Question:
Curious about what the symptoms might be.

Here is the whole scope of things, sorry this might be kind of long. I had my RNY on August 31, 2004. In mid-April 2005 I had horrible pain at the top of my abdomen. It was like being in hard labor with waves of pain. It went from under my rib cage across top of abdomen and under the other rib cage in waves of pain. Any movement or jarring caused sharp pains in the same area. The centrifical force of me taking an on ramp in my car increased the pain. Each step I took increased a sharp pain, all of this on top of the waves of pain that I was having. I truly believed I was trying to get an obstructions. After laying in my bed and sitting up indian style and rocking I decided to takes some Dulcolax, Tums and Colace. Anything to force through whatever was in there before a blockage could occur. On Friday May 13, 2005 after eating a lunch with a moderate amount of fat in it I got the waves of pain starting again. Not nearly so severe and I could stay at work, but it was same place with wave after wave, just like labor pains, only high up across the top of the abdomen, and worsened after supper as well. Each time I have eaten since (esp. over weekend and yesterday) it seems I can feel it and it is somewhat uncomfortable like something is creating a spasm in my upper abdomen. An ultrasound of the gall bladder showed no stones, thickening of the walls or sludge and the biliary duct was the perfect size of .38 for my age. Anyone have any idea or similar symptoms?    — chelle_0608 (posted on May 17, 2005)

May 17, 2005
This does sound like gallbladder, I did not have stones,but my gall bladder was not working properly and ultra sound did not show this I had a test with some dye done and it showed my gallbladder was not working and I know the pain it sometimes feel like a heart attack, see if they will run more test. Good Luck Martha
   — happy66

May 17, 2005
Yes, absolutely. Ultrasound showed now stones so I had a Hida scan. Still no image of stones but it did show decreased function. My surgeon recommended removal. I had it out and it was full of stones and sludge that did not image. go figure. It seems to happen all the time to people. I did some research which said that the stones are comprised of materials that sometimes do not image well and often are undetected until the gall bladder is actually removed. My advice, go to the hospital while you're having the attack and insist on a Hida scan.
   — scbabe

May 17, 2005
It sound to me, that if your pain comes from after eating, that it might be the start of an ulcer. It still may be your gallbladder. Just because you don't have stones forming doesn't mean that it can't act up when you eat certain food. If you doc has ruled out the gallbladder have the ulcer thing checked out. Yo should not have that kind of pain at this far out. Dont wait, make sure it's a doc that knows RNY procedures, something may have come un-done that they can't see in the ultrasound.
   — Marilyn C.

May 17, 2005
Did they run any blood work??? It sounds to me like PANCREATITIS. I've had it a few times. Does the pain go straight through to your back?? You should mention this to your doc, because this is a very serious condition...that can be treated. But I have heard that people with WLS surgery are apt to getting this. Good luck and if you need to ask me any more questions about it please feel free to email me at [email protected].
   — Franca

May 17, 2005
Please go to the doctor my sister had the WLS in 2002 and these same symtoms started coming about mid 2003 they thought it was just gas then they ran all sorts of test and nothing about a yr. later the pain started again we had to take her to the emergency room because she couldn't even walk, they checked and decided to do emergency surgery of the gall bladder and when they went in they found there was nothing wrong with it and it was her intestines were rotting inside her stomach and had to remove 6-12 feet of her intestines then throughout about a year and half became severely mal-nutritioned. She is no longer with us and she was only 37. I don't want to scare you but you don't want to suffer like she did or like i'm suffering now. Go to the doctor.
   — mamita093

May 18, 2005
Hi, I was surprised to see your posting, several weeks ago I had similar symptons, pain across the upper ab, though my pains traveled all the way through out my abdomen. I agree it felt worse than labor pains. I had my wls 2 years ago, and my gallblader out last August. Everything was check, chest xrays, ultrasound, CAT scan. I spent 11 hours at the hospital, was sent home with no answers. Milder sypmmtons continued through the next day(along w/ a migrain)my GP gave me a GI cocktail and a shot for the migrain, the next day I felt better. I worry what it was and that it will occur again. I do get the upper right side under the ribs pain several times a week.If you get any med explainations, please pass them on! Rebecca
   — nube41

May 18, 2005
Hi, YES I've had this pain for about a year before my RNY and it got a lot worse after. The gallbladder was gone in 2000, I have had ulcers before surgery and still have them. I had some tests done to check the function of my esophagus and the pressure level is very high and I'm having regular HARD spasms there. Really haven't gotten any help from the doc's, muscle relaxers, anti-spasm meds, pain meds. I went back to my allergy doc and re-tested and showed reactions to dairy, beef, chocolate, shellfish,peanuts along with the other stuff, trees mold etc. Dairy has been the major part of my food since bypass. I stopped all dairy and beef and the spasms are gone for the most part. So of course I got pushy and ate a hamburger. Within 60 min. the spasms were back, the nausea, the bad pain. I'm still not getting any help from the docs, but things are a little better now. I just wanted to throw this in, I sure never thought it was food "intolerances". It's worth trying. I hope you figure it out soon, I sure know how painful it is. Also most my blood work, tests were all normal. Nut
   — Nut Picker

May 28, 2005
I had Lap RNY on 8/25/04 - around mid February I started having pains in my chest. They would last about 2-3 minutes and would literally take my breath away. Around 2/18 I had 4 "attacks" in 1 hour. I was panting and in so much pain I was shaking. I went to the ER. They gave me a GI cocktail, did lab work and it showed elevated pancreatic enzymes. I was in the hospital for 3 days - didn't have any more "attacks". They did an MRI, CT scan and nothing showed up. The pancreatic enzymes were normal the next day. I ended up with no real answer to my problem. However, since then I believe what happens is that my pouch goes into spasms. I have found that if I drink some very warm water, take deep relaxing breaths and lay down the pain will stop. It always seems to happen when I'm in a hurry or if I drink something irritating (Minute Maid light lemonade). I don't have a gallbladder but when I was in the hospital they still checked for gall stones in my pancreatic and biliary ducts. Try the warm water/relaxation next time it happens and see if it helps. BTW my pain was square in the middle of my upper abdomen right at the breastbone. May God bless you.
   — jnetk