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

Oh no! We all have slip ups. Mine was a mars ice cream at the beginning of August and I paid the price! How are you feeling?

Thankfully ok but my water retention is bad this morning, I assume that's because my body is having to work super hard to counteract the amount of fat I ate last night 🙈 Work has been v v stressful and I just didn't have the brainpower to think about it last night so dinner plus a couple of glasses of wine probably didn't help things. My attacks rarely seem to be linked to anything specific more they happen after a 'build up' so hopefully last night didn't encourage towards it but today I feel mostly ok luckily.

How are you feeling TrollFleet?

Thanks for asking after me.
I am feeling much better than I expected to at this point.
I was told I would be near the end of the list but ended up being first which was a nice surprise.

I felt so sick when I came round from the anaesthetic and was so tearful about it, I really hate feeling sick. It only lasted about 15 mins or so and then I had my pain meds topped up and felt so much better. I was discharged at about 3pm.
I struggled to sleep the first night, I felt quite wired but not in pain. I have been able to sleep in my sides from the first night.

I managed 2 slow 45 minute walk’s yesterday which I didn’t expect to be able to do the day after surgery!
My belly button incision aches a bit today so will take it a little easier today - maybe just one walk!
I was told to wait until Saturday to shower but had a quick one yesterday. I need to change my dressings on Saturday, slightly concerned my bellybutton incision has opened a little but hopefully will look ok tomorrow.

I feel so much better with my gallbladder gone, a toxic part of me has gone!

Good luck to everyone waiting x

Just to add prior to surgery I constantly had referred in my shoulder from gallbladder and was told to expect it after surgery due to the wind they pump in. I’ve not even had a twinge there, no issues with wind at all!

Woohoo @Trollfeet !!! And I'm so impressed you got out for the walk the next day!

Hope things stay ok for you @MiniCooperLover. May not be wise, but I found wine helped. I was going to do a dry 30 days leading up to my surgery, but every time I got about 5 or 6 days in I'd get the rumblings of a disgruntled gb! Maybe my gb was an alcoholic!

So I am having my first scan next Friday. As I am on the low fat diet I’m worried they won’t find anything and I will be stuck like this. The pains only start about two months ago. Is it too soon to be able to see anything. I don’t have the huge amount of pain Everyone else does

Don't worry@Bananas1350, once a gb has gone bad there's no repairing it, so if there's a problem they'll see it. I don't know the criteria for living with the gb. I know there are instances where removal isn't recommended but i can't recall them.
But loads of people have stones and sludge and no pain, they never know it. So statistically things are on your side!

I was worried about that too @Bananas1350 but I had been on a low fat diet for 2 months before my second scan and they still found stones.

Glad you are doing well @Trollfeet

How are you @dudsville ?

Really well thanks@HeyBwoss. 5 and 1/2 weeks post op now. Still waiting for the last scab to completely come off but I feel fully recovered. I've had to keep to a low fat heart healthy diet but it is much much nicer than a gb diet so I think that helped prepare me! The dry skin problem that I had hoped was gb related doesn't seem to be going away, but I'm also "of an age" so it could be that. Any updates your end?

So happy things are going well for you. Do you still get gallbladder twinges or food you can't eat or does everything seem to be ok? I have my pre op on Monday. Not sure when my op will be though. I'm really hoping before Christmas or I'll be a bit miserable at Christmas dinner!

Ooh, fingers crossed for you @HeyBwoss!!! That sounds like it's potentially soon! I completely agree, Christmas would be miserable. It depressed the hell out of me not being able to go out for a meal on my birthday and have my cake, and Christmas would be a million times worse. 🤞

I do get those phantom twinges, I wouldn't even call them twinges. They're like the most gentle poke. And from day 1 post op there hasn't been anything I couldn't eat. I had one experience of something that felt an awful lot like mild biliary colic, lasted about an hour, more central than where the gb was, maybe it was day 3 post op. It freaked me out. Left me worrying that the problem hadn't been solved. But I've not had it since.

Fingers crossed you get your date soon @HeyBwoss

@Bananas1350 there were no stones found at my first scan even though my symptoms were so typical. At the second scan they were found.

I changed my dressings today. I’m not usually squeamish but it made me feel so queasy. My wounds look clean and neat. None were scabby or weeping and I’ve only noticed one very light bruise.
Ive been eating high fibre foods and they haven’t caused any issues, usually I have to avoid as they have me running to the bathroom. I’m still taking codeine and paracetamol but only morning and night and this morning reduced the codeine to 30mg.

Good luck to all

Maybe this is gross, but the last part of my last scab has finally come off. I did nudge it a little but it gave way. Woohoo! My vision isn't so hot, which is annoying as I'm so curious to see them properly. I may take a weird selfy so that i can zoom in and see what they're like!

@dudsville 😂 I did that with my bellybutton today, wanted to see what was going in there. I could see my others more clearly, they were just red lines.

🤣 glad to know I'm not alone in the bizarre pic category! I took a pic on day 2, so i do have a comparison!

Yep, I had to take a belly button selfie too 😂 mine took a while to heal but all looks good now.

I had my pre op today, but all the nurse would say is that I'm on the "soon" list which means hopefully it'll be within 16 weeks but if not then I'll need another pre op. Feeling a bit disheartened about Christmas. My DS baked biscuits yesterday and I couldn't even try one in fear of triggering another attack. We've put one in the freezer for after surgery, not sure you can even freeze biscuits but never mind!

I'd have been disappointed too, i didn't know a pre op could be 16 weeks in advance. One step closer to the final goal. We froze a whole cake and it was fine, fingers crossed for your biscuit.

16 weeks?! All sorts could change in 16 weeks. I'm not sure how that gives them accurate test results to base anything on.

I have just over a week to go - 12th October. But am wondering about the strikes. Shall have to wait and see. I have my flight socks ready and hibiscrub for my pre-op shower (belt and braces😄😄😄).

Oh yes and I have a blood test booked for Monday. Did everyone else have two blood tests? One at pre-op and one not more than 5 days before.

@whitewave the one 5 days before was for a group and save only. As my first op was cancelled the day before I had to have it again as it needs to be done no more than 5 days before hand.

16 weeks seems crazy @HeyBwoss, fingers crossed it before that.

I thought the timing of the 2nd blood test was a little odd, but of course I'm not a medic! I was told it was to match blood type, a double check in the event i needed a transfusion... so why not have a system that notes my blood type across the 10 ish times it was drawn this year alone?