Gallbladder attacks advice

[HeyBwoss]

Been having episodes of pain since January but have now had 2 in the past 2 weeks. I thought it was trapped wind (actually the first one I thought was a heart attack, at first) but have seen it may be gallstones. All my pain matches everything I have read. Except for labour, it's the worst pain I've ever had.

Anyway, I'm hoping to see the GP tomorrow, but in the meantime I'm terrified to eat incase something triggers it. Does anyone have any advice on how to manage or anything that stops the attacks? Thanks in advance

@CleanQueen123 not surprising given the strike but very frustrating for you.

@Playyourpart it’s awful that you reach that point because you weren’t given given the help you needed sooner.

@HeyBwoss thanks for creating this thread!

@dudsville that rules out so much!

I haven’t been very strict over the last couple of days and fat featured in my diet - hasn’t increased the pain but the bloating and wind has been immense! I’m cutting back on the carbs as I think that was the issue, particularly bread! Smoothie again today.

I was thinking the same thing @HeyBwoss. As awful as it is, it's nice to know we're not alone 💐

After 3 weird long days where i had a twinge every few minutes, I've had no real twinges or anything for about 24 hrs now. I am going to try to stick to this crazy new guidance. I'm so eager not to feel that pain again. I'll get a date this Saturday hopefully and the hospital said it would be about a 5 week wait. I can do this for that long.

So I've had a further google. The body DOES turn sugar into cholesterol, but salt DOES NOT effect cholesterol levels. So I'll be keeping an eye on sugar but not salt, that opens up options again a little. For breakfast I had three of those turkey rashers "fried" in a few sprays of oilive oil, folded into a slice of toast with a little ketchup that met the fat, sat fat and sugar limitations. It was nice to have something that tasted like ordinary food!

I feel really quite well today. And that scan on Monday really reassure me re my liver, kidneys and pancreas health, and the confirmation that I do not still have an infection - the infection thing worried me as the signs they say to watch out for I did not have.

How's everyone else getting on today?

@dudsville , good to hear you are feeling well. What’s signs of infection were you told to look out for? I feel like the glands in my neck are raised and uncomfortable but I also feel like I’m stressed about anything slightly different!

I'm anxious too, it's awful isnt it. They told me to look out for fever, jaundice, pale stools... I can't remember what else so I just did a google for NHS signs of gallbladder infection and they say

• a high temperature
• feeling sick
• being sick
• sweating
• loss of appetite
• yellowing of the skin and the whites of the eyes
• a bulge in the tummy

I've had vomitting with 3 of the last 4 episodes, nausea with the last one. I've had mostly no appetite for the last 3 weeks, ocassional hunger but usually I'm bloated and I think that makes me feel full??? I wouldn't notice a sudden riased temp as the events themselves make me hot, so fever, jaundice and pale sstools, the main things they told me to look out for, weren't present when I had the infection, but the nausea or vomitting is there each time. It's confusing.

I think I've just made one of the healthiest meals of my life. I've made a kind of stew with chickpeas, bulgar wheat, chopped turkey, a low fat stock cube and some roasted garlic. It's not bad, pretty tasty.

I have the nausea with every attack and it often lasts for a while after. When I went to A&E I was jaundiced but didn’t notice until I was asked if I was, then it made sense why my urine was so dark. I have only been sick once, it’s very rare that I vomit - my body doesn’t like to let go of food! And yes get so hot and sweaty every time due to the pain.

I'm the same. If I throw up then I really am unwell.

I survived the Thai restaurant last night. White fish and plain rice was the way forward. Not as exciting as I would usually go for but nice to be out and have some normality.

I also get really hot and sweaty in a attack. Glad to hear you're feeling better @dudsville. Theres no way I could cut out salt and sugar too, not sure what I'd eat except veg! Glad you had a nice evening @CleanQueen123.

I'm struggling today. I feel ok except for backache, I've got my appetite back but (being completely honest as this is anonymous!) before I started this thread I was really struggling with binge eating. When I started feeling bloated/unwell I stopped but now my appetite is back, combined with eating plain food, I'm really struggling with the urge to binge.

Mine weren't as bad as many describe here and I found laying down on my left hand side eased them

@HeyBwoss l’m a binge eater too. The only way I feel I can curb the urge is to low carb - the stable blood sugars really help.
Today I had scrambled egg made with two eggs and some extra white. Seem to be ok so far…..

@HeyBwoss , that would be so ard on your body right now. I've never been a "little of often" eater, but it's best for the gb. It's hard as it isn't how I like to eat - I love a late big breakfast and a late bug lunch, and a glass of wine or 3 for dinner, but my gb would not thank me. The pain is a real motivator for me. I'm so scared of it. What would help motivate you?

There's was a little discussion upthread, can't find it, where someone had fish and chips after the gb removal and someone else said they thought the guidance was to be careful... i just found this on my hospital group's website...

Your diet after gallbladder surgery
If your gallstone symptoms occur often and/or are severe, you may need to have your gallbladder removed. When recovering from gallbladder removal surgery, expect to have diarrhoea and loose stools for about a week after your surgery. This is because, without your gallbladder to store your bile, bile will be released more regularly, as and when your liver produces it, directly into your small intestines.
You can reduce these post-surgery symptoms by changing your diet. Try to avoid:

• Caffeine Creams, sauces and gravies Foods containing more than 3g of fat per 100g Fried, greasy or highly processed foods Full-fat dairy products Spicy foods

Instead, try to eat high-fibre, low-fat foods. Gradually increase the amount of fibre in your diet, starting with foods that contain more soluble fibre, as opposed to insoluble fibre, such as black beans, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, carrots, oats, apples, pears and apricots. You can also try eating smaller, more frequent meals.

So it's at least another week after surgery for a nice meal.

Some of the guidance I found said to keep up the low fat for at least a month post surgery and then slowly add back in fattier foods, but ultimately gallbladder removal can cause weight gain because your body can't digest the fat properly 🙄.

Damned if you do, damned if you don't it seems.

I suppose the upside is that eating those things won't cause excruciating pain, but yes it makes sense to be sensible.

Re weight management becoming harder, I'm really hoping to lose some more weight before my surgery and then to focus on maintenance. Will be harder if my appetite returns to normal, but i spent ages trying to loose weight via tons of exercise and calorie counting and eating good quality food and nothing shifted. I'm at an age where this is harder anyway. So I'm taking this as a side bonus.

My hospital rang last night and moved my appointment from this saturday to Monday as they're getting new flooring. There was late August availability for the surgery but i can't book that in until this appt, so that's a little annoying but i know I'm lucky to be this close.

I also think my food choices re fat won't go back to normal after this anyway. The fat content of food has been a shocking eye opener for my dh and I. It's just not something we've ever paid attention to, and I've been thinking it may explain why my weight loss attempts always failed!

There's not a lot that works for my binge eating. The pain and commitments to my DC (as in I can't be ill today as I have something to do with DC later) are the only thing stopping me at the moment.

All these hospital appointments being moved is so frustrating.

I'm also hoping that now I'm down to nearly my goal weight I'll be able to maintain.

It will be hard though because even sensible eating is going to be far more calories than I'm managing now with a diet of noodles, rice cakes and an apple.

I've totally lost enthusiasm for eating which isn't like me.

I'm sitting here a little anxious with a feeling of slight nausea... I've not eaten off diet but I'm feeling very very full😐

I think i was just panicking, I took a buscopan. I'm still v bloated but just belching a lot. I'm a delight to be around!

Hope you're ok @dudsville

Thanks@HeyBwoss, it was just worry and wind! How are you getting on with the urge to binge?

I completely understand. My stomach is noisy tonight! I've just eaten a sandwich and some yogurt (I know it's late, I wasn't hungry earlier) and now I've got back ache all of a sudden. I haven't binged today, have been at DS year 6 play tonight so there's no way I'd risk getting ill and missing that. I know the urge will be back tomorrow but just trying to get through a day at a time.

I was fine straight away, I did get the runs a couple of months after but was told it was completely normal. I only gained maybe half a stone but was recovering from a total hysterectomy that I'd had a month before the gallstones started & was on HRT.