GallBladder Tests
There are several different tests you can undergo to determine if you have a gallbladder problem. People will often ignore pain they are having in part of their body called referred pain once they have an ultrasound showing no sludge or stones. This is in fact a grave error that people make, and the gallbladder can actually be functioning at lower than normal capacity due to disease. Normal tests such as an ultrasound, or CTscan will not pick up on any abnormality within the organ.
First let’s go over what each test is:
Ultrasound – This test looks at the secretion of the bile into the gallbladder, and the structure of the organ. It looks for sludge and stones.
CT SCAN – This test will pick up on any tissue death, infection or stones that the ultrasound didn’t.
Now that you are familiar with the two most commonly run tests there is another test called the HIDA scan. This test is used when doctors feel the organ is failing. Here is a medical overview of the test:
HIDA scan which stands for hepatobiliary iminodiacetic acid scan Shows doctors images or pictures of your liver, gallbladder, bile ducts and small intestine. Cholescintigraphy, hepatobiliary scintigraphy and hepatobiliary scan are also names for this scan.
A HIDA scan is used with radioactive material which means this cannot be done if you are pregnant, nursing or have a depressed immune system. Often this scan will last for four to six hours with a person laying flat, while the gall bladder does its best to function. After this scan has finished a percentage of how well the organ is functioning. Doctors often like to see the organ at 30% or better in order for them to leave it in the body. Other wise it can make patients sicker, as the gallbladder does not do its job properly.
