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

I know what you mean @HeyBwoss. Physically I feel fine which somehow makes it worse mentally because the only reason I don't feel unwell is that I've severely restricted my lifestyle to avoid another hospital trip.

I have also had some success with turkey mince @dudsville. And spicy food doesn't seem to be an issue so I've had spicy turkey stir fry two nights in a row. Makes a welcome change from rice cakes and apples.

The emotional cost of this is huge @HeyBwoss . What's tipping the scales for you today?

Well the latest development for me is that my pre-op blood tests showed that I'm anemic, unsurprisingly, and they won't operate until it's sorted so I'm off for am emergency blood transfusion at 8am tomorrow.

Hi all. I hope it's OK to share my story here.

Firstly, I'm so sorry to read your stories, both the horrendous symptoms and impact on life, but also the delays in getting surgery.

Until a couple of weeks ago I would've said I had no GB issues but with hindsight know that I had a moderate attack about 6 weeks ago. First week of this month I was on holiday and had 2 attacks. Both lasting a couple of hours, crushing feeling around right side of ribs and pain maybe a 6 or 7 out of 10.

Arrived home on Friday 7 July. Woke the early hours of the Saturday morning in intense pain. Called 111 who sent me to Urgent Care. They suspected a kidney infection but ruled that out and diagnosed a pulled muscle. Was napping later that afternoon and woke up in agony. My son took me to A&E. Had ECG, chest x-ray and bloods which showed signs of infection. After 7 hours mostly spent lying on the floor of the waiting room, vomiting repeatedly etc I was diagnosed with nerve pain as a result of a viral infection and again sent home with a prescription for codeine which I could only get at the hospital pharmacy which was closed until the Sunday afternoon.

Got no sleep on the Saturday night due to relentless pain and vomiting. My son called 999 who sent a paramedic who immediately suspected GB and told my son to take me back to A&E. After 7 more hours on the waiting room floor, bloods showed my infection levels had doubled and I had sepsis. A CT scan showed my GB was huge, infected and the bile duct was completely obstructed. They admitted me and administered iv antibiotics and painkillers, plus fluids and anti-empties.

Original plan, as familiar to you all, was to stabilise me, get me home and put me on the waiting list. In my area, that's an 18 month wait. Consultant reviewed and felt I needed emergency surgery so I had my GB removed 8 days ago and I'm now at home recovering slowly.

I feel for anyone who experiences this. The pain was like nothing I've ever experienced and on the Sunday morning I genuinely thought I might die.

For those worried about surgery, 3 weeks ago having a general anaesthetic was one of my biggest fears but it was honestly fine.

Thank you for sharing @Bubbles07. Sorry to hear you've had such an awful experience too 💐

How have you found the recovery? Did you have keyhole surgery?

Yes it was keyhole, but not straightforward. Because of the size they had to perforate the gallbladder and suck some of the gunk out before they could remove it. That meant some of the infected bile went into my abdomen, so I had to have a drain for 24 hours. That wound was still leaking until yesterday, whereas the others are healing well.

Pain has been ok. They sent me home with codeine and paracetamol, which I used for a couple of days. It's now niggly discomfort rather than pain.

I'm experiencing diarrhoea, which I believe is normal as the body adjusts. Worst thing for me currently is nausea, which I thinks is due to the antibiotics, which I've only just finished so I'm hoping that might start easing now. Due to that, my appetite has been non-existent so I'm eating because I should, rather than because I want to. Mainly soup, weetabix, fruit and veg so far and small amounts but it's been fine.

Have been signed off for 2 weeks initially but likely to need a bit longer due to the sepsis and complications.

Oh wow @Bubbles07. What an explanation. Fingers crossed for you having a speedy recovery now you're home.

*experience

Thank you. I really hope everyone waiting gets the surgery they so desperately need soon and can't start getting on with their lives without the constant fear.

Ah @CleanQueen123 , I'm sorry and how your health gets back to where it needs to be.

I've been given Aug 23, so I'm counting down the days.

@bubbles, shit. That's a rough thing you've been through and a frightening tale for us all, but i'm glad you shared, andto know how and why this might get missed. My goodness.

I'm counting down to next Friday now and praying for a straightforward surgery and recovery. There's only so long I can put my life on hold.

@Bubbles07 how awful! I'm sorry you went through all that. It sounds terrifying for you and your son. Glad you are on the road to recovery now.

Oh @CleanQueen123 that's shit, but better to know and get treatment I guess. Hope it goes well tomorrow

Nothing in particular has tipped me over, it's an emotional week with my eldest finishing primary and with the summer holidays coming up I want to be out and about with the DC, worrying about what I'll eat is frustrating me. I wish I could turn off eating and just not bother. Feels like a long time until my appointment and I doubt surgery will come quickly after that. Bubbles story is my worst nightmare, and I worry I'll end up there.

Sorry for being so woe is me! I'm trying to not moan in real life, so you all get it instead! Sorry.

It's not being 'woe is me' it's being understandably fed up and worried about living with something so debilitating. Thank you for starting this thread. Reading other people's experiences has helped so you offload as much as you need to!

Thank you. I honestly feel scared, I always thought there would be help if ever I needed it but it doesn't feel that way now. I don't understand how there's a big risk of this escalating and developing into sepsis or other complications but there's no treatment or urgency to even diagnose it, never mind remove it.

@Bubbles07 , I just shared your story with my husband. He's already v compassionate about all of this but your account captures some of the fears and concerns i have, and airship your subsequent anemia @CleanQueen123 , so you think it's because of the restricted diet? Do you know how long you'll have to wait now for the surgery?

This has rekindled my anger that this happens mostly to women. I don't know if that's unfair and just my fear being stoked, but I'm angry that we're all sitting with this.

I'm not doing well today. I feel ok, I'm starting to feel like it's all in my head. I've eaten a few of my DC chips last night (not even a handful) and I ate half a chocolate bar earlier. I'm trying to meal plan for the week, feeling hungry (slice of toast and some fruit for breakfast, vegetable soup for lunch) and just gave in. I feel really crap now, but partly because I just want more and partly worried about making myself ill. I thought the limited diet would get easier as I got used to it but it's getting harder.

I know it's super hard to maintain it. Moan away on here, we all know what it's like!

I made a stupid food choice today. Out for lunch, they have a caesar salad on the menu as my best option, so I figure I can just pick out the bacon, eat the salad and chicken, I asked for minimal dressing. Bad idea, it arrived with tons of dressing, croutons and bacon, bloody delicious if I'm honest. I picked out the chicken and some lettuce and left everything else. I'm hoping the bit of dressing I had doesnt trigger anything.

Im less than 2 weeks to surgery now fingers crossed I don't have a huge flare before then. I have a few social things to go to this weekend and next, and I'm taking meal replacement shakes with me in case I can't eat anything. The slimfast vegan friendly one doesn't bother my gallbladder at all thankfully! It's crazy hard to eat out anywhere now.

Oh god @HeyBwoss , I stopped myself from posting about food woes so, so many times yesterday. I thought, no one's going to want to hear this. But @Lionoso is right, we all know that misery. I feel like I try to be so damn perky, lookig at the bright side, but hnetly I'm a little manic at times. You say you feel like it's all in your head, and if we think that it usually means we should be dismissing it, but I honestly think some of this is massively psychological and that means it is even harder, not easier. It makes it mroe relevent, not less.

Like you I'm also shocked that this far in I'm still trying to negociate the diet. It just isn't normal, no one around us is eating this way, restaurants can't accommodate it. Ffs, it would be easier to be vegan. I hope you haven't eaten something that triggers an attack, but we would all have sympathy for you if it happens, so I second the invitation to moan away.

You know what I had for tea last night? I wanted a new flavour. I tried to make no fat hummus. So as you can imagine that was blitzed chickpeas with lemon and pepper. I put that on top of a dry peice of wholemeal toast. Mmmm, is your mouth watering yet? Wait, there's more! For the topper I drained a tin of tuna and mixed in some no fat salad dressing and put that on top!😱I can't find the vomit emoji.

What you ate gives me shivers @Lionoso and I hope you'll let us know how you are. I know from life pre-diagnosis, that a single meal didn't mean there would be an attack, so you could well be fine!

I'm a week away from surgery now and counting down the days. I had my iron transfusion yesterday so fingers crossed that's sorted my levels out and I won't need anymore.

The diet is very restrictive and as my transfusion proves, certainly not healthy longer term. I gave in earlier and had a packet of crisps with my lunch. I'm sure I can feel my gallbladder now so that was obviously a mistake.

Thanks to everyone who has written their experiences here. It helps to know I'm not alone.

I was in A&E at the weekend in what I said was level 8 pain. That's now eased off and I'm wondering if I exaggerated?

Scan on Monday confirmed gallstones and I got antibiotics, painkillers and the promise that I am on the list to be considered for surgery (nhs: this is the list to go on the waiting list. I think actual help is probably months away).

In retrospect I've had milder attacks for several months but not realised what was going on.

Trying to eat low fat and just waiting for the next flare up. It's a crap way to live. If I was offered an operation tomorrow I'd jump at the chance. Thinking it might be the other side of Christmas is not a happy thought.

@summergreens I doubt you exaggerated. When I was in A&E the dr asked me to rate my pain out of 10, I didn’t give a number but was obviously in a lot of pain. On my discharge notes I saw that my pain was noted as 9/10. I hope you are feeling better soon.

@Bubbles07 that sounds awful, must have been a shock for everything to happen so fast.

I have gone back to eating carbs and fat and it hasn’t triggered an attack. I start the day planning to low carb but then don’t follow it through. I am having low level pain everyday and feel so sluggish, which I’m sure is from the sugar.

One of the reasons I started eating fat again is because I’m worried that low fat/fat free will cause my stones to grow. At the moment I have multiple small stones, I think I get attacks when one passes through.

I know some people have larger stones which blocks the ducts causing pain each time the bile duct functions - I’m worried that fat free will cause this to happen.

The paramedics asked me to rate my pain. It was about 9/10 when they got there but had been well over that when I actually called the ambulance.

I'm trying to have a more varied diet since finding out I'm anaemic. Still low fat but upping the protein and veg.

The pain rating is interesting, it's all so personal, but when the paramedics asked me i said 9, they gave morphine x2 and i said 8, but quickly back up to 9 by the time i got to the sau. Pain meds didn't help, I'm certain of that, it just passed. Last time i had a flare up it was different, waves of 20/30 minutes with real respite in between. They said that was the biliary colic. I'd call that a 7 or 8. I've got 5 weeks. So desperate to not feel it I've hardly eaten today, just a turkey bacon sandwich and a tin of low sugar beans. I know I'm hungry, but surgeon said I'm going to have another attack before the surgery... and i don't want that!