AIBU to ask what a gallbladder attack is?

[typicalvalues]

Having had extensive investigations done recently and two gallstones found (1 of 0.5cm and 1 of 0.6cm), the medical team and surgical team have said to me that the only time gallstones cause pain is when the gallbladder is infected (which would have inflammatory markers in bloods - I don't) or when they get into bile duct (which doesn't appear to be the case for me at the moment). So they have ruled out gallstones as a possible cause for pain radiating from under rhs ribs to chest and abdomen. So when you guys say a 'gallbladder attack', what do you mean exactly, or how have your doctors explained it to you? Have you had infection/inflammatory markers in bloods?

I had gall bladder pain, no infections, pain was horrendous, radiating around generally just one side, kind of area where your bra sits. Nothing could dull the pain, just had to work through it, normally last about 4 hours, felt pretty grim the next day no pain, just out of sorts. Such a relief when I had the dam thing taken out, no complications and after a few months I could eat whatever I wanted. My gall bladder was jam packed with gall stones.

@typicalvalues

Scenario 2 of your post *@MindGrapes* is precisely the pain I have. I've had surgeons interrogate me on where the pain is, bowel movements, nausea, vomiting 'How many times have you vomited? How many times have you had a bowel movement? Is it worse when you eat and drink?' and I just shouted at him (all the while the other bloody surgeon is pressing on my stomach) and I just shouted 'STOP - YOU'RE CONFUSING ME' and started to cry and asked them to leave me alone. Me and pain don't get along. How can you be expected to answer questions when you're dosed with morphine, in pain, one surgeon is pressing on you and the other surgeon is bombarding you with questions!

Argh, sounds awful OP! Mine was misdiagnosed for ages, because I think I didn't say the magic words 'right shoulder blade' - if I thought very hard that's probably where the pain sort of was, but it was also everywhere! Boobs, ribs, back. It's hard to explain, isn't it!

Also mine was never particularly linked to eating fatty foods so that threw me off the scent.

Has anyone mentioned the 'F's yet - are you female, fair, fertile, fat, and forty? Bloody insulting I know - and I've never been overweight but also carry a bit more fat than I should, and not yet 40! - but I am fair and female at least!

A friend went through years of referred pain - investigations for bowel cancer and ovarian cysts, ectopic pregnancy etc. Gall bladder all along!!

Oh the pain. The fucking pain! this definitely sounds like the gallstones are causing the pain to me. I had my gallbladder out when I was 24 as stones where trapped in my bile duct. I was diagnosed when i was pregnant with my first son and was on 30mg of cocodamol all the way through. I couldn't eat any fat and I got so scared of eating anyone else's cooking because of the agony. Even when I hadn't eaten fat I'd be up all night rocking in agony. I lost 35lbs when I was pregnant. After I had my son I had the biggest attack ever, I was crying for an ambulance and writhing on the floor trying to make myself sick as that normally made the pain go faster. I was on tramadol by that point. My husband took me to the out of hours gp, was given more tramadol and sent home. Woke the next morning and I was yellow. Went to my doctor and she took blood at one oclock. At four o'clock I was told to go straight to hospital. They moved really quickly then and I had surgery the next morning and a shit load of morphine. It was supposed to be quick keyhole surgery but took four hours as I had so many stones stuck in my bile ducts that they couldn't get them out and had to push them down for me to pass. It's so traumatic being in that much pain for so long. I've heard that having one stone and having loads of stones or silt causes the same amount of pain. Make them listen to you