Gallstones

[StudentMumArghh]

On Monday, I went to the GP about pains I've been having in the night. He reckons I've got gallstones and I've been referred for blood tests and a scan.

Tonight, I've been woken again by another attack. This is the 5th in a space of a week. I still have another week to wait to do my blood tests and a further unknown wait for the scan.

These attacks are so painful and exhausting, I don't know how I can cope for much longer. I've read that some people go months without attacks yet I'm having them almost every night

I've been 9 years post diagnosis and only recently discovered that cheese is a trigger. I can go for months between attacks and then have a run of them. I can live without cheese if I can avoid pain and surgery.

I sympathise the pain is far worse than anything I have ever ezperienced (inc a stuck 10lb baby!). Have you by any chance been dieting? V often if you have been low fat for a while and then go back to normal it can trigger a spate of attacks as your gall bladder gets more active apparently v common with people who have done weight watchers. Buscophen and neaurophen work well if taken together at start of attack. It can be triggered by something as inocuos as a latte. You really have my sympathy it's debilitating

I sympathise, but you really have to cut out all fat. When I was diagnosed I had slim fast for the weeks until I could have the op.

All you can do in the meantime is take painkillers and that's all A&E can do for you.

Fat is not necessarily something you have to stay away from. No guidelines say you must cut out fat, only what triggers you.

Plenty of people follow a Lchf diet to control their gallstones.

If you don’t eat fat then you are at risk of creating more stones as your bile is not being released.

It was all meat and all dairy that set my sister off

I had so many triggers that I ended up only able to eat 4 things, but this is partly because I am vegan.

I also couldn't have caffeine, sugar, fruit, veg, fat or fizzy drinks. Was so miserable that I cried with relief when I had the surgery to remove my gall bladder.

Hope you get sorted soon

Usually fats would increase the pain and going to a&e may not bring the operation forward but if you need pain relief or antibiotics then they can treat this.
unfortunately, the referral process is quicker via the GP as they have to adhere to targets when they receive the referral. Ask your Gp to chase it if necessary.

Please go back to your doctor asap.

I was diagnosed with gallstones after my first attack - I honestly thought I was having a heart attack or something and it excruciating. I went to hospital as I didn't know what to do. They dx the gallstones and kept me in for a few days as I was really unwell then sent me home saying I'd get a date for surgery. It never came but I didn't have another attack and honestly thought I'd gotten away with it.

A year or so later the pain came back. All they did in the hospital was give me pain relief and fluids so I stayed home, took painkillers and drank and much water as I could. By day 5 I couldn't stand up without almost falling down. I dragged myself to the doctor who took one look at me and phoned an ambulance.

I had a severe gallbladder infection and pancreatitis and they told me I was right on the verge of developing sepsis. A gallstone had become lodged in the duct and couldn't be passed and that's what caused the infection. Looking back I honestly can't remember if the pain was constant for those five days or not, I think it probably was.

Go back and see your doctor, at the very least get some decent pain relief and get checked out.

Also I should add that mine were never triggered by food - I could eat anything. I was in my mid 20s and completely normal weight which is why they didn't initially suspect gallstones. In my case they thought it was caused by tramadol as I'd been on it a while previously. So yeah, it may not be foods - could be meds or other things that trigger it, or nothing. Cutting out fat and dairy may well be a good starting point. I know some people say they can't eat fatty stuff after the surgery either but I've never had that issue.

Yes I've been 'dieting', reducing portions etc. and lost 11lbs so maybe that's contributing to it.

Will see what happens tonight, I've had pork and rice for tea.

I would prefer not to remember the consequences of helping the family eat up the huge quantities of lovely cheese at the end of a holiday in France.

I had my gallbladder removed 20 years ago. I developed problems after losing a lot of weight quickly and deliberately. It was diagnosed very quickly via ultrasound. When they operated it was blocked and swollen, so it was a timely intervention. Yes, the pain is excruciating, I used to throw myself around the bed as lying still was impossible.
I never knew exactly what triggered an attack, but fatty meals made (and still make) me feel bloated and uncomfortable. I found sleeping propped up a bit helped, perhaps it stops you other organs pressing into the gallbladder.
Even though the op is usually done laprascopically (sp?) it is still major surgery, and you have to be careful about things like lifting for some time after.

This was my gallstone.

@cantthinkofabloodyname That's huge I can't believe that was inside your gallbladder, no wonder you were in pain!

I went for my bloods on Friday and have to wait until next week for the results I've had 10 attacks in the past 2 weeks regardless of what food I eat!

Eat something. Wait 4-6hrs to see if you have an attack. If no attack then it's safe to eat. I would recommend only eating that food from now until you have surgery. Attacks generally get progressively worse to the point of pain unimaginable if you just keep eating anything and everything.

I lived on porridge for breakfast, tuna butty for lunch - only asdas were ever safe, new potatos and beans with cottage cheese for dinner for 4 months. The weight loss was great. The attacks if I ever ate anything else to see if it was safe got to the point where I would have preferred death. I'm not even kidding when I say that.

If you can afford it, go private. It will be 100% worth it.

Thanks for you advice @AnnabellaH . I wish I could afford to go private but as a student I think it's out of reach My attacks always occur in the middle of the night so about 8 hours after food, I've only ever had one in the evening and I had a nap earlier in the day which I think triggered it.

Urgh OP, you poor thing. This might raise a smile (I seem to have lost the ability to attach pics so here's a link):

theawkwardyeti.com/comic/gall-bladders-day/

When I was diagnosed with mine The GP told that the typical sufferer was Female, Forty, Fat and Fair. I was female, but I was 28, with dark hair and a size 10. I was eating very healthily at the time and really the only fat I consumed was dairy so I changed to fully skimmed milk. It made not one jot of difference.

You poor thing. Gallstones are horrific. In the space of 6 weeks I had several attacks and was hospitalised several times with acute cholecystitis and severe jaundice on one occasion. Nothing helped alleviate the pain really, not even morphine. Nothing particular seemed to trigger it either. I’d never had any problems before. On my occasional lucid days, I begged, pestered and generally made myself a nuisance with hospital receptionists, the GP and A and E doctors and nurses to see a consultant. As soon as I managed to get an emergency appointment, I got a date within 10 days to take out the gallbladder. It’s the only cure! Don’t be fobbed off - I know that’s easier said than done when you’re in pain. Try to take someone to argue your case for you. Good luck - I hope you get better soon. The light at the end of the tunnel is that after the op there was instant relief and I’ve never had any more problems.

Op my trigger bizarrely was sweetcorn and not every time I ate it. I guess because it's hard to break down? I took paracetamol and codeine and my attacks came around 3am too (apart from one during the day at a farm with the dcs, was hallucinating with pain, the attack that finally got me to go to the doctors)

Good luck but agree with others, prolonged attacks get yourself to a&e.

@StudentMumArghh OX BILE supplements, Apple cider vinegar and pure apple juice are your friends

I had gallstones for 18 months. I was so ill, anxious and run down with them. The pain is unreal.
I started taking a supplement containing ox vile salts (this is proven to assist gallbladder function) and taking Apple cider vinegar and Apple juice 3 times a day. This combination cut my attack’s down from almost daily to much less frequent.

Also when you feel an a track starting, take 2 table spoons of ACV in hot water, 2 buscopan and a decent painkiller (my doc px dihydrocodeine) this really helps the attack’s pass.
Also vomiting helped me a lot - not pleasant but would usually bring an attack to an end.

Good news is I had my gallbladder removed in April of this year. In and out same day, no pain relief required, not even a paracetamol and I was up and around straight away. Needed an afternoon nap for the first week but back to normal after that. I felt better immediately after waking from surgery - the surgeon said my gallbladder was so diseased/infected that it would have been making me quite ill.

I’ve ate normally since with no issue - chips, pizza, curry, all the cheese. Gained 2 stone though

My trrigger was coffee..everytime. Desperate pain worse than childbirth.

So it's been over a week since my last attack, don't get me wrong, I'm so fucking happy but wtf is going on? It is definitely not diet related IME! Do attacks come and go for periods of time?