Gallstones/gallbladder problems

[babybell89]

Hello so I need to change my diet to reduce my night time attacks! I am seeing the doctor also so no worries on the seek medical help front.

I'm wondering if anyone else has this problem and if Diet has helped. What are you eating? What are your triggers?

Another question I had!

Say you have a fatty meal how long does it effect you? Seems to be two nights for me was wondering what everyone else is like!
@chaplin1409 @milkjetmum @moosemama @AHobbyaweek @notanurse2017 @Aquamarine1029 @PenelopeFlintstone @crunched @BitOutOfPractice @snoopyokay @Dailystuck71 @C4ro

I find once I've had a really bad attack, I'm sensitive to all food for a few days. Eg was bad day on Friday and Saturday and still bothering me now. But attacks are not predictable, and sometimes they pass in about 6-8hrs.

I've found amitriptyline very good for the 'background' nagging pain after an attack, but it's got to be codeine during an attack to feel anything close to human

Historically I would find a fatty meal meant trouble within 24 hours. Usually either in the middle of the night or first thing in the morning.

I didn't get any mild, grumbly attacks, only full on chest crushing, covered in sweat, passing out attacks that lasted for hours on end. I had 6 stones in my bile ducts when they did my ERCP, Sphincter of Oddi refused to open and an alternative route was scuppered by my stupidly over-stretchy connective issues (which is how I ended up with pancreatitis from the procedure. So, they did a sphincterotomy in the hope the last stone would escape on it's own. It did, but then the attack a week before my op deposited another, which, thankfully, came out via a saline flush during the op.

C4ro how has your post op recovery gone? For me I think the blooming carbon dioxide gas and not being able to sleep on my side have been the worst. That and total exhaustion, which has taken me by surprise. I can lierally fall askeep mid-sentence, when usually I take hours to drop off and can't sleep in the day at all. I was kept in for 48 hours though, as my anaesthetist was concerned about how my nervous system reacted to the general anaesthetic. Day 7 post-op for me today and am hoping to get to my dd's sports day on Wednesday.

For those having the op. Peppermint oil capsules and Wind-eze are your friends postoperatively, to help shift the gas.

I had gallstones. Ate a very low fat diet for 8 months while I waited to have my gallbladder removed. If you google, you'll find an explanation of why gallbladder issues cause you to be unable to eat fatty food without having painful attacks. I only had one full-on attack, thank goodness. I realised pretty quickly what it was and was able to control it with diet until the op.

Oh and I've had no issues at all since the op (except putting the weight back on that I lost on my low fat diet!).

My attacks last an hour or so after a meal but also if I get too hungry it is awful. Mine came on after pregnancy but they kept telling me it was post op pain after emergency c section or after birth pains or gastritis from ibuprofen. I have a good pain tolerance but it is getting unbearable.

I didn't seem to have any particular food groups that triggered mine, it was more amounts of particular foods. I had pain, but I also had digestive issues (which were attributed to my gallbladder ultimately, as those particular symptoms haven't recurred - touch wood - since I had my gallbladder removed), and the digestive issues were as uncomfortable and distressing as the pain to be honest.

I had my gallbladder removed just over a year ago - recovery was a bit tricky (more recovery pain than I expected, two wounds leaked, I had a reaction to the dressings, and I still have a lump under the largest wound site that is basically a 'bruise in a ball' (heamatoma) that probably won't go away), but I'm glad I had it removed. I also got to keep my gallstones, which I find strangely fascinating - there is a huge one, then a couple of mid sized ones and loads of small and tiny ones. The surgeon said my gallbladder put up a fight coming out - that would explain the bruising I had! - but it stayed as laparoscopic surgery, which is what I hoped.

Yes hungry is pain. But my issue is I am away with work with set menus. It is hard to eat when hungry and low fat

I can't work out what my trigger is. Wish I could.

My first known gallbladder attacks were about 3-4 years ago and about 2 years ago I sorted the ultrasound and they found stones. I left it as long as I could and it was fairly well controlled until March/ April this year. It was first just spike attacks of 15-60 minutes duration that would be either 1 hour after a meal or overnight/ early morning. Next day I would be tired but then more or less OK by 2 days later. By April/ May this year it was more or less everpresent discomfort and it was really getting exhausting. I am living in Austria so I got them done here, with the previous ultrasound proofs it was arranged pretty quickly- I was in hospital from Thursday 29 June to the Sunday evening 2 July.

Moosmama, Post Op for me has gone very well. I had the stitches out last Friday and it's healed up mostly (3 cuts; 1cm drain on the right side of stomach, horizontal 4 cm one directly under breasbone and a 2cm one just under belly button). I am still very tired too, in bed 8-9pm each night and if I sit too long my stomach muscles cramp a bit. I have tried a few more adventurous meals- a curry didn't cause and problems and a greasy lasagne only gave me a quick diarrhoea but with none of the usual pains. I think by next week I'll be back to scootering my DD to daycare. I have a docs note for 2 weeks but I have an office job/ home office so have done a bit each day- not pushing to get back to it but probably be fine from next Monday.

Babybell- I didn't have this during pregnancy so can't help with that. The attacks for me varied in how they presented. Some would be in the hour straight after a meal (normally obvious link to cheese/ eggs/ butter) or could be overnight (same food types, or eating too late, or eating too much of even plain things). A short daytime attack was 15 -60 minutes of spiky pain, sweats, not normally sick- bearable with painkillers. A full attack was 4-6 hours of sweats, cramps, bloating, vomit, diarrhoea , stabbing pains around liver. Not possible to lie down, would either have to walk around (best but tiring) or prop myself in a chair). Those were really very painful and one time I only noticed in the morning that I'd poured boiling water all down my arm making a hot water bottle up.

At first the attacks wouldn't hang around, they were severe but went away quickly, many weeks between them. In the later stages I was very tired all the time and it was just sort of grumbling away in the background- not spiky pain like the serious attacks but just grinding away.

I was eating a lot of toast, plain spaghetti, muesli bars, plain biscuits and drinking a lot of tea.

C4ro I hope you are fully recovered soon.

Mine actually came on about 9 months after pregnancy. Touch wood it's not so bad at the moment but just as you think it's gone away you get another attack.

I wasn't going to go for the operation but thought if I want to have another baby I better get the thing out first, can't imagine having the pain in pregnancy and not being able to take anything for it!

Has anyone had high alkaline PH in their urine? Could it be related?

I have gallstones but no attacks yet luckily just sometimes some grumbling aches and diarrhea. I try to follow low fat but make sure I have some good fats each day. Eating no fat at all will mean your gallbladder stops pumping out bile so it will sit there and likely turn to more gallstones. The more you have the more likely an attack is!

Hi everyone!
@Titsywoo @snoopyokay @C4ro @Dailystuck71 @AHobbyaweek @notanurse2017 @Rockhopper81 @Eolian @moosemama @milkjetmum @chaplin1409 @Aquamarine1029 @BitOutOfPractice @crunched @PenelopeFlintstone

Bloods back and they need more as my liver function result is off by about 8 so they want to retest she said it wasn't a huge amount but I'm now worried anyone had the same?

Thanks notanurse!
Xx

Babybell, my liver function kept giving them cause for concern, by not settling between attacks. It was only once I had gone completely fat free (well near as damnit anyway) and had had 5 of the 6 stones that were stuck removed endoscopically that I finally got a normal reading.

I think if your liver results are raised it's taken as a sign that there is still either stones or inflammation/infection hanging around.

C4 good to hear your post op is going well. Thankfully sports day has been cancelled, due to a water logged field, so I don't need to do that. Which is lucky, because I have felt awful today, probably as a result of getting my period and having horrible cramps to deal with on top of the incisions etc. Need to be firing in all cylinders by next week though as ds2 has multiple hospital appointments starting then and I need to be able to get into the city several times with him.

No stitches to be removed for me. I have dissolving internal stitches and great big patches of purple glue around and over each wound. (I have 4 - 2 small ones over the gallbladder site, one 2 cm centrally on breastbone and another 2 cm one that goes from underneath to inside my bellybutton.)

Apparently they don't usually see cholecystectomy patients back in clinic post operatively, but I have been called back in on the 26th, which is a bit worrying as I was told the op went really well and they checked and ensured all stones were removed.

Only thing I can say is do not take buscopan while pregnant.
I checked with midwife gp and obstiatriciam all said no!

@moosemama was that procedure done when you were awake? Am I right in thinking they go via your bottom?

They petrify me too! Hoping stones will pass naturally if I have any! Xx

Thanks @SaS2014 pretty disappointed I've been advised not to conceive I mean it makes sense but still gutted! X

One less well known trigger is caffeine so coffee tea chocolate (not just the bars). Too many bananas also arent great apparently either.

My sisters triggers were oils and spicy foods - neither bothered me but I generally use them sparingly - ie sprays for cooking and always just had toast and jam no butter anyway