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

Thanks. I had my scan this morning and they did a really thorough one of my kidneys, liver, gallbladder, etc. and confirmed that yes I have gallstones, though she said there are quite a lot but they're small so hopefully that's good? Anyway the report will go to my GP.

Fingers crossed you're in an area where gb care is well provided for and that you get a quick resolution @MiniCooperLover !

Those of you who've had your surgeries, how are your incisions doing? I'm only 8 days post op, but I was told to take off my bandages 24 hours after the surgery and that I could shower from that point too. I don't wash the incisions, but they do get water on them and I pat them dry. I don't know if that makes a difference to how the wounds heal. My skin has always been very slow to heal from anything and I'm curious to know how quickly others have lost the glue. I read that they it can start to loosen naturally at around a week post op and mine don't show any sign of shifting!

I'm doing really well, still quite tired and wanting a nap twice a day, but I'm getting out for a walk every morning. Today was day 5 of my daily walks and I have enjoyed them as each day has shown noticeable improvement. Today I felt I could do my normal pace (a litttle slower only because I didn't want to get the incisions sweaty). I've not gone wild with food but I'm having some fat every day and I've had no tummy trouble since the first 48 hours post op - but I didn't have to take pain meds and therefore haven't needed the stuff they gave me for constipation.

The only problem I have is that in my sleep I seem to go for a big stretch and so I wake up to pain where I think the gb duct to the liver was clamped. That hurts in that moment but passes quickly - hope I'm not causing any damage but I don't know how I can stop myself from stretching whilst asleep!

How's everyone getting on?

I'm doing really well. I started driving again yesterday and I'll be back to work on Monday.

The thing I'm still watching is the lifting. I've also had some slight internal pain and I can definitely feel it when I've picked up things like a washing basket so I'll WFH next week and carry on taking it easy.

My incisions have still got the steri-strip on but the actual dressings are off. I'm showering as normal and I've been using the hibiscrub the hospital gave me but not cleaning the wounds as such. I think I'll wait for the steri-strip to fall off as the stitches heal.

That's helpful to hear, you're 2 weeks post op now @CleanQueen123 ?

Yes, two weeks today 😊. All seems to be going well so far. Apart from the healing and still being careful with lifting I'd say I'm back to normal.

Also having to be a bit careful with sleeping. I usually sleep on my front and last night was the first time I've managed that since surgery.

I'm pretty much back to normal a month on from surgery. I'm still getting some twinges now and then, but nothing bad and diet wise I'm back to nearly normal.

My wounds are healing fine, I'm hoping to get back to swimming soon.

Good to hear recoveries are going well and @CleanQueen123 that two weeks post op you are back to driving.

@MiniCooperLover was dithering whether to tell you this but thought honesty is best. My stones are only small but it’s why I ended up quite unwell. One of the stones was lodged in my bile duct which was excruciating and lead to me getting an infection.

Trollfeet, don't worry I appreciate the honesty, it's fine. I'm guessing some of them have tried to move at one point or I wouldn't have had my A&E visit.

@Lionoso , have your bits of glue come off yet? And may i ask, where are you feeling twinges? Ideally i need to be able to wear a somewhat heavy backpack in two week's time.

The incision in my belly button is the most twingy one for me. I was meant to be climbing Snowdon next weekend, complete with backpack but I'm rethinking that now.

Ooh, that makes me shudder! I don't have an actual belly button one, mine's about an inch above, but none of them bother me, i just don't like the wait whilst they potentially get caught on clothing.

Mine is right inside 😬 and I have an extra one because there was a slight complication so they had to use an extra bit of kit from what I can gather.

The belly button one is the most sore and nearly all of my trousers are high waisted which isn't ideal. I've got another one just under my bra line too which was irritating last week.

Yes they have, I had glue on the two small incisions on the right. That came off about two weeks after. Other two had dissolvable stitches. The sternum one still hurts a bit, it's the one that's given me the most discomfort. I have er quite large boobs though and the weight was uncomfortable no what bra I wear. It's much better now though.

I feel twinges on my left under my ribs often. And sometimes what feels like phantom gallbladder pains on my right. None of it is painful really just mild discomfort. I have gastritis and IBS as well so think my digestive system is just getting used to no gallbladder.

Can I ask if anyone took any particular supplements to try and counter act the loss of natural fats in the diet while on the low fat diet? My skin is already suffering (which is very annoying as it's usually very good, vain I know but it's thrown me) and I'm assuming it's because at the moment all food I eat is going through me very quickly so I'm not getting any nutrients from my bland white diet at the minute. Thanks

I didn't @MiniCooperLover , what would they supplement be? What are you noticing with your skin? For me i noticed incredibly dry skin, parts of my body that ive never moisturised suddenly were dry and flakey. I googled but all i could see its that gb issues and dry skin were linked but that there wasn't a definitive causal link. I will be curious to see if my skin improves, but also this is perhaps age/hormone related.

But also i was able to tolerate fruit and veg so I'm sure that helped.

That's interesting @dudsville. I noticed my hands were really dry and I got dandruff but I didn't make the connection. I assumed it was generally being run down/poor diet/anemia.

I did start taking a multivitamin but nothing specific for hair/skin like collagen.

Hi all, just wanted to pop on and see how everyone was. I am feeling pretty crap tbh! Still awaiting the results of my scan and in pain every day now regardless of what I eat. I am back to work on Monday (am a TA at a high school) and worried how I will cope with work while feeling like this!

Poor you @Stressedandpoorlydressed . I think everyone here knows just how you're feeling and how frustrating it is waiting to be treated.

I feel like as I get solidly into middle age woman territory every one of my ailments is something the nhs is slow to diagnose, has a horribly long'wait &see' stage where they hope you'll go away and then if you finally get ill enough and pushy enough for them to accept you need treatment then its a long wait to get accepted onto a waiting list.

In short, I'm sorry you're feeling low. I hope you get some respite soon.

You have my sympathy too @Stressedandpoorlydressed , and @summergreens has described it so well. I was appalled at the level of pain, illness and sheer awkwardness regarding the severely limited diet that the nhs wanted me to just live with for so long. It's dispiriting.

@summergreens thank you. It's just nice to be in a place where everyone knows how you feel and how horrible it is. Sometimes I think my husband thinks I am making up the pain which is really annoying!

@dudsville that's it to a tee! It's just deal with the pain and eat next to nothing and that's it! So depressing.

I completely agree. I couldn't believe the expectation was just to live on fresh air and wait an indeterminate time for surgery. It was absolutely no surprise that I ended up anaemic.

Stressed, it really is shit isn't it. I ended up in A&E again today. I was working and could feel it start so got some peppermint tea and a hot water bottle and managed to work through for an hour but it was getting worse and worse and eventually I asked DH a to take me across to A&E and even he, who can see how much I've restricted the last month, was a bit eyebrows raised and a bit dubious. But he soon realised the error of his ways. I told my boss (female) I had to go and I could tell she was a bit surprised I had to go so quickly.

A&E were good when I mentioned the gallstones. Sent me straight to SAU so I skipped A&E.

They have said they'll sort me an apt with the consultant who does gallbladders and 'then' he'll put me on the list for removal. He finished it off by reminding me to he 'fat free' (not even low fat 😞). He acknowledged it would be miserable (his words 😞) and said I just needed to stick to it. But he did say to skip A&E in future and go straight to their ward.

And yet the dietary advice offered by different nhs trusts differs so much. I read guidelines this morning that said not to avoid fat because current evidence is that very little dat / restrictive diet makes things worse. If I can find it I'll post it later so we can all compare and contrast.