Okay so I feel like I’m stuck in diagnostic limbo and would love to hear if anyone’s been through something similar. 30F, overweight but otherwise healthy.
I’ve had 3 major attacks of pain so far within the last ~month. 2 sent me to the ER, and 1 probably should have but I think I passed out from the pain or maybe hyperventilating ✌️It’s excruciating (like 7–8/10), to the point where I can’t think straight.
Pain is across my upper abdomen under my ribs. It feels like everything in there has been scraped raw. Leaning forward helps maybe a tiny bit? Each episode lasts 1–4 hours and then just stops. It’ll still hurt for a bit, but it’s like I can tell it’s over if you know what I mean?
Some things I’ve noticed:
- This mostly happens in the middle of the night (2–4am), but earliest was like 9pm.
- It does seem worse after fatty food (not perfectly consistent, but noticeable)
- I do get milder pain bouts too, but the big ones are on another level
Tests so far:
- Ultrasound: gallstones
- CT: revised to one small stone + sludge, no inflammation, “small gallbladder” (not sure what that last one means, haha)
- Endoscopy: mild gastritis + bile reflux (that doctor said this was unlikely to cause the pain I’ve been having)
- Bloods: mostly normal, slightly elevated liver enzymes. Dr said this was more in line with fatty liver.
PPIs haven’t really helped. Anti-spasmodics might have helped, but it’s hard to tell. Between pain attacks, I feel largely fine. I was also put on Depas recently, which is like a central nervous system depressant (like the “don’t drive while taking this” type) and I think it’s at least made me less anxious. It’s definitely made me less annoyed by my boss 😂 So far it’s hard to tell what meds are working or not, since the really bad attacks have been a little spaced out.
I also lost ~30kg (66 lbs) over 9 months on Wegovy (now stopped due to all this), which I know can trigger gallbladder issues. Almost every doctor I spoke to said it was unlikely to be related, but given the known link I decided it was safer to stop taking it for now.
So this is where I’m stuck. Both the GI and surgeon aren’t convinced it’s my gallbladder, even though in my non-expert opinion this feels very textbook gallbladder? Next step is a HIDA scan, so hopefully that will tell me more. Not booked in yet though.
At this point I honestly don’t care what it is!! I just want the right answer and for the pain to stop. I guess I’m more worried about going down the wrong path than anything.
So I’m wondering if anyone else has had severe, episodic pain like this but only mild/inconclusive imaging? Did it still turn out to be the gallbladder, or did you find something else was the cause?
I’m lucky that my doctors have been very nice (even if the GI is maybe a little condescending), and I don’t feel dismissed, per se. Just a little frustrated that everything seems so vague even though the pain is SO bad.
Would really appreciate any experiences 🙏