gallstones questions

[candyfluff]

hi there i have been haivng pains in my chest for a few months now im swinging towards galstones ,i have a few questions
would they show up on an xray?
also what foods trigger it
and can the pains come and go on a daily basis?

[dietstartstomorrow]

I've had them and yes the pain comes and goes - my pain was bad at night mostly.

High fat foods trigger the pain.

[candyfluff]

how were you diagnosed ?

[dietstartstomorrow]

I went to the doctors (I had already guessed it was gallstones at this point), they refered me on. I had to go and have a camera put down my throat, so they could check if it was gallstones. Then later had my gall bladder removed.

It was all really unpleasant, and quite soon after I had DS1.

I would book up an appointment with the doctor if your concerned.

[candyfluff]

bumping for any advice on the x-ray front had one done last week due to the pains
my gp still thinks its anxiety
i know its not
anxiety doesnt make you take painkillers
ive had it long enough to know

[ABetaDad]

My experience of gallstones was a severe pain under the breast bone that then spread to the right tracing the bottom of my rib cage right round to the back eventually and then spreading upwards to the right shoulder blade.

General feeling of sickness and eventually vomititng if you get biliary colic when the bile duct blocks. Agonising pain at its most severe.

GPs are often very dismissive of gall bladder pain. Ultrasound of the gall bladder after liver tests (to exclude other cuses) is the normal route to diagnosis.

It takes a long tme to get diagnosis and the symptoms are most severe after a fatty meal. You need to keep pusing for the basisc tests and an immediate referal to a consultant.

[ABetaDad]

That is:

"You need to keep pushing for the basic tests by the GP and then an immediate referal to a consultant."

[candyfluff]

thanks for your reply abetadad
have had bloods done one showed up high liver enzymes and the second one was normal
im getting the pain in shoulder blades too
but this pain around my ribs is both sides?
does that fit?

[FluffyBunnyGoneBad]

Ask them to send you for an ultrasound as they don't always show up on an x-ray because of the ribs being in the way. Pain is normally triggered by fatty foods as the gall bladder is producing bile which can't escape and it produces more bile for fatty food. The fat often comes out in poo, making it fluffy and float, often pale. Urine is dark.

[ABetaDad]

Sometimes the pain felts like someone was crushing my ribs from both sides but mainly to the right.

The shoulder blade pain though is quite indicative. The liver enzyme tests are not always indictive as mine were negative but on the ultrasound I had loads of gall stones.

This piece contains quite a good description of the pain and other symptoms and treatments