Gas Pain, Abdominal Pain, or Gallbladder Dysfunction?
I've been having recurring discomfort in my abdominal region, particularly on my right side, and I'm not sure why exactly. A few weeks ago I experienced a sudden shooting pain that lasted for all but a second. Since then, I have not experienced any kind of pain. I would describe the feeling as more of a tingling, sometimes pulsating sensation or a type of discomfort, maybe borderline pain. It's more disconcerting than anything given my symptoms and medical history.
If it is gallbladder related I want to be extremely proactive in doing anything I can to keep my gallbladder (both my mother and aunt had their gallbladders removed). For the past ten years or so I have been dealing with cystic acne, dry skin, dry eyes, IBS, ingestion, brain fog, fatigue, etc. Foolishly, I took
Antibiotics for years back when I was in college to try and deal with my acne. I was on Doxycycline, Bactrim, and Solodyn, not including any other
Antibiotics I would take whenever I had a cold, which was often.
Right now I'm working with a function medicine practitioner and am scheduled to have an ultra sound done of my abdomen soon. I'm also going to do a SIBO breath test. I had a stool test done (the Genova 2200) and unsurprisingly it revealed that I have low bacterial diversity with some common species being absent altogether. My pancreatic enzymes were also somewhat low for someone of my age (28, M).
If there are gallbladder issues at play, what can I do? Would it be wise to look into immediately performing a liver and gallbladder cleanse? I've never done those before and have honestly always been a little afraid to since complications can occur. Are there gentler ways to support the liver and gallbladder? What about using choline and vitamin B6? The practitioner I see would also like for me to experiment with ox bile at some point to see if that provides any relief. This would help indicate whether the amount, consistency, and quality of my own bile is sufficient. From my understanding, if bile is thick and not flowing well then that can inhibit pancreatic enzymes from being released into the small intestine. This could help to explain why my pancreatic enzymes levels were low according to a recent stool test.
I'm not having diarrhea, I'm not nauseous or hunched over in pain but I am concerned. I adhere to a pretty strict paleo diet and have been doing so for the past two or so years but I'm at a point where pretty much anything I eat gives me some type of abdominal discomfort and instant gas even when taking digestive enzymes with a meal. Any insight or help is appreciated.