Gallstone attack

[user1483451142]

Two nights ago, I had the most horrendous gallstone attack and for the first time ever I vomited 4-5 towards morning time. DH brought me to a local hospital where we are on holidays as I was so unwell. I have had a rumbling gallbladder for 5 years now.

Once I reached A&E I began to feel a slight bit better and the excruciating pain had all but gone but DH insisted I remain put for observation. They did bloods, Ultra sound and another hit tech scan and all confirmed Gallstones. My Liver enzymes were extremely high. He said that if they remained at the level they were at, that I would have to have my gallbladder removed. As far as I know they were high because a stone had become trapped during the previous night.
I have to return tomorrow to have the same bloods done again. my urine today is really orange. I'm desperately afraid that the enzyme levels are still high. I am no longer in pain so I am assuming the pain has gone.

Does anyone know how long it might take the liver enzymes to return to their usual levels. Might the dark coloured urine be a sign that they are still elevated 24 hours after the attack?

Reason I'm fretting is because we are abroad on holiday in France and would rather not go through surgery here if necessary. ...Of course I will, if needs be.

Thanks in advance

Disclaimer: Not a medical expert of any kind - just speaking from my own experience.

The fact that the pain has gone doesn't necessarily mean that all is well / your levels will return to normal. I had an attack similar to the one you describe and developed jaundice around 24 hour later, even though the pain and vomiting had finished long before that. However, if the trapped stone has gone, it shouldn't be too much longer before they go back down - it took maybe 18 hours after the jaundice started before mine got back to normal. So based on when your attack was, I'd say that any results tomorrow should be pretty representative - i.e. if you're recovering then your levels should have had chance to go down; if they haven't gone down then the surgery sounds like a sensible course of action.

As an aside, I'm now 2 weeks post-op and feeling so much better for it - well worth doing (ideally at your local hospital, though - obviously!)

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply. I really appreciate that.

Thats interesting when you say that if the pain has gone that the levels may not go down. I think that bit may have gotten lost in translation and panic on my part. He started to talk about very high levels of enzymes and my health anxiety had kicked in big time. I am due to travel home on Saturday night arriving back in Ireland on Sunday afternoon. I have a bad feeling about this. My urine tonight is still very orange in colour. I am taking it that my enzyme levels are still high...although I have no medical knowledge to back that notion up!

I wonder if it would be dangerous to wait until I got home to present myself in A&E. I'm scared not to be home for the possibility of surgery.

Thanks again.

If your bile duct is blocked then don't hang around! That is dangerous.

Orange urine suggests jaundice which would mean your bilirubin levels are elevated. It can also indicate dehydration.

They will also be looking at other enzymes which are elevated if the liver is having to work too hard and if there is a blockage.

I doubt they will be back to normal but will have started to cone down if the attack is waning and there is no blockage.

Could you ask to be flown home so you can have surgery?

You poor thing! Gallbladder pain is shit at the best of times, but on holiday is especially crappy.

When I had this I had bright orange wee for a couple of days, the whites of my eyes were yellowing, then I clearly passed the stone (6 hours of especially bad pain) and my urine then returned to normal within about 12 hours later.

If the stone is still trapped they really do need to get it out as soon as possible. I would either try and fly home early or have surgery there, but I wouldn't leave it till Sunday if it is still ongoing.

Plus I don't know what hospitals are like in Ireland, but I was admitted through A and E in London for this and it wasn't a walk in the park to be honest. It took a long time for a bed, blood tests, relevant doctors not being around etc. So it might not be Sunday that you get the operation iyswim.

for you

I am not in pain since yesterday morning. i vomited 4-5 times over the course of 3 hours or so and come 1000 the pain had passed and I assumed the stone had moved and the blockage was gone.

Paris is a long way away from here and I have 3 kids and husband with me. I don't mind flying home on my own if I need to be.

You are right...I don't fancy a wait in A&E in Ireland .Its 3rd world stuff over there. I have private health cover which might mean I can have the surgery done in one of the private hospitals. I must look into that in the morning.

Bottom line is, I havnt been in pain since yesterday morning although my urine is still quite orange in colour this evening. I know that surgery is very likely and if I need it asap then I'll have to stay put. I wonder how long is a stay in hospital after the operation.

I had this a few times. horrible jaundice as well. Have they done an ultrasound to see if there is still a blockage? I had to have endoscopy / balloon trawl to clear it out (blocked bile duct). The liver function test will go back to normal if it's cleared, if you've vomited that's usually a good thing. I always used to vomit with a gallstones attack and then the pain would start to subside after that. If your bile duct is blocked they need to clear it asap.

I had my gall bladder out (planned not on emergency), surgery was pretty straight forward. I had a couple of blips afterward (not usual I was just unlucky) but not having those painful attacks any more is such a relief. Hope you're feeling better soon.

thanks Seashells.

Would I not be in pain if there was still a blockage though? I figured thats what was causing the pain in the first place then a few hours of pain later, I started to vomit and then then pain went.

I have to get bloods done again this morning. urine still an orange colour. I wash really hoping that would be gone by now. I am fearing the worst.

They did an ultra sound and what they call an echography . They injected some radiation liquid into me and scanned my entered abdomen.

What if you have multiple stones? My DM had gallstones and proudly came home clutching a little pot of some 30 stones that the consultant thought she'd like to keep!

I have multiple stones and i do have to have it out at some point. I am hoping to get home to ireland to have it done though but if my enzyme levels are increasi ng i'll have to have it done here.

Hope the bloods today are going in the right direction

I had replied to this earlier but I mustn't had pressed send.
So, the enzymes were still on the up but only by 10% which indicates that there must be a tiny stone still creating a blockage even though I dont feel the pain of it. Considering the levels have not risen by the 50% that he figured they might the surgeon was happy for me to go home to Ireland tomorrow and to attend my GP on Tuesday morning with a view to getting things sorted in the next 10 days. I'm happy enough with this. I'm glad to be going home tomorrow. Its been a crappy week away and we are exhausted with the whole process.

Next battle is getting this done within the next 10 days.

Thank you all for sticking by me with replies. It means a lot when you're in need of support and advice!

Glad you are feeling better. You might have to make a nuisance of yourself but tell them you are willing to be put on cancellation list and will be prepared to pitch up at short notice.

So glad bloods are going in right direction. Agree you need to badger to get an appointment earlier rather than later...its the squeaky hinge that gets the oil xx

I had multiple stones (I had a pot after surgery too). I also had a gall stone blockage 2 days after and 1.5 yrs after my gallbladder was removed (the unlucky bit I was talking about). my liver function was normal at the time of the attack and that evening but were very high the following evening and the pain had gone then too. How are you now?

Well, I'm back home since Sunday evening. Bank holiday here on Monday so I only got to see my GP on Tuesday morning. He was in agreement that it has to come out. He is going to investigate various surgeons and refer me to one. He doesn't work on Wednesdays so I'm hoping to hear from him tomorrow with a name of who he'll refer me to. While I was given 10 days by the surgeon in France my GP doesn't think that this needs to be strictly adhered to although he doesn't really want to put me through another attack in order for me to be prioritised.
While I'm not in pain, my urine is still a bit on the orange side although not as much as it was before leaving France.

Long story short, I'm being referred. The surgeon/consultant will make the final call on when it will be taken out but my GP will be putting a strong case forward for it to be taken out asap. The waiting game begins!

I had mine out last October. Straightforward surgery and a relief that I will never have an attack again. Like you I ended up in hospital abroad due to an attack. This was Greece. I have never been so thankful for the NHS when I got home. Hope you don’t have to wait long.

My consultation appointment arrived in the post today but it isnt for another 2.5 weeks and this is a private consultation. So much for getting this out in 10 days.

Hopefully that time will pass quickly for you.

I am so glad I had mine out OP. I still struggle now and again with the runs if I’ve eaten a lot of rubbish but generally absolutely fine.