Gallstone diet and agonising pain

[blackheartsgirl]

After dp spending a 2nd night in 2 weeks in a and e and in agony what else can he do to manage this pain?

Hes had cocodamol, buscopan, and 1 suppository which eases it a bit but a couple of days later he's back to square 1.

No advice on diet from hospital or gp..never even mentioned it but I've googled and for the last 2 weeks tried to drastically reduce his fat intake but hasn't helped so I think that needs tweaking as im sure he's sneaked in extra bits.

His wee is brown (bloods are ok though) and he's thirsty a lot. Hospital not interested and said its down to his gp to put him on a list for surgery in 6 to 12 months time but there is just radio silence from his gp..hes tried to contact them and...nothing.

Hes desperate..he was in so much pain last night he was in tears and hes an active, just get on with it kind of person normally.

Any thing you can think of diet wise or pain relief wise that can help.

He has a large gall stone that was picked up in 2019 on an unrelated ct scan but had his first attack 3 weeks ago.. he was never told about the stone until well 3 weeks ago and they won't scan him again to see if its any bigger.

When you say radio silence from GP, what do you mean? Surely you make an appointment with the GP and get him referred for surgery? In the meantime check his liver function as brown wee isn't good. If you get no joy, change GP. How low fat are you going? What's he eating?

1 contact the gp today and ask for urgent surgical referral, point out 2 a and e trips

2 next time in a and e beg to be admitted as an emergency - if they have space they may just do it - point out number of a and e visits and impact on work / family etc.

3 consider private options - usually a day case unless complex patient

I have had trouble in the past but nothing for the last year. Avoiding certain foods didn't appear to make any difference. Loosing weight but being careful not loosing it quickly does seem to help.I read that the Cod ine in cocodamol can sometimes make it worse. I used to alternate paracetamol and neurophen so you get the overlapping double pain relief. A hot water bottle though would be my top tip.

The first time he handed a letter on to his gp 2 weeks ago and then phoned up 3 days later to ask what was happening. The receptionists said the gp would be in touch but nothing since.

He filled in an e consult form day before yesterday only to be told that vaccinations are a priority and non urgent cases would not be seen. Said to try and e. Theyve said its down to the doctors.

Hes tried ringing again but the phone lines are now shut until further notice..only e consult.

Its like banging head against brick wall.

How low fat does he need to go. It seems chocolate and cheese and pastry are triggers

I would keep phoning the GP until you get an appointment for a referral. When I had my gallbladder I was having attacks no matter my diet. Go to a and e every time the pain is too bad to handle. My GP prescribed oramorph in the end which did help. I ended up with pancreatitis and my gallbladder was removed quite quickly thank goodness.

We cannot afford to go private. We are both on minimum wage jobs

Oh gall bladders pain is the worst, I’ve had it intermittently since I was 16 now 36! I’d advise to stop eating the foods that trigger it immediately. If the pain come and goes as soon as it starts take paracetamol and buscopan and take regularly (as directed on the box) until pain subsides. I found stress was a bigger trigger and the more anxious I was about the pain the worse it got. So I lie down and try and to relax and give it a gentle rub.
In the longer term keep on with the GP. Hope your partner feels better soon

@bubblesr is right, gallbladder pain is the worst. I managed for a few days with paracetamol and hot water bottles but remember being sat on the sofa feeling like I was being stabbed and the pain was so shocking it made me cry. I haven't cried from pain since I was a small child!

My gp gave me a phone appointment and told me to call an ambulance as I couldnt move and couldnt take a proper breath, the pain was so bad. Paramedics said 'on a scale of 1-10, they say labour is a 10, gallbladder pain is an 11'

At a&e they gave me morphine and an xray, then brought me back the next day for an ultrasound. This was just before covid, but I dont know why your poor DP isnt getting any help from anywhere, pandemic or not!

The pain is debilitating. He needs to push his gp, and a&e for proper pain relief and scans/tests.

I ended up in hospital with pancreatitis last year. In my case they fitted a stent so the bile is diverted to my bowel (( something like that, I can't remember)) and I've been great ever since. Obviously I'm still careful with my diet but I do t have constant pain now.

My mum ate nothing but baked beans and rice for 9 months whilst she waited for her op. She had 165 gallstones and was in the most horrendous pain for a very very long time

You need to make a fuss and if the GP won't help either complain, change GP or turn up at a and e every time.

GB pain is definitely an emergency

And if he's eating pastry, cheese and butter as you mentioned they're triggers then in all honesty he needs to take responsibility for. Himself.

The diet does need to be very low fat but doesnt need to be a punishment. I still have treat foods, last night I had a massive burger I made using turkey mince. But used low fat mayo and ketchup inside a small wholemeal bun. I still had chips but they were done in the oven using a little spray oil and the usual salad. I even had coleslaw but made it with fat free Greek yogurt, dijon mustard and a little salad cream.

Saturday i'll be having Fajitas. I'll just be using a little low fat cheese instead of half a block of cathedral city.

It's very doable. He just needs to want to avoid the pain enough to do it. He's also putting himself at risk with constant attacks. An infected gallbladder can turn very nasty pretty quickly.

Go to A&E the next time as it is an emergency. And be very insistent that he needs a gallbladder removal op now. Good luck.

I've never seen him like this, he's normally so fit and active.

He doesn't even know why he's got this..I've got a feeling its because he was very overweight 5 years ago and then he lost 4 stone very quickly over 8 months. His diet was still high in fat though and also he used to drink a lot in his teens and twenties. Doesn't smoke or drink now though.

Gp provision is awful in North Wales. There are no doctors available at most of the surgeries where I live..its nurse practitioners I don't even know if they can refer.

Phone lines are shut and they won't see non urgent cases..hes been defined as non urgent it seems

He has taken responsibility to be fair..he has cut.out all pastry, he hasn't eaten cheese since the first attack although he did have a bowl of ice-cream 2 days ago and a jaffa cake. So there's your trigger i suppose.

Thanks money ill look into low fat alternatives. Is red meat a no no. We don't eat a lot of it anyway but I did notice weve had chilli with 5 percent fat in it twice in 3 days so I'm wondering if that's a no go

But he said now.. thats it..I'm really cutting it all out.

Moby not money bloody auto correct

Gall bladder pain is unbelievably painful. I felt as if my spine and chest were being crushed. Painkillers had no effect; I could only rock and cry.

After diagnosis, and until I had it removed, I could control it by sticking to a low fat diet.

I was told 3% fat, which is doable using food labels (3g per 100g) but totally depressing when you realise how little there is in the supermarkets. Sushi, soup, salad, baked potatoes. Avoid things that take a long time to digest like red meat. 6 smaller meals a day.

Heat helps- baths, peppermint tea, plug in heat mat, hot water bottle. Some people swear by a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar in warm water when the pain starts.

It helped me to walk a lot, sped up my digestion so my gallbladder didn't work as hard. He needs to find some way to manage it.

There is a gallstone support group on FB.

But ultimately he needs to have it out, he can't go on like this. Can you change doctors surgeries? Advice on FB was to keep attending A&E when you can't manage the pain, the GP will get a letter every time. Is there a complaint system he can use?

I literally had my gallbladder removed on Friday. I am in a lot of pain, but when I woke up I was surprised to see how much pain had just disappeared, especially around my ribs and back.

I'm sorry that he is suffering. I'm currently awaiting a scan for suspected gallstones. I'm 99% sure that I have them.

I had my first attack a couple of months ago, followed by two more quite soon afterwards. I have recently managed just over three weeks without an attack, though I'm constantly fearful that it will happen again.

I'm being careful about fat content, but not denying myself any particular category of food. I don't eat meat anyway. I'm being careful about eggs, cheese, butter etc. And I limit myself to small portions, especially in the evenings when the attacks seem most likely to happen. I'm also eating an apple a day and drinking peppermint tea, as I read that these might help!

He should also work out his additional triggers which are different for everyone.

Mine were alcohol, sugar, fizzy drinks, eggs, red meat and cheese.

The gallbladder is next to the liver and attached, anything that irritates the liver can affect the gallbladder.

Thank you desperatelyseekingreason thats really helpful.

We do a lot of walking normally although that's stopped recently as he's been in so much pain. So once he can manage his pain then we can start again.

The Rosemary Conley diet is good for this. He doesn't need to stick to the quantities if he isn't looking to lose weight. Also there is no fat in sugar, so there are plenty of treat foods available. I remember making some nice meals from there when my DH was doing that diet. DH also went through a long phase of turkey mince - for chilli or anything where the flavours are strong it doesn't matter what meat you use. I'm not sure how Quorn stacks up from a gallstones pov though.

I can sympathise with your DH - gallbladder pain is unbelievable.

Re diet - when I had my attacks I asked about diet and the basic advice was - you can try it, but there isn't one diet to suit everyone. If you think you have trigger foods avoid them otherwise just eat as normally as you can, as reducing fat can make no difference.

Re the GP - go back to the a&e dept when it gets bad and tell them the GP surgery is closed and your DH has no other medical support. I would say anyone who think gallstones with pain is non urgent is a bloody idiot. If you have the energy complain to the health authorities and your MP

Gallstones are a sideaffect of weight loss, especially if that weight loss was on a low fat diet (go figure!)

I actually found that super low fat was worse for me and really triggered the pain. In an attack, paracetamol orally, voltarol externally a hot water bottle and leaning over the bed/rocking gently when it was super painful. And labour breathing, breathe through the pain (it doesn't help but it helps focus the mind on something other than IT HURTS).

Otherwise, stick to a moderately low fat diet and avoid triggers. Mine is alcohol, so I don't drink it and hormonal, which I can do sod all about other than be hyper aware at certain times of my cycle.

I also take an apple cider vinegar tablet every day and that has helped with the intensity of the attacks - they don't hurt as much when I do get them.

Otherwise, send an e-consult into the Dr's with a specific request to be put on the surgery waiting list. And watch out for orange pee, thats a sign of liver failure and you should be straight to A&E.

The diet will have caused it. It's what caused mine. I had a small stone but it got caught in the duct so anything set it off. Cut out all fat. I ended up eating a lot of tuna (in brine) and crackers.
If your GP service is that bad go to A & E everytime he has an attack he can't manage. Write a letter to your GP outlining all his symptoms and complaining about the treatment being offered or not by them. This sometimes concentrates their minds.

I had to eat basically no fat. It was grilled fish and steamed veg. Unbelievably dull until I had the op.

Email the surgery every day.