Gallstones, you has suffered from this and not been obese or eat a high fat diet?

[yoodle]

I am going crazy for the last four weeks, I thought I was pregnant, ectopic, ovarian cyst now my gp reckons its gallstones.

I am aware of something on the top right of my abdomen just under my ribcage but I have pain that goes down my side into my pelvis and sometimes moves across my stomach. I have loose stools or go 2- 3 times a day.

This has been for the last four weeks with many pregnancy symptoms like queasiness, dizzy, metallic taste etc. Pregnancy has def been ruled out with hometests and hcg test at hospital yesterday. Other tests also exclude anything to do with my appendix.

When I have looked up gallstones it talks about people who eat a high fat diet or are obese. I am neither of these. My gp has given me an antibotic to take but I am a little reluctant to take it three times a day when she is not even sure I have that. I just need this scan that takes up to 6 weeks to confirm it.

I would love to hear from anyone who had gallstones and was generally healthy and not obese to hear your symptoms and your treatment.

I will take the antibotic just in case but I really wish the could be 100% about what they are treating.

I can feel whatever it is all the time especially if I lean forward or lie on my side.

Many thanks

[yoodle]

bump

[Babieseverywhere]

My father got gallstones and he was fit, thin in his early 50's.

I got them also, prob triggered by pregnancy hormones the doctors think. Whilst I am fat, I did meet several thin young ladies also suffering post pregnancy whilst being in hospital for treatment.

Symptoms can vary a lot depending on where the stones are lodged and if anything is infected. I threw up a lot and later on when infected a lot of pain, turned yellow and had red wee.

My father never threw up, just felt unwell and later on bad pain.

Sending unmumsnetty ((hugs)) your way, gallstones are no fun, hope you feel better very soon.

[yoodle]

thank you and sorry to hear what you went through, thats all you need after your body going through pregnancy.

so do you think i have gallstones, even though my only real ongoing symptom is nausea? my pain has tended to be lower on the right side of my ab and never goes to my back and not that often.

the thing that is bugging me the most is being aware of something there all the time, it feels like someone has opened me up and pushed something in between my inside then closed me up. that is not in a gall bladder symptoms lists i've read.

[happygilmore]

My DH had it at 37, fit, healthy, good diet etc. Just because most people fit a certain category, doesn't mean everyone does. The GP said he'd seen teenagers with it.

Could the antibiotics be in case it is an ulcer? That is what they thought DH had initially (he had the camera put down to check but it was negative), but then an ultrasound confirmed gallstones. Op is keyhole surgery and he recovered very quickly.

Hope you get better soon.

[pingusmumtoo]

Had gallstones at 21 - not overweight, no high fat diet ... just unlucky I guess. It did take me a week of going into the doctors every day and eventually taking my mum before the GP agreed to admit me. Turned out a gallstone was blocking my bile duct and I had mega pancreatitis, one more day and I'd not be here now .... ended up having gallbladder out and was left with a huge scar - keyhole went wrong and then further complications....
Many years later my mum (a nurse herself) discovered the letter the GP had written ... along the lines of ... attention seeking child, mother is forcing me to admit !
Ahhhh - I do so love the doctors !

[moosemama]

I have gallstones and whilst I am overweight now, I wasn't when I first started having problems. I've had my most severe attacks within six months of each pregnancy each time and the rest of the time I'm just aware of it and a bit nauseaus. I declined having mine removed, as I've never had a bad attack unless I've recently been pregnant and don't intend to have anymore children, but have left it open with the consultant, so that if it gets worse I will go back.

I was also told that regular dieting, fasting or a very low fat diet can lead to gallstones. Sounds odd, but its to do with your body not needing to release as much bile as there's no fat to break down, so then things in the gallbladder get sort of backed up, then sludgey and finally you get gallstones.

The pain does sound in the right place. With me it can feel it just under my right ribs and when I have an attack my whole abdomen goes into spasm with the worst part being across from right to left just below my ribcage. I also get awful upset stomachs when having an attack, as well as the nausea and dizziness.

Not sure what the antibiotics would be for, unless they thing you might have an infection caused by a blocked stone?

[yoodle]

pingusmumtoo - does not give you much hope in doctors!

thank you for both of your replies. i just do not feel 100% that i have gallstones. the pain never is at the top of my stomach like i have read, its runs down form my rib cage to my lower abs in the pelvic area on the right side.

also when i was in the hospital yesterday they ran a few blood tests to check my appendix was not inflamed, kidneys etc. The doc said that if there was problem in that are it would have picked it up, so I am assuming it would have picked up gallstones? i forgot to mention this to my doc, she only scanned the letter before saying she thinks its gallstones. i thought about this after and rang up to tell her but she was gone home, she was not in yesterday and is not in until tomorrow pm??? All the docs at my surgery seem to work part time hours.

is your surgery like that? when i younger my gp worked five days a week at the surgery, i am sick of having to go through the whole story to another doctor!

so think i will wait until i speak to her tomorrow pm before i start the antibiotic, teh doc at the hospital said she does not think it can be anything to do with my organs in that area and thats its more like a gynecological issue. i feel like i am having to convince docs something is not right and i am not happy with them just guessing like she has so far, pregnancy, ectopic, cyst and now gallstones. just bloody scan me now and i will know what treatment i need. i asked if she could hurry my scan up and she said she cant - rubbish!

do i need to collapse before they act?

[happygilmore]

I don't think gallstones would necessarily show up on blood tests, there's a few things they look for (from memory) but DH didn't have it. His pain was pretty much constant at the end, not the attacks people talk about it. I think it radiated a bit but was to the side like yours, although not as low.

A scan should pick it up though.

[moosemama]

Has anybody mentioned mesenteric adenitis? Its most common in children and teens, but adults can get it and it does seem to fit a lot of your symptoms.

some info here and here

As happygilmore says, the scan is really the only definitive way to confirm whether or not you have gallstones and as ridiculous as it is, the only way to get that done quicker would be if you collapsed - I had mine rushed through after a particularly bad gallstone attack was mistaken for a heart attack.

Other than that - a decent Gastro Consultant would just be able to poke you in the right spot and you would definitely know that you have them then.

To be honest, I think your GP should have referred you to a Gastroenterologist anyway, as she's probably gone as far as she can without specialist knowledge. Could you perhaps request a referral next time you speak to her and see which appointment turns up first?

My doctors are the same. Its a teaching practice and a we get different doctor every time we book an appointment. If we want continuity of care we have to wait weeks for a follow up appointment with the same person and many times we have been through everything with one doctor, only for their rotation to finish and we have to start all over again with another one.

[Metalhead]

I had gallstones in my 20s, and the pain was more like really bad heartburn and backache, very central as well rather than down one side. I had two attacks, the second one was possibly more excruciating than childbirth so I decided to have my gallbladder removed straight away to prevent any recurrence! It was picked up in a blood test as I remember, as certain waste products accumulate in the body when the stones block the gallbladder canals (or something along those lines... I'm no expert!)

[yoodle]

hello
just spoke to nhs direct for their opinion, she was really nice and said that i should just take the antibotics and if i still feel the same then they have to investiagte further, they need to see if i have an infection or not.
i'll do that and i will ask to be referred to a Gastroenterologist too.

[yoodle]

I feel really down tonight. I spoke to my gp over the phone today to see if she had read the letter i gave her from the hospital. The doc there said she thinks its nothing to do with the top half of my abdomen and that its a gynalogical issue and that my gp should speed up my scan. My gp seemed really irritated by this and said she can not speed it up. Last Friday she said she would call to see if they could and when I asked her if she had she said no. She basically insinuated that I am making myself think I can feel something and that she could feel nothing??? I am so upset, she basically thinks I am some hypochondriac. I have not been to the gp for years except for pregnancy. I feel like she is on some ego trip and does not want to be questioned. I do not think I have gallstones, when I do get pain it runs down towards my pelvic area not at the top or to my shoulder. I have not heard from anyone with gallstones who were aware of something there except for feeling pain in that area. I either have something inflamed in there or something has grown there. I can feel it 24 hours a day which means its on my mind most of the time. I feel alone in this! I am have emailed about the cost of a private scan at my hospital so i hope i can afford it.

[Metalhead]

Poor you! It's so frustrating when you know you're not right, and the health professionals won't believe you. But you have to remain firm and insist your GP take you seriously! If she doesn't then change GPs.

I often felt my previous GP brushed off any concerns (a sort of 'wait a week and if it doesn't go away come back' attitude), so I changed surgeries, and my new one is much more sympathetic and on the ball when it comes to making referrals and ordering tests etc. It is a bit of a hassle with the paperwork and everything, but definitely worth it! (Or if there's more than GP at your surgery just ask to see someone else there)

[BallerinaBetty]

I had gallstones after my third pregnancy and I didn't fit any of the boxes either but a nurse did tell me that being on the pill increases the risk (even tho its 10 years since I came off it). It took months and months for me to be diagnosed and then the scan was delayed - and even then the operation was delayed until another consultant went ballistic (had to have a stent fitted due to gallstones blocking the bile duct and severe pancreatitis). I had antibiotics too. Ask for a liver function test - that will show if there's a problem with gallstones and should be able to be done quicker than a scan.

I'm really sorry you are having a difficult time and I know how hard it can be to get the doctors to take it seriously. Hope you get sorted out soon.