Talk to me about Gallstone please!

[Inmyownlittlecorner]

I was diagnosed with gallstones (lots of little ones) about 9 years ago during an abdo scan for something else. With hindsight I realise that I’d had a couple of attack previous to the scan, just after the birth of DD1.
I’ve had a few attack since, very far apart & no other signs that I know of. In the last 4 months I’ve had about 8, one of them involving an ambulance & a trip to A&E. They feel like someone is tightening a belt round my abdomen & upper back & I struggle to get my breath. It’s agonising. I’ve got a Consultant app on the 28th, but I’m living in fear of more attacks. I’ve see my GP & he’s given me tramadol, ranitidine & Peptac & said if my temp goes above 37.5 when I have an attack to go to a&e because it’s likely to have become infected.
I’m trying to eat as low fat as possible, I have lots of acid reflux burning pains, mainly in my back & feel like I’ve got trapped wind almost permanently. Does anyone have any tips to cope or can give me any positive stories of surgery etc. I’m utterly miserable.

Sorry, I can't help, but my friend has just had her gallbladder removed after one bad attack. It was a pretty straightforward operation and she waited about four months for it.

Had my gallbladder out last month. I passed a gallstone which got stuck in my bile duct which was pretty unpleasant. Once you start getting problems it's likely they will recur and really surgery is the only option. I've had no aftereffects although I know some people do. Passing stones can be dangerous if it turns into pancreatitis, so I would seriously discuss having your gallbladder out. It can be keyhole daycase surgery.

Thanks. I’m pretty much having daily attacks now. I just want it gone!

I got gallstones when I was pregnant but because I was so young it wasn't diagnosed for over two bloody years of regular agony.

This was over 20 years ago and I have lived happily and pain free ever since. I had keyhole surgery and took about 3 weeks off work.

I have to be a bit careful about very fatty food upsetting my stomach and weirdly I can't take some painkillers as they give me gallbladder pain type symptoms but that's it.

I still remember how awful the pain was, worse than childbirth as at least at the end of that I had a gorgeous baby

I hope you get it sorted soon. You have my sympathies.

I had gallstones when I was 21 they were horrific and I ended up having my gallbladder removed. The relief was incredible the pain was like no other when the attacks hit so you have my deepest sympathies.
All I can say is keep your food as bland as you can and avoid high salt/fat and spice. I basically lived on bananas and low fat ambrosia creamed rice. I found stress a trigger for the attacks too, harder to avoid I know but try.
With the frequency of the attacks I should hope they would be looking to operate as soon as they can, especially seeing as you've ended up in a&e a few times!
I remember I had a presentation to give and my whole degree rested on it. It was in front of my entire department and department head. I had an attack (with the stress) just before it and I popped 2 solpadol which took the pain away. However it also completely zonked me and all I remember saying was my name and the rest was a blur. Managed to get my degree but it could have all gone completely wrong, bloody gallbladder

Oh and in regards the surgery it was straight forward keyhole. All I was given afterwards was paracetamol and I was discharged the next day. Bit tender for a few days and had some trapped wind pain but apart from that it was fine!

A couple of things that I found helped:

Take Buscopan when you have an attack and get in a hot bath - as hot as you can stand.

Try to avoid eating for at least 3 hours before sleeping / lying down.

My dad has had several gallstones flare ups over the last 30 years, but has always been very anti doctors / surgery. He went on a completely fat free diet for a long time, I seem to remember a lot of steamed chicken and veg. He still has squeezed lemon juice in hot water at night (although for a while I think he had that first thing in the morning) and for a while he had lecithin on his breakfast. I have no idea if he got lucky or whether it can really work. He has had further flare ups usually when he gets a bit happy about eating cream, but he's been lucky enough to get it back under control by going fat free again. I hope you get it sorted soon.

The surgery was very straightforward. I'd been waiting 5 months for it since diagnosis, after 3 years of increasing symptoms and attacks, and ended up having it sooner due to a trip to a&e. I had chronic cholecystitis by that point. Any worries I'd had about having the surgery were massively over ruled by my desperation for the pain to end!

Prior to that I'd switched to a low fat, vegan diet and upped my water consumption which helped a lot. I found my attacks always started 1-2 hours after going to bed so try eating a lighter evening meal and giving it some time before laying down.

Buscopan and ranitidine helped. Wholewheat pasta and Monterrey Jack cheese were the worst foods for me. Keep a food diary to look for any patterns.

Some of my symptoms turned out to not be the gallstones. You could try Gaviscon with your meals if acid is a problem too. And good luck. It's absolutely awful pain. I used to sleep in the bath out of sheer desperation

I take Buscopan and olive oil and lemon juice together. I was sceptical about the oil and lemon, but it's worked very well for me. I have no idea how it works. Also, a hot water bottle if things get rough and lie on your left side. No food or drink above 5% fat.

Worst pain I’ve ever had and I’ve given birth to three huge babies with no pain relief! I had mine removed by keyhole surgery and was out the same day. I was so grateful I would of given the surgeon anything his heart desired in return lol. Not had a pain like it since. Good luck OP

I had a large gallstone(30mm diameter) that started giving me horrendous biliary colic attacks that lasted for hours...pain far worse than childbirth!
After the attacks I would feel dreadful like I had been poisoned and stools were the colour of clay(this tells you that the bile duct is blocked and the bile cannot get into the intestines).

I had a bet with GP that it was gallstones...he thought it was gastritis!!
Well he was most apologetic when he got the results of scan!!

I had to go completely fat free before op and was scared of eating anything! Could not eat cake, pastries, meat and anything with a sauce like lasagne or bolognese.
Lived off small amounts chicken with bread for 6months until op and lost a load of weight!

I was on omeprazole and buscopan and it seemed to work.

The operation was a complete success and the relief was instant!!
I have kept to not eating cake, chocolate, pastries, red meat etc, etc as I no longer craved any of the stuff I gave up.

It's been definitely a good thing having that awful gall bladder taken out!!

I had my gallbladder removed years ago and the relief was instant. I came round from the anaesthetic feeling better than I had in years.

The operation was very straightforward, I didn't even need much pain relief afterwards, maybe a couple of paracetamol, and I was back at work about a week later.

I had gallstones whilst pregnant with DS1 nearly 7 years ago. The pain was excruciating. I had my gallbladder taken out not long after he was born and the relief was overwhelming. It was hard to stand up straight for the first couple of days but I was fine after a week

I'm just awaiting a date for a scan on my gallbladder as I've had a few attacks, in the last few months. I would put money on that I have gallstones.

Do you have any symptoms between 'attacks'? I have a grumbling ache in my right hand side under my ribs and feel a bit tender around the top of my abdomen for a few days afterwards.

I'm trying to eat low fat, but finding I'm starving, but scared to eat!

I have a bizarre pain, almost like a bruise in the upper left part of my abdomen. I feel pretty tender/uncomfortable most of the time & on edge waiting for the next attack.
My Mum died very suddenly 8 weeks ago (5 weeks before by 40th birthday) & I think that is contributing to the stress. Lots of emotion & anxiety, gut based symptoms. I’ve also lost weight through not eating due to the stress & I've heard that can contribute to gallstone attacks.
I think that my family’s general diet in the first month after Mum died was convenience food, restaurants & takeaways, which is unusual for us (& typically beyond our budget) so I imagine that hasn’t helped. Thanks for all the advice & reassurance.

I had the gravel type gallstones diagnosed at 23, watched diet for another 35 years, they finally did the op. Trouble is after decades of low fat diet, etc. I still feel so ill if I eat anything that would upset me before it came out.

I had my gallbladder out in 2014, after 6 months of crippling attacks that left me on my knees in agony! The pain was worse than labour!

After I had it out I’ve (touch wood) had no other problems.

Honestly just get it taken out.
Mine was infected and bleeding into itself.
Had grown into my liver, resting on my colon and getting ready to kill me.

If they offer to take it out jump at the chance! I’ve been struggling with mine since September 2016 and they won’t touch me as they’ve said it’s not severe enough yet. There have been a lot of local cut backs in the hospitals here and I believe this is one of them. I was at one point having 4/5 attacks a week, I now self medicate as the GP has refused to put me on more medication or refer me to the hospital.
A friend had her’s done before mine was diagnosed and the relief for her has been amazing!

Have it removed asap! Don't wait until it gets infected or causes pancreatitis. I had one huge attack out of the blue, went straight to gp and was referred for a scan and surgery straight away. Took months for my op date to come through but I prevented further attacks by eating extremely low fat.

Had the op a couple of years ago - piece of cake (and I'm a wuss!). Not a single moment' trouble since. Seriously, it's a no-brainer.

@Inmyownlittlecorner the tenderness is normal after an attack. The gallbladder works by contracting when bile is needed to digest food etc. the pain normally comes from the fact that as it contracts it's squeezing the stones too
The pain is awful for me it shot out my back and radiated across my shoulders causing me to double over.
I reckon I got gallstones purely from my diet. At the time I found out I was gluten intolerant and started eating gluten free food. Back then gluten free bread was full of fat to make it taste better. My body obviously couldn't cope with the upped intake of fat!

My DH has had his removed. Whilst waiting for the op he ate a fat free diet. It was hard, but doable, as he would have done anything to prevent another attack! It pretty much did the trick and he had no major attacks in that period.

If it’s gallstone attack’s push to have surgery - in my experience the attacks only get worse - and the op is usually very straightforward. I was home 6 hours after coming out of theatre and ready to go back to work after a week. The wait on the nhs for surgery is at least 6 months in every hospital I looked at and it can take longer - for example last winter when all elective surgery was cancelled so added another few months to the wait. If you have private healthcare go private.

This is so useful. I’ve got a surgical consult at the start of December to see about having mine removed... have had a few attacks and get jaundice with each, and my liver function is still poor after the last one. The attacks are agony - I gave birth four months ago with no pain relief and think the colic is worse.

I was told that once the gallbladder stops working properly it can never recover so absolutely no point in keeping it. So I vote get it out!