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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Does Recurrent Pain In The Upper Abdomen After Gallbladder Removal Mean?

I had my gallbladder taken out and I have these sharp upper stomach pains that come and go. They hit me from out of no where, they take my breath away, very painful, make me double over and they make me sweat they hurt so bad. I never know when it will happen, they last from 1 to 5 minutes. They go away as fast as they hit me. I can go for days without one, or I may have several in a day. I have never had this until my gallbladder was taken out. Do you have any suggestions as to what this might be? Thank you!

Christy Pilgrim
posted on Sat, 9 Jun 2018
Twitter Sun, 19 Aug 2018 Answered on
Twitter Fri, 24 Aug 2018 Last reviewed on
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General Surgeon,  's  Response
Hi,

This looks to me like so called postcholecystectomy syndrome which has all these symptoms and this occurs in about 10 percent of patients who undergo cholecystectomy, usually can be transient, and rarely persistent or lifelong. Symptoms include systemic symptoms such as sweating and heat sense but also dyspepsia, nausea, and vomiting, flatulence, bloating, and diarrhea, Persistent pain in the upper right abdomen. Some individuals may benefit from diet modification, such as a reduced fat diet, following cholecystectomy since it may be more difficult for digestion of fatty foods. Postcholecystectomy syndrome treatment depends on the identified violations that led to it. Typically, the patient is recommended dietary restriction table with fatty foods, enzyme preparations, antispasmodics, sometimes oral ursodeoxycholic acid can alleviate the condition.

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What Does Recurrent Pain In The Upper Abdomen After Gallbladder Removal Mean?

Hi, This looks to me like so called postcholecystectomy syndrome which has all these symptoms and this occurs in about 10 percent of patients who undergo cholecystectomy, usually can be transient, and rarely persistent or lifelong. Symptoms include systemic symptoms such as sweating and heat sense but also dyspepsia, nausea, and vomiting, flatulence, bloating, and diarrhea, Persistent pain in the upper right abdomen. Some individuals may benefit from diet modification, such as a reduced fat diet, following cholecystectomy since it may be more difficult for digestion of fatty foods. Postcholecystectomy syndrome treatment depends on the identified violations that led to it. Typically, the patient is recommended dietary restriction table with fatty foods, enzyme preparations, antispasmodics, sometimes oral ursodeoxycholic acid can alleviate the condition. Hope I have answered your query. Let me know if I can assist you further.