What do gallstones feel like

That's for posting, currently in hospital via A And E with a bad attack, they are going to remove mine while I am here but I feel so unprepared and weighing up the pros and cons. You have reassured me.

Did you have to change your diet after?

cant edit on the app but just to add again it was dietary changes and losing weight that reduced the sludge for me.

@Summervibes24 the sludge still shows up on ultrasound, mine definitely did. It's the first thing they mentioned to me "there's a lot of sludge around your gallbladder". So yes go back for a second opinion if you're still in pain but please be assured sludge would show up on ultrasound too.

Sorry to jump on this threat but I too suspect I have gallbladder issues too however when I had a scan last October it was clear. Fortunately the pain has subsided for now although I sometimes feel a slight flare up.

Worried I might have this gallbladder sludge which doesn't show up on the US. Has anyone had just this, how was it diagnosed and what was done about it?

I went to the GP about my issue, then private and both told me they couldn't find anything so I was ok which has left me hanging.

Honestly OP you are already doing the right things by monitoring your diet and keeping an eye on things. If it gets particularly painful (pain/throwing up/any yellowing to your skin) get straight to hospital. They can and do take gallbladders out as emergency surgery when necessary (partly why the waiting list is so long is emergencies take priority- as they should). I have been waiting now for 15 months and still no appt date for my op but in that time I know so many people who were diagnosed after me but have had their removed quicker due to being higher risk than me. Please do not over worry. Speak with your GP on Monday and await the scan from there. If in doubt take yourself to hospital if you feel it's more urgent. Good luck. Cutting out cheese, milk, biscuits, cake, crisps, caffeine, alcohol, pasta, pizza etc will remove a lot of the big triggers anyway and you're already not eating most of those as you've said.

OP, you should seriously consider going to see a private GP this week. You should slsl consider going private to have your gallbladder remover (around £5k) if that's the cause. You will be waiting > a year with the NHS.

Might be worth checking on the ingredients of the vegan alternatives, often they use coconut oil/fat & that could be a big fat no.

Theres a school of thought that suggests there's a build-up effect too, so a few days of something could be absolutely & then the very next day it's really not. It can make it really difficult to work out what affects you.

I agree with pp about paying for an US, obvs we're still guessing at gallbladder here as being the most likely culprit but you do need answers ASAP. If it is gallstones the wait for surgery is ages, but at least you'll know.

In terms of getting a scan, Google 'ultrasound scan' and your location. There are a number of private clinics (sometimes the same ones who offer the private pregnancy scans) who offer one-off, self-referred ultrasound scans. My local one is £65, appointments same-day/next-day, and they send the results to your GP (and share with you). I've used it for ongoing concerns about ovarian cysts, and my husband used it for suspected gallbladder/pancreatitis (no gallstones seen but it showed he had fatty liver).

I hear you OP. I miss cheese so much and haven't been able to have it since Oct 2023. I still miss it every day! I can however manage cheese puffs very occasionally (the maize snack kind I think) so that helps tide me over when I get a particularly strong cheese craving- just a 25g portion in a small bowl though.

I'm sorry OP :(, it really is miserable. Mine has been quiet for a few months but is slowly ramping up again, no actual attacks yet though. Caffeinated coffee has become a no-no though decaf is OK & so is tea.

Pro/prebiotics won't do anything for the gallbladder itself but might help with the stomach & intestinal issues it causes - as previously mentioned I found Moju's pink gut health seemed to help & I could tolerate it when I could eat very little else so at least I was getting some nutrients.

You need foods that are easy to digest & low FODMAP whilst avoiding high fat (even good fats).

I find I can't tolerate things high in lactose but am fine with Greek yogurt (fage is the nicest) & apricot coulis (bon maman make a really really nice one) together - at my peak of issues last year I more or less survive on those two with some fresh mint & coriander thrown in. Otherwise I avoid young cheeses entirely - the more mature, the lower the lactose.

But it really is very individual & anti-intuitive in that white bread is often better than wholemeal & wholegrain. Cornflakes & rice crispies better than bran flakes etc.

Currently awaiting an ultrasound for suspected gallstones. I had been eating up the Christmas leftover cheese which seems to have triggered it. Now trying to eat a low fat diet, cut out bread and not drink any alcohol. It started Thursday night for me and I was in pain all night, it has lessened now but still not back to my usual self at all.

This was exactly like me. For years. I thought it was food intolerances, it was never on the right hand side, always in the middle just below my sternum. It was awful, I don’t know how I managed looking back, the pain was so bad. I had endoscopies, colonoscopies over a period of years, nothing ever found. I thought I had cancer, as it was just so unnatural to be in those levels of pain.

IT WAS GALLSTONES. Eventually admitted to hospital as I was so very ill, suspected sepsis, was on morphine and IV antibiotics for five days, then gallbladder out once it had settled down a couple of months later.

Don’t be fobbed off, insist on an ultrasound scan. Good luck.

Try a really hot bath, it might help settle the pain tonight. X

Mine wasn’t set off by anything in particular. It was completely random. You need an ultrascan. Make a fuss.

I've just read your other posts/updates. I too have GERD and IBS and had those well before the gallbladder started acting up. The bile aspiration started about 6 months before my first gallstone attacks, I woke up gasping for air, thinking I'd had reflux but it was bile seeping up that I was inadvertently inhaling 🤮, one of the most awful experiences.

The practice nurse told me to 'lose weight and your stomach problems will go away' and repeatedly told me I was overweight so what did I expect - I've ALWAYS had stomach/digestion and bowel problems no matter what my weight was, from size 10 to 16 they've always been there. I changed GP surgery and spoke to my new GP, explained symptoms and said I think it's gallstones - he referred me for a scan and I was seen, scanned and diagnosed within 6 days.

Mine were horrendous, the pain was worse than giving birth. I only ever had 3 massive attacks, one which landed me in hospital via ambulance. My symptoms were a constant sharp pain in my right side, just under my ribs, pain in shoulder blade, pain in back on right side. The two worst attacks, the pain spread up into my neck and down my right arm. Sickness, vomiting bile, aspiration of bile, everything tasted funny and I was a funny colour - I didn't go yellow but I had a weird grey/beige tinge to my skin - that disappeared the day I had my gallbladder removed.

Fortunately for me, the surgeon saved my life. My gallbladder had filled with sludge as well as stones and was told by the surgeon I was lucky I was still alive, a couple months max and I would've been a goner as it was poisoning me inside 🤢🤮.

Buscopan really helps, they gave me that via cannula when I was taken to A&E by ambulance. The paramedics gave me morphine that helped remove the worst pain, but once that wore off, the doc gave me buscopan, which really helped stop the cramping. I'd give birth again without pain relief than have that pain again - worst pain I've ever had in my life. You have my sympathies.

Once my gall bladder became dysfunctional it could be triggered by any food, as it turned out rather than large unpassable.stones my gallbladder was described as full of grit, so many tiny stones that JUST ABOUT fit through the ducts. So every meal some bile would be produced and out would come some stones. As a result I did lose weight and a fear of food, thinking too much ahead of a meal etc. It took a ridiculous amount of time for the doctor to have me checked for gallstones (a nurse even suggested it before my first Dr appointment about it, which I stupidly told.him as he became fixated on it not being possible). Be VERY clear about how much pain, also use information like how much weight you lose, how quickly. How.much sleep you lose, time or days of.work.lost as a result. Keep clear records of your food so theres no assumption youre regularly iverindulging. Doctors are extremely dismissive of how.much of a problem this condition can be, probably because it mainly affects women, usually after you've had children. And women post children seemed to be viewed as 'surplus population' by the NHS.

I had pain like this and was ulcer. Never known anything like the pain and I've had 2 major surgeries in 2024!!! Hot water bottle did help slightly tho don't burn yourself like i did !

You're not, @Datgal , it just isn't clear if it causes the other issues (ibs, gastritis etc) or you're just likely to have all or some other issues cos you're prone to your midsection despising you. Both the gallbladder & gastritis subs on reddit have a lot of crossovers with ppl often being in both.

Can't help but feel if the biggest risk factors weren't being female & middle aged that it might be taken more seriously...

That's interesting about the gall bladder issues being linked with IBS and other issues.
I have gallbladder stones and I definitely have some other digestive issues which aren't diagnosed.
But making me think I'm not imagining them or anything.