Causes For Heartburn
Does anyone know whether surgery to remove gallbladder cause Heartburn, why and how long is it going to last?
I just had a laparoscopic surgery to remove the gallbladder because of gallstones. A week after that, I started to have acid Reflux and heartburn. I don’t know whether it’s caused by bile reflux due to the removal of the gallbladder or whether the 2 tablets of Omeprazole 20mg I’ve been taking is causing the problem or whether it’s the 1 tablet of Etoricoxib 120mg I’ve been taking for the past 6 days. I’m really suffering now. I wonder how long is it going to last. Has anyone who had gone through a gallbladder removal surgery tell me if they had the same experience?
I just had a lap choley 16 days ago. I felt great for the first four days until I woke up with extreme nausea and burning in my stomach. This has continued ever since and I have been scouring the web for answers. I had an endoscopy this Monday and the GI found bile in my stomach. I had previously been on Prilosec for what I thought was Acid Reflux. The GI said to stop taking it and instead initially tried Carafate with limited success. He is now trying me on Questran which theoretically soaks up bile in the intestine. I am a bit concerned since this is mostly used for bile diarrhea and I do not have that, only reflux. I asked how common this problem is after surgery, since it seems many people on the internet experience it. The GI said it is very uncommon but not unheard of. I had a post-op visit with my surgeon, who never heard of this nor had it as a complication with any of his patients.
So from what I have been able to gather, in some unfortunates post cholecystectomy, bile can either spill on to the intestines causing diarrhea or reflux into the stomach. If the bile continues to reflux it can cause Gerd, or they can occur simultaneously. It is difficult to tell the difference without further tests. However, I have heard it takes 3-6 months for the digestive system to adjust to not having a gall bladder. Otherwise, Actigall is sometimes tried, which supposedly thins the bile and last resort is surgery.
I will keep my fingers crossed for both of us that we are just slow healers and this will resolve on its own.
What causes Indigestion And Heartburn
