Gallbladder attacks advice PART 2, where heybwoss gets ready to celebrate

[dudsville]

In June 23 Heybwoss started the thread titled "gallbladder attacks advice". I don't know how to do links, but that thread helped a number of us through some really dark and scary times. Now heybwoss is finally getting her gallbladder removed this Friday! This thread is to have a space to check in about that, and for anyone suffering the awful physical and psychological pain and suffering while waiting to have theirs removed, for all those missing all the celebratory and holiday meals, missing the ease of simply eating when hungry, and simply missing the ease of enjoying eating without The Fear. Come on heybwoss 🥳🥳🥳

I've tried to link posters names but i can't work out how to do this.

I had mine out during lockdown, triggered an attack with junk food and drive myself to a & e.
I now have a condition called Bile acid malabsorption (BAM) and on meds for the rest of my life but anything is better than that awful pain

My GP thinks I have gallstones, no scan but has prescribed medication and said to review in 2 months

Should I be pushing for a scan? I’m textbook apparently, 40+ white female who was recently pregnant, and when she felt my gallbladder she could feel it was inflamed

I feel a bit of a fraud with mine. I had no idea I had a gall bladder problem but got told by GP practice nurse in May that my thus far very manageable pre/diabetic blood sugar had shot up from 48 to 95. I had put about a stone in weight on since giving up smoking 6 months earlier so assumed it was that. Went on to Metformin and immediately cut out all sugars and went very low carb. Struggled to drop any weight and finger prick readings stubbornly high.
Never really registered that I was having to take Rennies when I lay down every night. FF to a month ago and I had about 6 hours of grim pain one night but the next night it kicked off again and after 14 hours of sobbing agony I gave in and called an ambulance. I was taken in (no one in A&E) and they finally gave me enough morphine to ease the pain
Scan showed sludge and consultant said they were going to see if they could remove the gall bladder while I was in over the weekend. Sunday morning they came and said no one else needed the theatre so I had it done. They said it would take an hour but it took 3 1/2 as it was all stuck to my liver. I am so relieved they did as the alternative was manage the pain for 4-5 weeks at home.
Home by Tuesday and had a gentle 4 weeks recovery but pretty much OK after a week. Good job really as DH had another heart attack 2 weeks ago and has only been discharged today.
I am going back for an MRI in two weeks to see if any stones in bile duct.
Weight off now and blood sugar readings back down.
Still very loose and have that urgency to go but it is getting better and I do have a bit more control. I have had to overcome my dislike of pooing in public toilets but thankfully I am retired so don't actually have to go anywhere if I am having a bad day.
Have had some lightly fried food but will need to be careful I think. Eggs tend to slow me down so will have them a couple of times a week.
I am so full of admiration for those of you who are having to deal with this for months (my sister has little sympathy for me as she had to wait 12 months to have hers removed) and am forever grateful that our health authority is as good as they are. My care has been exceptional.
Good luck to all of you.

Am I understanding from some of you that acid reflux/indigestion problems could be a symptom of gall stones/problems?

Currently in my gown/stockings etc waiting to be called down to theatre. Weird signing the consent form, while the surgeon was explaining all the risks I had a mild panic that this could all go wrong, or make things worse so I'm still very nervous but I know it's something I need to get done anyway. Thanks for all the well wishes!

Wow, @Fizzadora you did get lucky with the timescales of surgery but you still suffered the pain and one attack is one too many! Sorry to hear about your DH, I hope you are both on the road to recovery.

@Trying81 I'd definitely push for a scan or get a private one if you can afford it. I've said previously I got a upper abdominal scan at a baby clinic for £110, but otherwise I would have been waiting for months just for a scan, and then consultant time on top of that. All the doctors I've seen have said once you have gallbladder issues it has to come out.

@Nothankyou22 can I ask a bit more about BAM please, does the medication completely stop any issues you were having previously? Did doctors take you seriously when you discussed it?

So glad to find this thread! I had a blood test on Tuesday and ended up being sent to hospital by my GP yesterday because my liver result was so high. The hospital dr thinks it's gallstones. I've been having attacks of pain for a couple of years and was prescribed Esomeprazole for indigestion/ reflux.

Had a really long, painful attack on Monday, so maybe that's why my result was so high the next day. Something that should have been 30 was 600, apparently 😬.

Anyway, I'm going back next week for an ultrasound and more test results. In the meantime, it would he good to know if there's anything I can do to prevent or reduce the attacks. I suspect the answer is no. Am hoping it is gallstones, actually, because then there's a cure, ie surgery.

@HeyBwoss - best of luck for your surgery today.

So after my op I was still suffering from diarrhoea no matter what I ate, also bile sickness and severe acid reflux, they put me on bile binder shake which did nothing, neither did Imodium or similar.
After 6 months I was sent for a seCHAT scan where it confirmed I had high bile levels and was given a new bile binder tablet to try coleselvam I think it’s called and take one a day which has changed my life, before my whole life was planned around toilets and not eating at work or going out etc due to how severe it was and now it’s pretty normal but I know if I haven’t taken it.
some people also recommend ox bile from Holland and Barrett.
The only time now my tablets don’t work is after a heavy night of alcohol which I don’t do often, if I have a few I am fine.

I hope your op goes/went well. I ended up staying in a few days because my bladder wouldn’t work properly but then all of a sudden it was back to normal and I was up walking about and being sent home.

Ive started taking digestive enzymes, Solgar

A few days in and it feels slightly more comfortable to eat but thats based on discomfort from when I had a gastric sleeve, Ive developed quite bad indigestion and acid over the months

However Im still constantly clearing my throat, hoarse, sore throat, feels bubbly in my throat.

Got a GP appointment Tuesday and will ask for a scan but the pain/discomfort is really pinging up all over the place, right side, left side, right front, right back, right arm.

Lots to catch up on here, but how are you@HeyBwoss ?

I agree either push for scans or get them done privately, if the gb is ill it won't get better. What meds did your gp prescribe @Trying81 ? I hate prescription without evidence.

I was taking the Solgar digestive enzymes before my op. I can't say if they made a difference and to be honest they tasted so vile I stopped taking them.

Yes the taste is something else

And they nearly always get stuck at the back of my mouth and wont go down so enhances the flavour!

I will catch up tomorrow properly but just a quick check in to say all went well, surgeon said it was pretty simple in the end but I had several large stones in the gallbladder which definitely would have caused me issues so he said it was worth getting it out. I felt very sick and dizzy until about a hour ago when nurse gave me anti sickness injection and now I have managed to eat toast (and butter!) I'm just so tired with some pain in insicions. Hoping to go home when I've done a wee

Woohoo @HeyBwoss , you're on the home stretch now with the recovery, no more gb flare ups! I smiled at your having buttered toast. I had a criossant, half asleep but i was gonna eat that croissant no matter what! Hope the incision pains passes quickly.

Feeling ok today, my around my belly button is quite sore but seems to be the only one hurting. It's stinging more then painful. Currently taking codine, paracetamol and lactulose though. The shoulder pain is on and off too, sore when it does come on. I'm not very good at being patient in recovery, I'm sick of it and ready to feel better! I am also still wary of eating fat though.

Thanks for the reply @Nothankyou22, something to keep an eye on them but 6 months of diarrhea sounds miserable!

@Rarewaxwing honestly the only thing that helped me was (as everyone told me on the previous thread) eating as low fat as possible. It didn't stop all the pain/uncomfortableness but I definitely had less after June (when previous thread started) when I cut everything fatty out. I was lucky though and was still able to eat fat free yogurt etc but I know others on this thread have struggled much more with food. The general rule someone mentioned was less then 3g fat per 100g food so I tried to stick to that. I did have slip ups like the nibble of the kids nuggets/a crisp/bite of chocolate but even that triggered an awful attack so I didn't do it again.

Hello thanks for the new thread, i think I'm borderline and had horrendous attack once a few years ago.

My liver reading high but doc said its when they double they start to worry.
Found the last thread very helpful. Good luck to those about to have it out... And those maintain diet.

@HeyBwoss you mentioned not being patient in recovery. I still chuckle when I got frustrated around day 2ish that I wasn't just bouncing around and feeling better, but recovery for me was swift from or after day 3 post op with feeling noticeable improvements daily. I think I was still swelling from the surgery for those initial coupld of days post op. And I think I needed a lot of sleep (long nights and day time naps) for the first week. And I had a painful event aroud day 2 I think, that passed in about an hour and was worrying as it felt very similar to a gb flare up, but I never had anything after that, I do most days get a mild poke sensation where the gb was but it doesn't hurt. Also for my recovery I was lucky that the weather was good so I got myself out for a daily walk just to help my system recover, I think I did that from day 3 and did that for about 5 days, by which time I was feeling much better, and by the end of two weeks I was feeling able to do most normal things. After about a few weeks I started waking every morning to nausea, which I guess was to do with the bile going directly into my digestive system, but that ended too a couple of weeks back. I've not had any urgency or difficulty with food, but I'm maintaining a low fat and lower sat fat diet with the addition of healthy fats that I wasn't able to tolerate pre-op.

I echo @Odingodof's well wishes, good luck to everyone managing pre op. It's the worst thing I've ever experienced.

@HeyBwoss - hope the soreness eases for you soon. And thanks for your advice about sticking to a low-fat diet. I seem to be able to get away with some fat without an attack, even though my liver results this week were insanely high. I had chocolate yesterday (unable to resist the kids' Halloween treats), but didn't suffer for it. Generally, though, I'm sticking to a low-fat diet. Also not drinking alcohol.

I'm sorry for all those who ended up scared of eating anything for fear of an attack.

@dudsville - very encouraging to read your story of recovery.

Does everyone have to maintain a low-fat diet after the operation as well? I read that the body finds it harder to digest fats after losing the gallbladder.

I have day 2/3 blues today. I just want to feel normal again, I mostly feel fine but around my belly button is sore and bruised and my bowels still won't work so I feel miserable today! I thought I would be desperate to eat something I've missed but I can't bring myself to eat anything higher in fat at the moment

Don't be too tough on yourself HeyBwoss, I think that's quite common a couple of days after a GA. Try not to worry too much just yet and give yourself a couple more days to come 'off' the GA effects.

I was the same. It wasn't until day 5 that I felt much better. Coincidentally after I did a number 2 for the first time post op! 😆

It's normal to feel a bit low after a GA. They pump you full of strong drugs and you do have a bit of a dip in mood when they leave your system, at least that's how I find it.

Thanks. I'm trying not to relax about it but I keep getting the urge to go but nothing's happening. I think I'll definitely feel better after I've been! Currently drinking peppermint tea (which I hate) to try and help

I obviously meant I'm trying to relax