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

Here: from this page. www.nhs.uk/conditions/gallstones/treatment/

Diet and gallstones
In the past, people with gallstones who weren't suitable for surgery were sometimes advised to adopt a very low-fat diet to stop the gallstones growing.
But recent evidence suggests this isn't helpful because rapid weight loss resulting from a very low-fat diet can actually cause gallstones to grow.
This means that if surgery isn't recommended or you want to avoid having an operation, it's advisable to adopt a healthy, balanced diet based on The Eatwell Guidee_.
This involves eating a variety of foods, including moderate amounts of fat, and having regular meals.
A healthy diet won't cure gallstones or completely eliminate your symptoms, but it can improve your general health and help control pain caused by gallstones.
Read more about healthy eatingg_.

The contradicting information is so frustrating! I also think everyone around me thinks I'm over reacting. My consultant appointment is in less then a week now and I'm nervous I won't get surgery as I am managing it ok at the moment. Sorry you ended up in a&e again @MiniCooperLover

I had the same worry @HeyBwoss but when I spoke to the surgeon after she said my gallbladder was full of pus 🤢 and was in total agreement that it should have been removed even though I'd only had one attack since the diagnosis.

Oh how grim @CleanQueen123! I'm not expecting it any time soon anyway as I know there are more strikes coming. We'll see, I guess.

How are you feeling today@MiniCooperLover ? It's such a tiring process.

I'm now 10 days post op. Still quite sleepy but I'm also having hot flushes and they're tiring and disrupt sleep so that doesn't help. I've had some cake and a curry (shashlik and a naan) and have tolerated it well, but gained a few pounds instantly so I'm going back to the low fat diet until i get back on track. I'll check out your links @summergreens.

That an interesting link.
my food is …

breakfast - low fat chicken sausages and egg white omelette. And a banana.

lunch is normally new potatoes with either ham or some chicken. Then have grapes strawberries and an apple.

dinner is normally lots of veggie, potatoes and some meat.
I also have some jelly and some dairy free vanilla yogurts that I add in. And if I need something quick I have some cereals with oat milk.

I would like to make it more wide ranging but I am dairy and gluten free. I have ibs. And I have a bad bladder Which reacts to food. So my diet went from limited to even more limited. So this is what I have.

also have discovered that most of my stomach, body pains and exhaustion were due to the ultra processed food I was eating. And strangely I am feeling better being on this diet. Having felt this good in years. So even if I have mine out. I won’t be going back to how I ate before anyway.

Thanks for asking Dudsville, I feel quite bruised today and keep looking at my eyes making sure there's no sign of jaundice. This is quite the mind duck as well as the insides isn't it! Haven't had bfast yet, only managed a small (dry) jacket potato with leaves and tomatoes y'day but I wasn't feeling hungry anyway. Am tempted to buy an air fryer today to help the cooking more healthy option so me or my husband aren't having to cook different meals. Am thinking I'll be doing a lot of fish and chicken for the next while 🤷‍♀️

Ah yes, the mind ducks 😂of the gb drama. The number of times I checked for jaundince, I decided my colouring was a litle simpson like at best anyway. And never in my life have I eaten so much turkey and chicken lunch meat - may I never touch the stuff again, also tuna. There are things I really liked though that I will stick with - the health food shop near me sells a pure apples apple sauce, and that on toast was a real treat, porridge made with sugar free oat milk, Sainsbury's has a turkey bacon that's low fat, and I've eaten more fruit as I usually would see it as a bit of an expensive luxury but thought I deserved it. I'm having a fat free day today out of choice - I feel very grown up.

I've been having some twinges yesterday and today, also where my gallbladder used to be. Possibly a sign that I should be watching my fat content.

I honestly can't figure out whether all my twinges are post surgery related, or just my gastritis or IBS acting up, but tonight I'm going to try have some ice cream. It's vegan ice cream but I haven't tried any yet. I still feel nervous trying fatty food even though a month on I have been okay with everything really.

I still don't think I will try anything deep fat fried or heavy cream for a while yet. I honestly feel a bit queasy at the thought of it still. I think mentally it's going to take a while to have no anxiety around fat in food.

I don't suppose anyone could share their liver reading with me or tell me if mine sound like gall bladder. I just had someone results back checking something else and these have an h next to them.
Bilirubin 30
Alanine transaminase 66

@Packageholiday when j had a blocked duct my bilirubin was in the 60s (50s on discharge) and ALT was 500 (250 on discharge)

@Trollfeet.. Thank you for that swift reply! I've been terribly worried all day.

Hi I don't know the scores but I know when I was at the Surgical Unit on Friday with an attack, they said my blood tests and bilarubin were 'ok' and I felt like shit.

When I had my initial big attack, I passed a stone, and my AST and ALT were high, but came down slowly after my attack. I don't remember the exact numbers. I went slightly jaundiced too.

I think I've managed to crack low fat today, it's been tough but doable(ish). I had an M&S zero fat Yoghurt and a banana for bfast, a veg broth and a bread roll for lunch and roast chicken (but no skin sadly), veg and stuffing (which I think was ok as it's just bread crumbs?). We'll see how that goes ... 🙏

It sounds like you're finding your way. It's hard to work out what works for an individual (i couldn't tolerate dairy at all even the 0%fat yogurt), but do check you stuffing, the one we had in the pantry was high in fat, also be in the look out for where they content in a serving or the package instead of per 100g, that used to result piss me off, no way was i going to get out my calculator to work out that percentage myself if they Chittlehampton be bothered to provide it. When i was feeling really hungry one of my favourites was pasta in sainsburys tomato and basil soup. I even had it this week as I'm sticking with some of the low fat options.

Yes I'm guessing I'll only work out what I can tolerate by eating them. I hate the idea of zero fat food, goes against what I feel is healthy but it's an essential right now I guess 🤷‍♀️

I never looked it up, but one dr said the idea was to avoid lipids. I've complained throughout this thread that the diagnosis should come with a consultation with a dietician.

I used to take plant-based digestive enzymes to help fat digestion - not the ones with ox bile but much gentler. They definitely helped.

@dudsville
Definitely but generally there is very little holistic joined up thinking on NHS

It's v quiet on here. How are you getting on@HeyBwoss ? How's everyone else doing?

Morning @dudsville, thanks for checking in. I'm ok thanks, nothing much to report. Haven't had a big attack since the beginning of August but I have been feeling bloated and achy around my stomach and chest. I finally have my consultant appointment tomorrow, late afternoon! So have fingers crossed for that. I also need to remember to call the doctors today and ask about my scan results as I keep forgetting.

How are you getting on? And everyone else?

That's great that you've not had an attack for a while @HeyBwoss and that things are progressing with your appt tomorrow. Are they still saying this could possibly be your pre op as well?

I'm doing really well. The glue is itching, and i have a post op follow up appt in a couple of weeks, but i can feel myself moving on from this hideous adventure, which is a relief.

I haven't heard anything since that letter saying they could do my pre op at the same time, so possibly. Hopefully, as I think the pre op only lasts a certain amount of time?

Glad you are doing well. Have you had a bite of your birthday cake yet?!