Help me through a gallstone attack

[lostandfound55]

I’m currently having another gallstone attack. The last one I had I fainted and cut my head open on the kitchen table and got concussion.

This time I have taken tablets and am now on the sofa as I don’t dare walk around in case I faint again.

Gallstones are the fucking worst! But it will pass soon. Focusing on my breathing helps me, like meditation.

Have you seen a dr? I've been waiting 3 years to have my surgery.

Thanks I’m trying to breathe through it now but the pain is going through to my back.

Yes I’ve seen a dr and and on the waiting list to have removed. After I went to a&e last time they said they would move me up the list but I haven’t heard anything yet.

I hope you hear from them soon.

Is it showing any signs of passing yet?

I feel for you, that is absolute misery. The pain is unreal.

I hope it passes soon.

No sign of passing yet. I’m trying to breathe through it but feeling quite faint and the pain. Is not improving yet.

Previously it’s lasted around 1-2 hours and this has only been about 40 minutes.

The worst is it is all my fault as I know that I ate too much fat today but I was complacent and thought I would be fine.

@lostandfound55

The worst is it is all my fault as I know that I ate too much fat today but I was complacent and thought I would be fine.

Not at all. You can't blame yourself. Anything can trigger it anyway. I once had an attack when the only thing I had eaten or drank was water.

I also remember being in hospital at one stage and being desperate for a drink of water and not being allowed one because they said it could trigger an attack.

I never found that my diet made any difference at all to be honest.

Thank you, I didn’t know that even water could trigger an attack.

The pain is starting to ease at times but then comes back so I’m hoping it will start to pass soon. I have been listening to my
Calm app.

Random things that have worked for me - they are contradictory so apologies for that:

Drinking a pint of very cold water fast
Sipping warm water
Lying on the floor and stretching opposite arms and legs out
Curling up and rocking
Throwing up
Breathing exercises (golden breath from pregnancy yoga)

I think they work by forcing the obstruction to a slightly different part of the system. It is grim though, so I hope you get sorted soon.

Thank you. It passed around 5 o’clock, I’ll keep those tips for when it happens again.

DH used to swear by sucking a calippo ice lolly. Apparently by the time the lolly is finished the pain has gone. Worth trying?

Thanks not heard of that one. I’ll have to get some in the freezer.

It’s started twinging a bit again now so hoping it’s not going to start up again.

Just a few more ideas in case they are needed-

Sipping warm water - can help relax some of the cramping inside
Getting on all fours on the floor, head to the ground.
I found sitting up on the edge of the sofa, hot water bottle pressed to my stomach, then a pillow/cushion, and then leaning over the cushion (no idea why)
Lying or sitting back was the worst for me, so if you aren’t comfortable pacing the hallway (also helped me) then the above might help.
Sadly repeated visits to A&E were the only way to get moved up the list
Gallstone attacks can also by accompanied by an infected gallbladder, stones that have moved and blocked something else eg bile duct, or pancreatitis so one doesn’t ease off after the usual few hours, a trip to A&E is more than warranted!
for you

Could you ask gp for painkillers to get the pain under control? I had to do this with gallstones and although the effect wasnt instant they would eventually kick in. I'm sorry you are going through this.

Thanks for all the extra tips. I will be checking all these out ready for next time. I used to pace around until I fainted so don’t do that now

A&E advised me to take buscopan for it and the gp advised paracetamol so I took both of those last night.

I was told when waiting for my op, if I had another attack go to A&E and they would operate then. A friend also went to A&E as she thought she was having a heart attack and they rushed her in and removed it.

Agree with going to A & E. Pain agonising enough to make you faint is an emergency, surely? And I only knew my gallbladder had failed and was leaking bile when the docs removed it. Alternative if you can wait a few weeks is a private op, which would about 5K-6K.

You have my sympathies. I would always end up at out of hours for stronger pain relief when I had gallstones. Nice injection into the bum worked wonders. My husband likes to remind me that I was taking off my trousers before the door was closed the last time I went. I got mine removed after a stone got stuck and I turned yellow and had urine like Irn Bru.

It’s awful. I always ended up in the foetal position on the bathroom floor for 2 hours. Buscopan and paracetamol never touched mine.

Paracetamol won't touch it - my DH ended up in A&E so many times he built up a shockingly high tolerance to morphine. The waiting list is ridiculous we ended up taking out a loan to go private before he lost his job. Like you he would pass out. I've never seen anything like it and I've birthed children without pain relief.

His gallbladder ended up so messed up that it perforated, then blocked a duct to his liver and ended up bright yellow.
Sent home from A&E each time with a promise of a date for surgery which he never received.

Keep hassling them every single time you have a flare up to get you up the list or this will be your life for the next three years.

You poor thing! I only ever had one full-blown attack. Dh said by the end of it I looked like I'd aged by a decade! Fat seemed to be the sole trigger for me, and my one attack was so awful that I ate extremely low fat for 8 months while I waited for the op. I was massively strict about it and never once ate more than 10g of fat at a sitting. It's not worth the pain!

Thanks for all the replies. A&E told me when I went in that I was to only go back if the pain continued for more than 6 hours or if I turned yellow otherwise they said I could manage at home.

It is really scary when it comes as you know what’s coming.

I would ignore that advice you cannot manage gallbladder attack pain at home and on paracetamol alone that's ludicrous.

Do go to A&E if you need to, but don't assume it will necessarily get you your op any faster I ended up in A&E 3 times with attacks (maybe 10% of the total) - including one where I ended up jaundiced. The third time I went, they told me, "This won't get you moved up the waiting list, you know" - as if I was only there for that reason! Would love to know how they actually decide the priority - when I finally did go in for the op, the woman in the bed next to me had been waiting less time than me, despite her attacks being less frequent (every 3 weeks or so, compared to every 3 days) and less severe as well (never had jaundice).

I heard the a&e dr call the gallbladder surgical department and she advised them I had 3 attacks with 10 days and could they speed up the referral. They seemed to also ask her whether I had been to a&e before with the pain.

The a&e dr said that I should be seen within weeks not months but who knows, especially with covid. I also had to have a chest X-ray whilst there to save me going back for one.