Hello,

Thanks for your queries at DoctorSpring.com.

I understand that you had cholecystectomy (gall bladder surgery) over a year ago and are currently experiencing high calcium blood levels and daily diarrhea, gas, bloating and cramps. In my opinion, these symptoms are most likely related to the aftermath of the cholecystectomy you have undergone in the past.

Understand that you will need to drastically change your diet (if you haven't already) for the next few years of your lifetime and adopt these dietary changes as a permanent lifestyle choice. You are living without a gallbladder which means that your ability to digest fatty foods is diminished and you will have to cut (or reduce) them from your diet. Stick to eating natural, minimally processed foods and include lots of vegetables, fruits, legumes and nuts in your diet. This will help you lose weight, as well as minimize assaults on your digestive tract, thereby minimizing symptoms (that mimic IBS). Furthermore, this diet will help to lower your cholesterol and keep your sugars in check.

Apart from this, there are complications that could arise after a gall bladder removal surgery. If the symptoms are causing you much frustration, consider revisiting the surgeon that performed the operation, or any reputable gastrointestinal surgeon in your area. There is a complication in which the sphincter of Oddi can become dysfunctional giving rise to symptoms of abnormal bile flow. In some cases, this can be treated with medications known as bile acid binding agents such as cholestyramine.

As far as cancer is concerned, watch for signs of pain starting in the abdomen, and radiating to the back, jaundice, extreme weight loss, and itching (pancreatic cancer). Stomach and colon cancers can present with blood in the stool or nausea and vomiting blood.

From what you have described however, cancer at this time is unlikely and your condition most likely is due to complications of the gall bladder surgery in your past. Rest assured that this does commonly occur in patients after the surgery. The best approach is to follow a strict diet, and address the possibility of complications of the surgery with your local gastroenterology surgeon. An ERCP (endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography) may be necessary.

Hope this helps. Please ask any follow up questions, if any. Take care.