Gall stones left untreated..........anyone have any knowledge?

[Zephyrcat]

My Nan was really ill a couple of months ago with sickness, stomach pains etc and was slightly jaundiced. She has since had a scan and has been told she has gall stones.
My Nan is a bit of a nightmare. She loves to have something wrong for the attention, since my Grandad died 8 years ago but after she has been diagnosed she won't do anything about it, just conjures up something else to be wrong.
My Grandad had gall stones which led very quickly to pancreatitis which played a big part in his death.

I found this info on the net......
What happens if the gall bladder remains obstructed?

This can lead to infection of the gall bladder and is called cholecystitis. This is an urgent problem and requires urgent surgical management of the gall stone disease. If acute cholecystitis is allowed to progress untreated then it can turn in to gangrene of the gall bladder and eventually it ruptures - spilling infected bile and material in the abdominal cavity. This is a serious complication of gallstones and if still untreated, death of the person may ensue.

What happens if the gallstones travel to the common bile duct?

This is another complication of the gallstones. Stones obstructing the common bile duct may produce gall stone pancreatitis, obstructive jaundice, acute cholangitis and or suppurative cholangitis. These are all very serious complications of gallstones. The x-ray here shows an obstructed common bile duct.

She has been to the doctor today telling him she thinks she has cystitis and been given antibiotics which when my Mum asked her if she has taken she said no! She's now onto something wrong with her foot!!

I'm thinking though - if she has cystitis does that mean progression from the gall stones as the web page suggests? If so shouldn't the doc be taking steps to get them removed etc or is it a different thing altogether?

Am a bit confused by it all so was wondering if anyone has had a similar experience and a bit more knowledge?

Hi there,
A lot of people have gallstones without any symptoms and as such they are often incidental findings at scans.
They only need to be removed (ie remove the whole gallbladder) if the patient has persistent painfull attacks or if there is an obstruction causing jaundice (not going away again. it can be intermittent if the stone passes on it's own)

You have to remember that there are risks to all surgery, in particularly to older people like your nan.

Bladder cystitis is unrelated to cholecystitis which is an infection of the gallbladder and very serious!

Does this answer your questions a bit?

Hope your nan is better.
Kind regards,
Dangirl

I was diagnosed with gallstones earlier in the year after going to the docs with severe stomach and back pain. He was 99% sure it was gallstones so gave me painkillers to cope with the attacks and suggested a very low fat diet(as the gallbladder processes the fat in your food apparently and if blocked with stones then can't work properly thus the pain). The only other pain i've known like it is labour, but unlike contractions you don't get a break!! I've had attacks lasting up to 4 hours.I was referred to a consultant in Sept and am now waiting to have my gallbladder removed. Its quite a simple procedure through keyhole surgery, spparently.
Cystitis is a urine infection so I don't think the two could be linked, although I'm no doctor. I think if you and your nan are really worried about the gallstones and the problems they might cause then she should go back to talk to her doctor. Perhaps you could go with her, then you could find out more about it and how serious it is? Hope this helps

snap
tinytomummy

I'm the not so proud owner of a 2cm gallstone that is giving me sleepless nights at the moment. I'm going to have to go back to the doctor and see about having my gallbladder out I think. I was told that if you get an attack that doesn't stop and you get a temperature with it then you need to go and get medical help as it's an indicator of pancreatitis, but for a "routine" attack then you just take painkillers. As the others have said the cystitis is nothing to do with the gallstones. I think the fact that she did become slightly jaundiced does me she will need careful monitoring with them in future but could be wrong about that. And give me labour any day rather than gallstones

and a nice bottle of gas and air, please!

thanks everyone

I was mostly concerned about the fact that she had got to the jaundiced stage which seems to mean that a blockage has been there for a while. She won't get it sorted though. She was taken to hospital with the pain and sickness which went on for about 2 weeks but she refused point blank to let them do an endoscopy so had to wait a few weeks for a scan by which time it had all calmed down again.
I wondered about the cystitis because of 'cholecystitis'.

I doubt she'll go back to the doc about it. This week she's decided she's torn ligaments in her foot!!

I too have gallstones (had the scan which revealed that my gallbladder is constantly contracted). I was supposed to make an appointment with my doc to discuss the results etc - but have never got around to it. The lady scanning me told me what she saw - so I know what the problem is. Since I have found out I have only had 1 mild attack as I have now changed my diet and don't have any chocolate, cream or chips. I know that I should get to the docs to sort it out as apparently it can flare up for no reason. I must be mad really cause when I did have attacks they lasted all night and was much worse than childbirth....
Just not a good time at the moment as DM has late stages of cancer and not sure how I could easily spend 2 days in hospital etc...

I had my gall bladder removed in April last year. Doctors initially thought it was a blocked bile duct as I was jaundiced but after a week in hospital on antibiotics the jaundice went. Ended up having operation 3 weeks later and it turned out that I had severe cholecystitis and was very very close to it rupturing. Basically once you get gall stones your gall bladder will never be 100% again. Very important that you avoid fatty foods as this is the job of the gall bladder to process the fat. There is also a reasonable risk that one of the stones will come out of the gall bladder into the bile duct and get stuck. The procedure to remove a stone from the duct carries a reasonable risk of pancreatitis. Does your Nan have episodes after eating something higher in fat?? It does not have to be processed it could be too much avacado or full fat milk/cheese. At one point I had a very high risk of progressing to pancreatitis and the drs and nurses kept warning me that it is life threatening and very very painful. Your Nan really needs to look at the risks of continuing as she is.

I urge all of you with gall stones to see your doctor about removal. I suffered "attacks" for four months because I thought I had weak tummy and back muscles from the birth of my third child. I had not done my postnatal exercises . It finally got to a point where the "attack" did not stop after 48 hours and I went to A&E. I was jaundiced but I did not see it myself yet. If I had left it another month I may not be here today. The operation is done through key hole surgery and I went in on a Friday at 1:00pm and was out by 5:00pm on Saturday. Discomfort for 3 or so days but I didn't need painkillers at all. I was also expressing milk in the hospital to keep feeding up as my ds was milk allergic and I bf during the recovery time. Please go and have yourselves checked.

I agree with mymamma. I had gall stones over five years ago. The doctor first thought it was acid getting back into the stomache. The attacks are very very painfull.
I ended up in A & E after one attack didn't stop. I had to do a urine sample and it looked like dilute orange (sorry if to much info).
I had my gall bladder removed by key hole surgery.
Would you be able to see your nan's GP so that he/she could note down your concerns and maybe they could then make a home visit or something.
I hope she gets things sorted out.

Thank you for your replies. I will have to ask my Mum what she's getting done (My Mum is medical secretary at my Nan's surgery). I'm sure she said she's refusing to get anything done though. The ironic thing is my Grandad had them and they didn't get them out quick enough. He was in hospital for a couple of montrhs and eventually died with pancreatitis... my Nan blames the hospital which is why she refuses to get anything done.
When she was ill we didn't notice the jaundice but the doc said she def had it but it went with anti-biotics. The fact that she was jaundiced makes me think that there is/was a blockage. The anti-biotics she was on were so strong she had really bad hallucenations (sp). I think i'll ring her this morning and see what's happening....

Grrrrrrr I rang my Nan this morning and asked how the scan went and she said it was absolutely fine and they found nothing wrong. She's more interested in getting the attention for something else now

The scan being clear may mean the gall stone/s could be in the duct. Signs of jaundice include pale gums etc, inner eye lids are pale, wee will be bright in colour/orange and pale bowel motions. I guess you can only do so much and ultimately she is responsible for herself. Is she well enough (mentally) to make these decisions for herself??

Yes and no. She is capable of making her own decisions but is also - i can't think how to describe it!! My Mum said the doc told her she def had gall stones on the scan but my nan told me they found nothing so I'll have to ring my Mum and see what is happening - at least I can ask armed with some info now

Spoke to Mum and she has got lots of little gsll stones. One caused a blockage but has passed through. Apparently the consultant said to her if she gets any more pains she has to go back and get her gall bladder out but she just said to him that she was fine and had no pain!?!?!

So frustrating.

Hope your Nan stays well and doesn't have any more attacks/blockages.