Gallstones & gallbladder surgery?

[Moidershewrote]

More of a WWYD than AIBU, but posting for traffic😬

Have had gallstones for well over a decade, they were found on a scan when I was pregnant and monitored on a couple of scans since then, but up until the past year or so I’ve not had too much trouble with them. But now I seem to be having issues and I ~think~ I’m having bouts of biliary colic (although not diagnosed) which leave me in agony for 3-4 hours when it kicks off. I’m then exhausted and feel sick for a few days afterwards.

I know I can probably push for the gallbladder removal surgery with GP and have private insurance via work. But I am really scared of surgery (past traumatic medical experiences) and also worried it will leave me with continued digestive issues (thanks Google!) as I’ve read a lot of that online.

Looking for personal gallstone / surgery stories and anything that might help me get on with it..

@Thedogscollar i felt like I was being impaled by a red hot poker. It started in the right shoulder and went through to my sternum.

I've just gone on the waiting list to see a gastro doc about mine. I had a scan 10 years ago which showed 2 stones but I wasn't really having issues so I left it. Recently I was getting some grumbling gassy feelings and acid reflux so they gave me another scan (and put me on the waiting list for an endoscopy for the reflux). Scan showed another stone which seems to be in the neck of my gallbladder. The gallbladder is also pretty enlarged although no signs of infection. They said it is unlikely to be working very well if at all at this point. I have also seen some info about the issues with having it removed but the dangers of pancreatitis are more concerning to me and apparently once the gallbladder isn't working properly it won't get better anyway.

The waiting list for gastro is currently 60 weeks so hopefully I won't have too many issues while I wait. I'm being more careful about how much fat I eat!

I think I got the stones after losing a lot of weight 14 years ago - apparently it is a common cause.

Mine went from the occasional mild attack (which I didn't know at the time was gallstones) after eating fatty food. To 6-8 hours of intense pain after eating fatty-ish food fairly regularly.

I got diagnosed after an A&E visit and I changed diet to cut out triggers but it ended up being 8-10 hours of intense pain after eating anything (plain chicken and rice one night).

Ended up only being able to eat while dosed up on tramadol, so was limiting it to once a day. Lost 2 stone in 2 months (I was lockdown fat but 12-10 stone is still a big drop).

I had the damn thing out. I have to say I was a bit of a wuss compared to others and milked it, but totally fine after two weeks.

I can eat absolutely anything now no problem.

Also seems much more common than I had realised before I mentioned it to people! After effects range from totally fine (most) to some that still follow a fairly low fat diet, and one woman who found spicy food no longer agrees with her.

Have the bugger out. Good luck!

Yes, I always have back pain with an attack. I was diagnosed about 10 years ago and on the list for surgery but decided against it as I hadn’t had an attack for ages. I had very rare attacks until last year when they became more regular. I’m now on the waiting list but who knows how long it’s going to take to be seen??
What is certain is that it doesn’t get better so you’ll probably have to have it removed at some point (or try and live with it!)
I have no idea what my triggers are. I can eat fatty foods and be fine or eat something plain or healthy and have an attack.
Good luck to you!

Thank you everyone who has shared their story🙌🏻

I’ve realised reading all these how bad it’s got - since last summer I have had so many issues with grumbling pains and then a handful of biliary colic attacks, with the worst one being over Xmas, which was SO painful and I was too scared to go to A&E for various reasons.

I had mine out via keyhole surgery in 2016 after 3 A&E visits for the pain and a bout of jaundice. The op was day surgery, 3 small incisions in my tummy and I didn't need much in the way of pain relief afterwards . I was home for 4pm and signed off work for 2 weeks (though perhaps could have gone back sooner.) The worst part of the whole experience was having the staples out of the incision near my belly button.
At first eating anything fatty resulted in diahorea but this resolved in a month/6 weeks. I can eat what I like now. I avoid codeine as I understand there may be a problem with using it.
I always say I'd rather have 10 babies than that pain again!

I had gallstone attacks after pregnancy. Debilitating pain. Worse than natural birth! Cut fat and dairy out of my diet for a year while waiting for surgery. Made simple things like eating at a friend's house or restaurant really complicated too. Recovery from surgery was harder than I expected (but I was also trying to look after a toddler). No diet restrictions or pain since. I'd heard the codeine warning and haven't attempted to have any, but have had dihydrocodeine with no issues.

I never had any issues and didn't know I had gallstones til admitted to a&e with acute pancreaticitis. I tried to put off emergency surgery as had literally just exchanged on selling my house so was be homeless during recuperating and was told a delay could be fatal! Please don't delay and risk it!

Was key hole surgery, I was fully recovered in 2 weeks - have had no issues. The only difference is I now no longer get hangovers!! (Think this makes me an oddnall rather than a known benefit to the surgery!)

Wow no hangovers?! How on earth? 😅

That was directed at @HouseIsOnFire 🫠

I've posted this post on another thread, I think its probably better to try and retain as many body parts as we can rather than having some taken out.

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I used to have gall bladder attacks, I've cured them through herbal remedies.

I have 2 separate suggestions.
Firstly, when having a gallbladder attack, I take a remedy made up by a Nautropath in a shop, go and get one made up with a naturopath this is my recipe. I usually take this with camomile tea and it works pretty quickly and it stops the attack in about half an hour

The ingredients on my bottle are Koromiko
25, barberry 40, aniseed 15, crampbark 20

Secondly, then to keep attacks at bay by reducing the stones, I used to take these drops as pasted below for about 2 years, I had scans done 2 yrs later and the stones were much reduced to less than 1 cm so they are no longer a problem for me - I took it twice a day in drop form with water.

"BioTrace Piedra is a herbal extract derived from Phyllanthus niruri, a herb indigenous to the Peruvian Amazon.

Phyllanthus niruri is commonly known as Chanca piedra meaning ‘stone breaker’ due to the herb’s traditional use for kidney and gallbladder support."

No idea! But I just know they stopped at the same time!

@NorseKiwi there's no medical evidence whatsoever that herbs would do anything to relieve the pain of a gallbladder attack, or "dissolve" the stones already in place. If there was evidence it worked then we'd already be taking them and saving the NHS lots of money and unnecessary operations.

I had my gallbladder taken out 5 years ago.

Operation and recovery went very smoothly. Only issue I have now is a bad stomach ache and diarrhea if I eat very high sugar or high fat foods (ice cream and certain cheeses are the worst culprits!).

Commenting as the daughter of a mother who had gallbladder issues for well over a decade. She managed to control her attacks by drinking a mixture of apple cider vinegar mixed into apple juice whenever she felt it coming on, and it could take her from a 9/10 (if she couldn't take some beforehand in time) to a 2/10 in 10-15 minutes.

She did eventually get it out via private health insurance. The op went fine and her recovery was quick, but she was left with inability/difficulty digesting certain foods, and takes an ox bile supplement to help.

I am almost 3 weeks post op and almost back to normal.

I had my first attack last May and it was very severe. Was sent for a scan and gallstones confirmed but I was told they were small and may not cause any more issues. However I had another attack in August despite being careful (ish) with my diet and my GP referred me to the consultant who advised me that while my everyday symptoms were not bad if I was having attacks now at a young age (35 then it was only going to get worse and he would advise having it removed now before I ended up hospitalised with infection or needing emergency surgery. After much discussion with my husband, MIL, SIL and aunt I decided to go for it. MiL, Sil and aunt all ended up having gallbladder removed after symptoms got worse or they were hospitalised.

The worst thing for me is that I could not lift my one year old at a time of bugs and teething. I had bad diahorrea for a day or two post op but now my bowel movements are much better than before op. I regretted it for a week after the op but now I am so glad I did it as it was going to happen eventually.

(Also I am in Ireland and have health insurance so didn't have to wait too long)

Just do it! I had lap chole op 12 years ago & never regretted it. I begged them to whip out the offending gallbladder! Surgery is nothing to be scared of, in fact it's a brilliant excuse to have the best sleep of your life courtesy of the GA 😂

I had mine out 18 years ago after getting more frequent and more painful attacks.

To be honest it was so painful I would have taken it out myself with a soup spoon if I could. Quick and simple op. No problwms at all since. I really don't think you'll regret having it sooner rather than later OP.

My op was as a result of an emergency presentation, and my lower back pain turned out to be due to acute pancreatitis (which is horrible, tho the gallstones had been mainly asymptomatic). I also had jaundice at the same time. If you can avoid all of this happening by opting for surgery, it will be well worth it.

I had the attacks you describe and they were so awful and debilitating that the surgery was a no-brainer for me. Painless, quick recovery, all pretty straightforward. Recommend.

Whatever you do please ignore the quackery. Anything involving a naturopath will do nothing for you except lighten your pockets.

Oh shit, I’ve had this awful on/off lower back pain since just before Xmas, which I initially thought was a kidney infection and the GP gave me antibiotics for. The pain comes and goes, but is worse in the evening. Trying not to panic now.. Hopefully will be okay over the weekend and see GP Monday for an urgent (private) referral to get this bloody thing out asap🥴

I'm having my gallbladder out next month, have had gallstones for years. It's got to the point where I don't have any specific triggers - my most horrific attack was triggered by the blandest vegan cottage pie!

Amazing FB page!

Thank you. I am trying to find the group now, there are loads of gallbladder groups it seems!

I'll take a screenshot