Gallbladder is being checked

[Mumof2crazies]

Hi was at the doctors due to pain i was having they think its my gallbladder. Has anyone ever had server pain around their right shoulder blade

I'm one of the relatively rare cases who didn't go back to normal; it worked for me for almost a year and then I had a really bad attack. They couldn't find anything so blamed it on a "leftover stone" which I was unconvinced of. Private appointment and some digging around suggested it might be Sphincter of Oddi disfunction, but it calmed down. 6 months later (just as covid kicked off) and I had another really bad attack and ended up in hospital for days. This time they did an MRI while I was still in serious pain (so no chance it had already passed) and couldn't see shit. At this point they admitted it's probably SOI, but they won't do the required endoscopic tests due to covid.

I got sent home with a stack of drugs including morphine. Had a few milder turns but I'm managing it with buscopan (anti spasmodic), diclofenac and a tens machine. The TENS is a major help.

That said, I'd still say get it out because the pain is horrific and for most people, removal works

I have stones and am awaiting referral for removal. But the pain isn’t terrible as I’ve seen loads on here before. It’s not pleasant and is mostly a feeling of muscle spasm in my tummy, just under the ribs on the right/centre. I get pain in my shoulders anyway so hard to tell if is the cause, it feels tight around the ribs too. I feel very lucky it hasn’t got that bad.

I only found out because of major bloating just below the ribs. I also suspect (as does the GP) it’s the cause of years of heartburn. However I can’t find much to support this and just hope it stops once they whip it out.

I don’t find fat makes it worse but eating cream crackers eases off the discomfort. I saw something that suggested a high fat diet is good as it encourages the gall bladder to empty. And fasting is bad as the bile hangs around too long and forms the stones.

I've had gallstone pain on and off for years. I diet, go back to normal eating then get an attack. It all came to a head in January (after dieting before Christmas then eating crap again) when I had lots of attacks ending up in my gallbladder getting infected. Was put straight on the waiting list for removal, date came through for April and was postponed because of covid. So now have to wait. In the meantime I've had no more attacks as I don't eat anything above 3% fat on the advice of my consultant. The weight loss has been great and I almost don't want the surgery but I know I need to because of the risk of another infection and the restrictive diet isn't great

Can i ask a really silly question how do you feel after you eat

I feel absolutely fine. Things are a “bit loose” if I eat something too fatty but I don’t do that very often. Eating spicy stuff doesn’t affect me either, although I was warned it might.

I have a horrible indigestion feeling very heavy and sore

@SillyYak

On the plus side, having gallstone attacks before I had children made my two labours a breeze.

This is what I’m hoping for!

For me it was only fatty food that caused an attack - I understood it was fatty food triggering the gallbladder to release bile to emulsify the fat and the blocked bile duct would then spasm. But certainly others experience attacks without fatty food so I guess everyone has to work out their triggers.
Afterwards I went back to normal but had a dodgy stomach for a while, especially after spicy food. Very sudden issues too - I almost shat myself in a lift once it was awful. Stay near a bog after eating once it’s out!

Often felt impossibly full for hours after eating when it was happening - was awful. Heavy and sore - definitely.

Worst pain EVER. Feels like a steel cage crushing you and mine radiates in waves. I am however a total baby and have so far managed to dodge getting it removed. I have tomophobia which for someone who has Crohn's and has had cancer is a bit silly but I will avoid all hospital procedures where possible. Even getting bloods done is a flipping nightmare. I know lots of people who have had it removed and they've been absolutely fine, sailed through the op and recovery.

I honestly thought someone was standing behind me shoving a screwdriver into my shoulder blade with full force. It was horrendous.

My first attack was when I was pregnant, they missed it. Twat of a paramedic asked me if it was indigestion. No, not even CLOSE.

Mine never corresponded to eating fatty stuff really, and it didn't bother me unless it was having an attack. So no low level aggro, it was either all good or screaming pain.

@Mumof2crazies I had my gallbladder out last year infact a year today. Like you I had terrible right shoulder blade pain like there was a muscle burning constantly underneath the blade. When I had an attack I literally thought I was having a heart attack the pain was excruciating from sternum through to middle of back like a knife going in and turning.
Been through childbirth and this was worse. Felt nauseous, sweating, shaking and vomited just the worst pain ever.

Had keyhole surgery off work two weeks no problems, just amazing to know I will never go through that horrendous pain which could last hours. No pain relief worked. I had a huge gallstone. You will be so relieved to get rid of it.

I had gallbladder stones which were initially misdiagnosed as afterpains as they occurred shortly after having DS2. They went on for months - about every 6 weeks and so much more painful than child birth. Delayed diagnosis and then a delayed operation led to issues with my liver and pancreas. They gave me my stones - about 30 pieces of gravel :(

Sorry, should have said it was my gallbladder removal that helped me, and where they found the stones! X

I used to get terrible pain from my gallbladder which radiated out from my chest and into my back and shoulders. I tried to manage it with diet but eventually it ruptured and was removed in an emergency operation. I was left with severe complications and would advise anyone with gallbladder problems to have it taken out. You’ll live happily without it.

When I had gallstones and had to wait 6 months for the operation, I put myself on a very low fat diet so I would minimise the risk of more pain. The gallbladder releases bile when you eat fat to break it down , but can't do so if blocked with stones , hence the pain. I read the fat content of every food I ate and only ate anything with less than 5 percent fat . It worked , and I only had one further attack before my surgery.
A bonus point was that I lost over 2 stones in weight without trying

Can I just say a big thank you i thought my mind was going with all the different wee things I was feeling but turns out most people are the same. At the start i thought I had pulled a muscle but when it kept getting worse I knew there was something wrong especially rolling the bed at 3am.

I had severe shoulder pain, chest pain and pain in the centre of my back. It would make me vomit and pass out on some occasions. After a couple of hospital admissions for pain relief they kept in...for 2 weeks NBM till they removed my gallbladder.
A month later, turned out it wasn’t my gallbladder and I was still experiencing the same pain.
12 years on I still get it every 2-3 weeks and they’re still not sure what causes it...something to do with my bile duct/oesophagus. It’s a pain in the bum...

Hope yours resolved itself better than mine!

Got my blood results all fine apart from my white blood count.