Anyone with gallstones help

[Windmill34]

Not Been Diagnosed
But Every now and then I get discomfort sort of under to one side if right shoulder blade. It not agh pain more a discomfort and it being continually there!

Does anything help with yours if your in discomfort?

Is the only way to get rid if it is gallstones by having an operation to have gallbladder out ?
Ive think I’ve read something about having laser to break them down ? Is this an operation does anyone know ?

sorry for all questions

Sadly, all I can recommend is improve your diet. Reduce the fat content, like, for ever. If you're lucky you won't get to the extreme pain/ throwing up/ surgery stage.

In the UK, unless you are going private, they won't do anything until you get to this stage.

Yes, you need to go ‘fat free’ - practically, that’s less than 3% fat. This will keep the pain at bay.

Thank you both

does it feel like you’ve got wind in your back and want to burp?
mine does or could be just a coincidence

I'm not sure you have gallstones based on your description. My pain was always just under my rib cage on the right hand side at the front. When it was agonising the pain would radiate from there up to my shoulder blade, I imagined it felt like a sword being run through me, but it never started in the shoulder blade region. It also never felt like trapped wind. It was more like contraction pain even at it's mildest and it was generally accompanied by vomiting.

PP are right that the doctors won't even look at you properly unless you're in substantial pain on the NHS, and even then you're looking at a very long time for scans and referral for the operation.

If it is the beginning of gallstones then a very low fat diet will make a difference. As will avoiding extremely hot/cold foods and drinks.

Maybe a good place to start is keeping an honest food diary and tracking any symptoms. At least then if you think you need to see a doctor you'll have a clear history to share with them so they can best help diagnose what's going on.

Hope you get to the bottom of what's going on.

LittleLegsKeepGoing
Thank you, I wouldn’t say mine was pain, it’s just an uncomfortable feeling that’s been there all day with burping(may not be related as I said)

I do get again discomfort if I sit upright under the bottom of my left rib , more of an ache thou
and I have to slouch to make it stop when I get it
which isn’t good for my back !

could I not ask gp for an X-ray or ultrasound
if they can detect anything?

Ultrasound will detect any gallstones. Thankfully when I was having problems my GP surgery had an ultrasound so was diagnosed immediately.

The pain was excruciating and would radiate from my ribs and up into my right shoulder.
I ate a very low fat diet, mostly salad, and any deviation from that resulted in an attack.

Your best bet is to see your GP and see what they think.

My very first attack was bad enough the GP immediately referred me to the surgical assessment unit at the hospital because my symptoms could have just as easily have been appendicitis. They run the tests and identified it was gallstones and that I'd need to be referred to the surgical team for assessment with a view to operating. Everyone I know with gallstone problems has a similar story - in one way or another the pain was bad enough in the first instance to warrant being checked at the hospital (either A&E or GP same day referral).

I've never heard of anyone experiencing gallstones with only discomfort, I'm not minimising what you're experiencing...but this is why I don't think you have a gallstone problem and it's probably something else.

Definitely worth speaking to your GP, they may agree to scan you based on your symptoms anyway.