Constant gallbladder pain

[smallandgrumpy]

Hello,

I went to see my doctor a few weeks ago as I was having issues with indigestion, bloating and an awful gnawing pain in my stomach/right side after eating. I was tested for H Pylori which came back negative and I've now been referred to hospital for an ultrasound to check my gallbladder. My doctor doesn't seem convinced that my gallbladder is to blame as she doesn't think I meet the "at risk" criteria for it (I'm 26 and a healthy weight) so this scan is to just rule out another condition.

However, since Tuesday I have been having constant pain in my right side just under my rib cage that is radiating all the way to my upper back. I can't even describe the pain - it's not excruciatingly painful but it's relentless and it gets worse whenever I eat. I can't find a position to sit or lie in that's comfortable and there is just no let up from the pain.

I went to see an out of hours doctor yesterday who believes it is my gallbladder and she's prescribed me stronger painkillers.

I always thought that gallbladder pain came on quickly, was excruciating for hours and then it would stop. Has anyone ever had gallbladder pain that just won't go away?

You could have a stone that's stuck somewhere, causing the pain, or your gallbladder could be inflamed.

What painkillers did she prescribe? My GP said opiates make gall pain worse.
Go and get some Buscopan asap from the chemist. It's amazing for gall pain.

Taking the pill and having a baby are both risk factors for gallstones so your age is only part of it.

It sounds a bit like gallstones. I've just had my gallbladder removed so whilst you're waiting for your scan eat a low fat diet, drink plenty of water and yes take buscopan and paracetamol. Hope you get sorted soon. My attacks lasted about 30 minutes at a time but I usually ended up needing strong pain relief as the pain was excruciating, worse than giving birth to my nearly 10lb daughter!

I've been prescribed codeine - not managed to pick it up yet as all the pharmacies were shut by the time I got out of the out of hours clinic last night. Really hope it doesn't make it worse, I just want the pain to stop! I'm half tempted to rip the bastard thing out myself!!

I think I've got some Buscopan in the cupboard so I will go and try that now!

I should add that inbetween attacks of severe pain I had the feeling like a penknife being stuck in my rib cage. You need that scan asap x

I had my gallbladder out this year. It was not too bad in that I only had about 5 attacks but the last 2 lasted about 3 weeks each of constant lowish level pain. It was a case of getting myself into a comfortable position. I think I did get slightly jaundiced at times, but you have to watch out for pancreatitis. When my came out they said there were signs of chronic gallstone disease.

I agree with previous poster, being 26 and normal weight does not necessarily rule it out. Mine was a lot worse every time I lost weight.

If you still have the pain now, GO TO A&E, I'm not joking. Exact same symptoms that saw me admitted to hospital and my gallbladder removed less than 24hrs later. Also, if the pain is radiating into your back, well, it could be pancreatitis too (especially if a gallstone is blocking the pancreatic duct).

Seriously, get to A&E.

My mum had these some symptoms last year and had her gallbladder out after 4 months. You could have stones or blocked bile ducts. Your age is irrelevant so your doctor shouldnt even have mentioned that. You also could of lived with them for years before they became a nuisance.

I wouldn't recommend going to a&e like a pp said. It's a bank holiday weekend and they won't give you a scan before Tuesday as no sonographers will be in. They're also likely to keep you overnight which isn't great. It's not considered an urgent surgical referral so surgery isn't always as rapid as you'd like (anywhere between 6-12 weeks depending on your trust policy).

Take buscopan and cut out fat in your diet. Warm baths and heat patches also helped my mum (may have just been a distraction though). She lived on soup made with marmite and veg for 3 months after diagnosis which helped to ease the symptoms somewhat.

Thank you SO much to everyone that has replied. From what everyone has, I'm certain it is gallbladder related so fingers crossed it gets sorted once I have the ultrasound.

The buscopan has worked a treat, I still feel very tender but it's helped the pain loads. I will of course go to A&E if it gets much worse (if I start getting any of the more severe symptoms like jaundice) but like wildewillow said, A&E is gonna be stretched enough already with it being the bank holiday. If I can manage my symptoms at home, I'd rather stay here where I can at least get some decent sleep!

Hospitals have staff in to perform emergency referred radiological investigations and ultrasounds every day. Including bank holidays, including Christmas Day, including New Year.

OP, I highly suspect you would be taken straight through to an A&E cubicle without having to wait. They would want bloods, and be able to give you various IV meds, including morphine for the pain.

If a gallstone is lodged in one of your 3 bile ducts, and blocking biliary flow it can be very serious. Also I'm very concerned about your back pain. Pancreatitis (usually caused by a gallstone blocking the Common Bile Duct, or Pancreatic Duct) can be fatal.

You need to go to A&E...

Jaundice only occurs in 15-20% of cases, by the way.

The constant gnawing pain and its location sounds exactly like when I developed cholecystitis (inflammation of the gallbladder). I had never had any previous symptoms and thought it was trapped wind! After a trip to OOH (as advised by NHS 24), I was put on two types of antibiotic and some heavy duty painkillers. Antibiotics did nothing so ended up in hospital on IV antibiotics. A scan revealed a huge gallstone (5cm!) and I had gallbladder removed a couple of months later. Cholecystitis should be treated with antibiotics and gallbladder removed if these have no effect.

I agree with previous posters about going to A&E. By the time I had my gallbladder removed I was very close to developing sepsis and/or pancreatitis as it was severely infected by thankfully hadn't ruptured.

Glad you are feeling better OP and the buscopan relieved some of your pain.

Simplysteve - as a radiographer specialising in ultrasound I can categorically tell you most (not all) hospitals do not have any ultrasonography team members in on weekends, bank holidays,Christmas Day and New Years. Including sonographers and radiologists. The only time a radiologist would be called in from would be for extreme emergencies and it's at the discretion of the radiologist on call if they will come in or not.
And like I said gallstones are not considered an emergency.

If your colic attack hasn’t settled down with buscopan, a heat pad, fasting, and lying on your left side by Tuesday, go into AnE.

You could be heading for serious inflammation and a blocked bile duct if you don’t. This can be deadly.

Don’t eat fatty foods or apples until you have your ultrasound.theyll trigger another attack and you can’t have the op if your inflamed/ infected.

When getting your stent in /gall bladder out, insist on laparoscopic op and check where they’ll make the incisions.

If you do feel like you need to go to ED be reassured that if you need a scan at the weekend (or surgery or anything else in fact) you will get it...there are plenty of us working and making sure people get the urgent treatment they need this weekend...just like every other weekend of the year! (DOI...just getting ready for the nightshift).

Gallstones are not considered an emergency? They certainly are within my Trust. The pain associated with gallstones can be excruciating and it takes IV morphine to relieve it. Also, a gallstone stuck in the cystic duct can cause cholecystitis. A gallstone stuck in the CBD can cause cholecystitis due to choledocholithiasis, also a reasonably large chance of pancreatitis. A gallstone stuck in the pancreatic duct can cause pancreatitis.

One of the indicative signs of pancreatitis is the pain radiating into the back. Both cholecystitis and pancreatitis are very serious conditions and are absolutely medical emergencies (as told to me by A&E doctor and senior consultant).

If you decide to not go to,hospital, you must must must see your GP tomorrow.

How did you get on op? I really understand how you are feeling. I am currently waiting on my referral to the gastrointestinal clinic (or whatever it's called..) The ultrasound shows that I have one large stone, smaller stones and sludge.

I am feeling so fed up with it all, I have never known such pain. For me the key is much smaller meals, so I now eat off a slide plate instead of a dinner plate.

I am not bashing the NHS at all but I really wish I could afford to have the op done privately just to get it done, I first went to A&E in May and I have only just had my ultrasound this week and now awaiting a referral to the consultant, I imagine it will be months until I can have the surgery. I know it's not a long wait in the grand scheme of things but I am feeling so fed up with it all and the lack of sleep as the pain always happens early hours of the morning.

For those that have had the surgery recently, how long did you have to wait from first being seen to the surgery?

I guess I'm rather uncommon. I presented to A&E with excruciating pain and was taken to Surgical Assessment Unit. I saw a consultant that evening, had ultrasound minutes later. Consultant saw me following morning to dx large stone in my CBD and I needed surgery. I could either stay in hospital and wait for a urgent theatre slot, or go home and come as a day case 4-6 months later.

As I was still in excruciating pain I decided to stay in. They hooked me up to patient controlled morphine. I guess I was lucky in that I had the operation the following afternoon.

If you're in the pain, presenting through A&E could well speed things up, and guarantee you get seen by a consultant within a few hours.

And yes, it's the worst pain I'm ever felt. Since having my op, I continue to have episodes of gallstones/bile sludge/cholesterol irritating my CBD/becoming stuck. This triggers the same symptoms including the excruciating pain. I have been dx'ed by a Registrar as having Post-Cholecystectomy Syndrome. (There's a Wikipedia entry on it), and seems it can persist with no resolution...

willowpillow I'm feeling a bit better than I was a few days ago. The frustrating part is that I have mild to moderate pain all the time (particularly in my back though that's probably made worse by sitting at a desk at work all day!) and then I will get horrendous pain but there doesn't seem to be any particular food trigger for it. I always eat very low fat anyway so I'm struggling to find safe foods that I can actually eat.

Smaller portions definitely seems to be the way forward! Did you have any symptoms before May or did it just come on very suddenly? And what kind of foods are you eating?

SimplySteve That's terrible, it must be so frustrating to have the operation in the hope that it will fix the pain only to continue having issues. Is there anything that triggers the pain in particular?

FWIW, I found I couldn’t eat anything with fat in it, or apples or anything that made me gassy for two years post op.

I waited two years between first colic symptom and the operation and was down to six and a half stone as I literally couldn’t eat as I’d throw up.

The stupid doctors never gave me dx of gallstones, just assumed as I was 24 (and therefore too young) I was anorexic, because I was throwing up... they assumed I was making myself sick.

Suddenly on seeing the ultrasound (I insisted on) they exclaimed “why, you have gallstones” (DUH) and I was scheduled for an op two weeks later... had to come off the pill for blood clotting reasons. Was up and about three days afterwards, and went camping a week after that.

Now I can eat anything as I have a stent, but manage much better with small meals, and still am am bit dodgy about apples and pork.

I’d go into AnE. Insist on an ultrasound.