I was kind of shocked to read about this since I've had my gall bladder removed 20 years ago.
Besides the point, they should have never sent you home without doing further test to determine the problem.
Besides the point, they should have never sent you home without doing further test to determine the problem.I agree. You need to go back to the hospital. So irresponsible on their part. My mother had pancreatis, and had pain somewhat similar, however, it moved into not being able to breathe well. It's a condition you want to rule out though. And pleurisy I've had as well. It does sound like that from your description. But geeez, you shouldn't have to be on Free Republic to diagnose your condition. Shame on your hospital's employees; I'll be offering up some aves (Hail Marys) for you.
“In very rare circumstances, you can have gall stones even though you’ve had your gall bladder removed.”
I’m a GI RN and I see this frequently. More often, it occurs within 1 to 3 months after having the gall bladder removed; more often, in women; and more often after a significant hormonal change such as childbirth. Usually this can be remedied with an ERCP (Endoscopic Retrograde Cholangiopantocreatography). This is usually done in a larger endoscopy center or hospital OR under general anesthesia or propofol-versed-fentanyl without intubation. A scope is inserted orally to the ampulla, a very small incision may be made in the ampulla with a device inserted through the scope to allow a small rubber-tipped wire insertion. The wire is inserted into the common bile duct under fluoroscopic guidance. Depending on what they see they may insert a balloon dilator or other device over the wire and push it past the stones (or sometimes it is just a pasty sludge). Then inflate the balloon and pull back, dragging the stones out and usually a lot of bile. However, if there are stones or sludge blocking the duct, there are almost always significant changes in blood test results....so they should have narrowed this down at the initial ER visit.