis. An inflammation of the pancreas is a serious condition that requires immediate treatment.

Go to the ER. It's only money & not worth risking your health over.

i had my gallbladder taken out last year, your upper right side hurts like hell shoots through to your back your stomach feel bloated i hated it. vicotin would take care of the pain but i wish you luck you need to get a utrasound of you stomach area. they seen all the stones in me from ultra sound so i put surgery off for two months had it done pretty simple procedure now laporoscopic, go home same day. also don,t eat any fat or greasy foods see if it quits then you will know if thats the problem. goodluck