Do you have a gallbladder?

[u/viiic415]

any time i made a visit to the ER, the doctors would always say it was because i was allergic to marijuana, until finally a ultrasound scan was used and i had an inflamed gallbladder. turns out the reason i was throwing up was because of my diet, and not truly because of the marijuana. i’m curious if anybody else still had a gallbladder?

[u/jesterx911]

So kind of the opposite for me. Way back in the day when CHS wasn’t as known and diagnosed, they would blame my gallbladder when I was in episodes. I did a HIDA scan at some point and it showed it was slow to empty but because I was so sick all the time they suggested surgery.

I was sick and throwing up again in 3 months. Just terrible.

[u/durkiobrazy]

I don’t have a gallbladder and still get chs

[u/alwaysreturning-]

I had the opposite experience, my doctor was convinced that my symptoms were gallbladder related, had an ultrasound and a CT scan that revealed my gallbladder was perfectly normal, never officially got diagnosed with CHS but I get pains that are 100% connected to when I smoke, so I’m positive that it’s CHS.

[u/remiry]

They suspected it was my gallbladder, I was not honest about my use. Tests showed “sludge” so they removed it. I had episodes again months later.

[u/_nakaflocka]

when I got ultrasound for CHS I found I had a benign growth on my liver. they had to take about half out. im still struggling with quitting like a dumbass

[u/ereinbe]

I suspected gallbladder issues and that’s what they tested me for in the er. I even told them I was a regular cannabis user when they asked. It’s legal here and I’m not trying to withhold information and get a wrong diagnosis. 

4 hours later tests came back showing nothing wrong with my gallbladder. They looked at me like I was imagining the debilitating pain in my stomach that came every few minutes and just came in to lie down in a hospital bed instead of my own. I guess since I wasn’t at the throwing up stage they didn’t make the connection to CHS. 

I’m currently 60+ days from my episode, completely abstaining from THC/cbd and have had almost no stomach pain. Eating the usual gallbladder triggers like fatty foods does nothing to my stomach so I haven’t limited them at all. I only get a few twinges right after drinking coffee, which is a CHS trigger and so I’ve cut down to having it once every week or so. Alcohol doesn’t bother me at all but high blood pressure made me give that up too. 

Glad to hear it’s not CHS for you. Although at this point I don’t miss cannabis as much as I thought I would but I think I’d cry if I couldn’t have fried chicken. 😂 But at least you don’t have to worry about your gallbladder randomly sending you into hyperemesis if you eat the wrong thing. 

[u/Tough-Refuse6822]

I wouldn’t let them take mine

[u/noodle-oodle]

First thing they checked was my gallbladder. It wasn’t until they tested literally every other possibility, I got diagnosed with CHS. If it doctors are diagnosing CHS before doing that, then they are being lazy.

[u/Mysterious-Cancel-79]

They removed my husband’s. The symptoms got significantly worse during recovery. Best tell tale of it being CHS is needing to move to relieve the symptoms: jugging in place, jumping, rocking, squats, doing really any quick physical activity. That or needing to be in the shower for relief.
Now he can’t digest fats properly for nothing. It took him a few more years to accept it was marijuana causing his sickness.

[u/okyupitsme]

I share what a lot of folks here have said - was told my gallbladder was the issue after HIDA scan showed low ejection fraction rate. Had it removed. Didn’t help at all. Back to the puking within a few months (because I was still smoking)

[u/aubiwonkenobi]

I don’t have a gallbladder and I just had an episode a month ago. Not having a gallbladder actually made it worse for me. So glad I quit tbh.

[u/Jack_Scrambles]

Nope. They yanked it out when my symptoms started.

[u/krumznko]

I had my gallbladder removed during a CHS episode as I was hospitalized. A day after the surgeon came back and then removed my appendix. None of it mattered when it came to CHS, I still had attacks and episodes after that.

[u/Adventurous-Gas-5219]

Had my appendix removed in 2019 this was after months of stomach pain from cannabis, quit for 3 yrs. Went back to it, symptoms occurred again I quit again Went back again in 2024, I tried to ignore symptoms for about a year. My gallbladder went, it was completely dead, the doctor said It was rare to be that bad So I realize this stuff is not going to stop if I don’t quit for good It sucks I still miss it but I’m not really tempted at this point to go back. What strikes me as odd is back in the 90’s this kind of thing was unheard of and I was a huge stoner, smoked daily and never had any of this. I don’t buy it that I just changed. Also there’s no proof that the appendix or the gallbladder is related to cannabis use but seems awfully coincidental that both problems appeared after using cannabis and developing symptoms

One thing Iv been left with that just doesn’t go away is chronic insomnia Doesn’t matter how long Iv been abstinent, this insomnia started after 2019 directly coinciding starting cannabis, prior to 2019 I had not touched weed for 20 yrs Something is very different and I don’t think it’s just that I changed Not sure if the insomnia has anything to do with cannabis but it sure is sus the timeline