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Server abdominal pain

On 1st june I have had severe pain in abdomin with bad sweats, pain when eating. Had 3 admissions into hospital in 3 weeks. Had ct scan and endoscopy which came back normal and doctors putting it down to ibs/functional bowel disease. Myself and crohns consultant disputes this to b the case. Waitin to b sent for a capsule endoscopy. Pain really bad even oromorph and other painkillers not working. Any advice welcome.
 
Hi Peter,

Where is your pain located exactly?

I had severe pain that would start in my stomach and radiate through to my back, radiating throughout my back and sometimes the sides of my stomach. I also felt the need to burp during the pain, which would last for up to 12 hours at a time. It was excruciating. This was made worse after eating, especially a high fat meal. The pain was so bad I could not find any comfortable position, lying down, standing up, I could not deal with it.

I did some research and self diagnosed myself with gallbladder issues. After experiencing this pain coming and going for 9 months, I eventually went to the ER where they diagnosed gallstones and a fatty liver. The 2 organs are connected. Your gallbladder stores the bile that your liver creates and dumps the bile into your colon to digest food. If you have problems with your gallbladder, severe pain can ensue in your abdomen.

The doctor advised me to remove my gallbladder. I find that doctors only want an easy fix and don't address the root cause of anything, ever.

After a lot of research, I started taking milk thistle daily and have found that the pain has gone away within hours, only coming rarely and 1/100th of the severity, can be treated with advil. Milk thistle detoxes the liver. The liver filters all the toxins out of your body and filters all of your blood every 3 mins. If your liver is fatty or not functioning at optimal levels, a lot of issues can start. It is estimated that approximately 70% of North Americans have fatty liver which is the first of three stages of liver disease. These statistics are staggering. Milk thistle is a natural remedy and has been clinically proven to reverse liver disease and damage. I would suggest trying milk thistle if you are as desperate as I was. I bought the more expensive stuff from a health food store and paid about $30. You can probably get it much cheaper over the counter at a drugstore. I used both types and find them to work similarly.

The jury is still out on whether gallstones can be treated naturally, but I'm willing to try, especially now that the pain has subsided. People are under the impression that the gallbladder is an unnecessary organ, however, this is not the case. The gallbladder holds the bile. Without it, bile is constantly dumped into your colon without any rhyme or reason. This increases your risk for colon cancer as well as ongoing conditions that cause severe pain and the inability to digest food properly.

Gallbladder illness can also lead to pancreatitis which I have not had, but can also cause severe pain in the abdomen. Pancreatitis is treated with clear fluids and strong pain meds until the pain subsides and sometimes results in long hospital stays.

Something I found recently was gallbladder massage. Your organs are not fixed inside of your body and move around, somewhat. I found that pressing in the area where the gallbladder is located (on the right side right below your rib cage) when the stomach pain starts, with 2-3 fingers and massaging in a circular motion helps ease the pain, sometimes within minutes. I press down hard and sometimes just hold it down for several minutes.

I am not a doctor, and in no way am giving medical advice, just my 2 cents.
 
A_woman and Peter,

I had the same experience for years and it turned out to be gallstones. I let them take out my gallbladder and although unlike others, I have not gained weight and I can in fact digest foods better than before, but I ended up with the rare condition of bile salts Diarrhea. It is constant, and forever and only one treatment: I have to take a powder called Questran for the rest for my life. Unfortunately there is no homeopathic or natural alternative to Questran.

Now to be clear, the Questran works beautifully. But to know that after years of watching what I ate and keeping Crohns (specifically the diarrhea) under control for 20 plus years with little medication and mostly diet, it is now ruined by having my gallbladder removed because I would have uncontrollable diarrhea every day of my life without this stupid powder. However, it does not work for everyone, so I am lucky in that regard, plus the powder is very cheap.

Please try any alternative ways before having you gallbladder removed. My surgeon told me I am the only patient he has ever had that ended up with bile salts diarrhea, but I don't find comfort in that. But that makes me wonder if I am the only Crohns patient he has performed this surgery on...

It is also very probable that I had excess bile in my body already (for which there is no treatment) and having the gallbladder removed just sent my body over the edge. So I say this not to be gross but to educate because I cannot find this anywhere else on the internet: if you poo has ever been green tinted, you have excess bile,and it can cause symptoms that make you think your Crohns is out of control (diarrhea, extreme nausea, feeling run down, running a fever, night sweats), and therefore you should really think twice before having the gallbladder taken out completely.

It IS a necessary organ and I despise reading quotes from doctors who say otherwise. Maybe the majority of people can live without theirs, but people like me desperately needed their gallbladder!
 
Hi TwiceAroundTheBlock,

The BSD is caused by overproduction of bile, right? Which comes back to your liver...have you ever had your liver checked to see if you've got fatty liver?

In your case, I would discourage milk thistle as it would most likely cause further diarrhea. I wonder if your liver is over producing bile due to a PH imbalance?

I would suggest if you can, to purchase PH balance strips. You simply urinate on the strip and it will let you know where your PH balance is. I would bet that it is acidic which is causing the over production of bile; acidic environment creates further acidity. If this is the case, all you would need to do is to change your PH balance to alkaline and this would solve the problem. I know this sounds very simple, but I think sometimes the medical profession over complicates medical conditions. The human body is quite simple in fact.

The quickest way to create an alkaline environment in your body that would not cause diarrhea is apple cider vinegar. I would recommend drinking 2-3 tablespoons of ACV 3 times per day for approximately 3-4 weeks while continuing to take the Questran (cholestyramine). This should create an alkaline environment and then you can test out if you are still dependent on the Questran.
 
On 1st june I have had severe pain in abdomin with bad sweats, pain when eating. Had 3 admissions into hospital in 3 weeks. Had ct scan and endoscopy which came back normal and doctors putting it down to ibs/functional bowel disease. Myself and crohns consultant disputes this to b the case. Waitin to b sent for a capsule endoscopy. Pain really bad even oromorph and other painkillers not working. Any advice welcome.
Do you think you have Crohn's specifically? Or just that you have something more than IBS?
 
A_Woman Thanks for the advice. I have my liver check regularly (I guess due to the Lialda) and it's fine. (no fatty liver) For some reason when I logged in to reply, your particular message disappeared so I cannot refer to it right now, but I also have my urine checked regularly and I have never been told anything is coming back acidic.

And I am leery of taking apple cider vinegar as I have read it's not a good idea for people with colon diseases due to it's acidity. I will keep it in mind however if the questran quits working, but for now I am doing really well, and you know how it is; if it's going well don't mess with it.

I just hate to see anyone else have their gallbladder yanked out if they can do something about the stones instead.

:rosette2:
 
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