Guest guest Posted May 24, 2001 Report Share Posted May 24, 2001 Hi my name is Carmen, and I had my gallbladder removed about 7 years ago. and am still having trouble eating like I used to. It drives me crazy. I look forward to learning more from this list. Thanks Carmen http://www.newera-marketing.com/s/cp20151 http://teamideals.com/leaders.cgi/health Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 25, 2001 Report Share Posted May 25, 2001 Hi Carmen! It is not unusual for someone to continue to have indegestion and even gb like attacks without a gallbladder. One reason could be that you are still developing cholestorol liver stones (chunks) that continue to block your flow of bile. A typical symtom of blocked bile ducts would be dark stools and constipation. Most likely, if you had gb problems... " you should NOT be eating the way you used to! " This is not to say that you should not be able to enjoy every type of food in moderation. The key to a healthy liver involves many things, but the essentials in my opinion include: Drink lot's of filtered water each day. Avoid dairy products or eat them very little as they clog the system. Make sure to get enough EFA's like flaxseed oil. Eat plenty of fruits and vegies (8-10 servings a day!) Take granulated lecithin as it is a key component in a smooth bile. Consider taking bile salts and Taurine. Flush out you liver 1-2 times a year. There is plenty of info on this site to get you back a healthy liver and fun eating. After 7 attacks and two years worth of work... I believe that I am cured AND I still have my gallbladder! Good luck! ken Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2004 Report Share Posted May 13, 2004 Jennie, Thank you for the input! I will be first seeing my primary care dr! I have not called him yet though! I am trying to do alot of research on it before i go in ! Thats just how i am cause i have had bad luck with drs in the past! So i always do research before going in! I know call me crazy lol! Thanks again Jules xponder70 <xponder70@...> wrote: Hi there. The first question I have, is what type of doctor are you seeing? When I first had symptoms I saw my primary care physician who did a blood test. They looked for signs for lupus, lyme disease and the RA factor. The RA factor is not conclusive, but most people with RA have an elevated one. The reason it's not conclusive is that some people with RA do not have an elevated RA factor, and some people have an elevated RA factor but do not have RA. But it is one indicator. For me, my primary care provider looked at my elevated RA factor, my symptoms and my family history of severe RA and referred me to a rheumatologist. The next indicator is your symptoms. If you are seeing a rhuematologist, he/she will look for physical signs/symptoms of RA. He/she will likely bend and twist and squeeze and press on certain joints to see how they feel. If he/she suspects RA, he/she may prescribe some typical RA medications and see if the symptoms react positively to the drugs. If they do, the way your symptoms reacted can be another indicator. What happens quite often is you first get symptoms like you have, all over. Mine were in knees, hips, shoulders, elbows, hands and feet. The pain sort of bounced around those spots. My rheumy says when that happens, the RA is " brewing. " It will almost always take some time to get a diagnosis because the rheumy will monitor and track these " indicators " until enough add up and he/she can declare you have RA. It took 9 months before I was diagnosed. It's more of an art than a science at this point. Which is why it is most important to have a really really good rheumatologist. They are not all created equal. You are best served by doing lots of research on your own (or reading posts here from , which will point you to all the latest news) and then determining for yourself if your rheumy is up on the latest stuff. Eventually the symptoms settle down and will mostly be in hands and feet, but not always. I still have pain in knees and elbows and hips sometimes, but hands and feet are the worst. Any good rheumy will take their time diagnosing RA, so that it will be an accurate diagnosis. But a good rheumy will NOT let you languish in pain or have to deal with swelling and not being able to function. RA symptoms must be treated aggressively with medication to AVOID/PREVENT swelling as swelling causes joint damage, painful and irreversible joint damage. This has to start before you are diagnosed. See a post above or yesterday regarding early agressive treatment of RA for more information about this. I was first started on Bextra and had occasional cortisone injections in certain joints. When the symptoms progressed and Bextra wasn't cutting it anymore (which is what someone with RA can expect since it's a progressive disease) we switched prednisone. When he was ready to diagnose me with RA, we added methotrexate. When that wasn't cutting it anymore, we added Humira, a biological drug which you should do some research about (the other biologicals are Enbrel and Remicade). The biolgicals are the best thing we have to slow the progression of the disease and prevent what previously were always disabling effects of having RA. Not everyone can take these and they don't work for everyone, but when they work, I consider them miracle drugs. I hope that is not too much information. Good luck with your doctor and let us know what they say about your pain. Jennie > I just have a few ?s! How is one diagnosed with RA? I just want to > know what to expect when i go to the dr! And what can i do about my > pain i hurt all over and have for almost 4 weeks now ! Its mainly > when i first wake up and then late afternoon! I have it real bad in > my knees and arms and ankles and hands! It even hurts to type this > write now! > Thanks > Brat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 13, 2004 Report Share Posted May 13, 2004 Brat, My rhemy ordered the following bloodtests: Rheumatoid Factor, Sedimentation Rate, C-Reactive Protein, and Uric Acid. I guess the Uric Acid test was to rule out gout. It was the only test that was normal for me. He also ordered an ex-ray of my hands. He prescribed a prednisone dose pack for the pain while we were waiting for the labs to come back. That worked wonderfully well, but you don't want to be on that long because of all the bad side effects. Sue On Thursday, May 13, 2004, at 10:23 AM, brat7572 wrote: > I just have a few ?s! How is one diagnosed with RA? I just want to > know what to expect when i go to the dr! And what can i do about my > pain i hurt all over and have for almost 4 weeks now ! Its mainly > when i first wake up and then late afternoon! I have it real bad in > my knees and arms and ankles and hands! It even hurts to type this > write now! > Thanks > Brat > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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