Gallbladder: 3 weeks till the little fecker comes out but how to cope till then. Hurts!

[BambinoBoo]

Arrrrrrrgh! I am pretty much surviving on rice cakes but the full on attacks have been replaced by trapped wind which is so bloody painful. I haven't been able to pass wind or have a No 2 for 3 days - probably not helped by the fact that I can't eat much. Out of desperation, I took a laxative last night. Nothing.

How did you cope in the final weeks before the op? I never thought I'd actually be looking forward to it, but am now.

Many thanks.

BambinoBoo - I'm through it now and just having to watch the diet. I wouldn't want that pain again.

Spandau1980 - pain in the should sounds like 'shoulder tip pain' typical of the gas they pump in for a keyhole op. Was your op keyhole? I know you're 5 weeks since the op but do you think it could be this? What type of food are you eating? As I posted earlier, I can't eat everything it either runs through me or causes indigestion type pain. I've been resorting to gaviscon when I've eaten the wrong thing. Maybe try going Fat free and see if it improves? I hope you feel better soon.

Buscopan is the best thing - went from doubled up in pain to no problem in

ive had x rays ect to see if trapped air :( no... ive had blood work all ok :( ive tried a liquid diet with no fat ect no :( it does feel worse with any fat at all but still there even if i eeat none fat, cant eat spicy or tomatoes now.. can t eat dairy .. cant EAT really! really wish someone could tell me why :((((((

spandau1980. sorry to hear that you are feeling so poorly. Has your doctor looked into non-gallstone related illnesses such as Crohns, IBS or an ulcer. The pain in the sternum made me think ulcer as I had one too about 10 years ago. I have always suffered with digestion. Have they tested you for H-Pylori? You sound exhausted and I know you mentioned you were a single mum. Is there anyone - family or friends - that could look after your little one so you can get back to a doctor or get some rest?

hi just come back from docs and he says dont think its an ulcer he keeps sayin reflux, but im havin no heart burn (luckily) alittle reflus i think but not into mouth or anything but pain is constant... is ulcer pain constant? and felt in sternum, between shoulder blades hurts more if take deep breath... no not been checked for h pylori how do they check this? many thanks shaz

ps no i moved down to be with some one (my family 100miles away) i fell preg and he left me and i lost the baby so been pretty crudi couple years :(

When I had my gallstones my doctor first said I was an alcoholic as I was Irish and then he thought I had an ulcer. An ulcer can be diagnosed with a barium swallow; just saying he doesn't think it's an ulcer is really no more than a guess. You should ask for tests. H Pylori and ulcers here. There are tests that can determine if you have H Pylori present, but ulcers can be caused by other factors too so a barium swallow might be necessary even if H Pylori is not present.

Spandau, very sorry to hear about your baby. Can you not go back home? You sound like you need some support around you.

Re ulcers, they used to think that stress and/ or drinking too much was the cause (it does make ulcers worse, but not the root cause) until they found a strong link to H-Pylori which is a bacteria often picked up in child hood and can lay dormant for years. It can be diagnosed through various tests but most simply by a poo sample. He would not be able to diagnose an ulcer by looking at you. IME ulcer pain can be contant and often runs down the middle of your body whereas gallstone pain is mainly under the right rib radiating to the back - having said that, once you get the trapped wind, that is right across your tummy. With ulcers, a diet and lifestyle change is required in alot of cases just to manage it - don't smoke, don't drink too much, no greasy food, no acidic food/drink. I had to stop eating a whole load of stuff - to this day I can't eat oranges, drink white wine or anything acidic etc. When I was diagnosed with H Pylori, I was given a 3 week course of antibiotics which got rid if the bacteria so the ulcer could heal. I am so surprised that he isn't doing more for you and I would go to a different doctor. These tests are routine but can rule out so much stuff. If he can't find a cause through them, he should be looking at an endoscopy, not fobbing you off with reflux.

Mathanxiety, I can't believe your doctor said that. What an ignorant twunt. I come from Irish stock myself and it still baffles me how people have these stereotypical views.

Can you not phone up the consultant's secretary and ask for a cancellation- tell her about the bile in your urine and the pain. You might get in before 3 weeks. I had mine out 14 years ago and I had a stone stuck so when they went to remove it the gallbladder burst which caused an extra night in hospital. The consultant said I was lucky it didn't burst before the op.
I was fine afterwards and quite frankly seem to be able to eat what I like with no side effects.
Good luck.

Codeine causes constipation, unfortunately. Dried fruit can help counteract this (the obvious prunes, dried apricots etc) Paracetamol and ibuprofen shouldn't have this effect but do they work well for you?