Gallstones or pancreas?

[Stygimoloch]

Hi,

I've had awful heartburn/indigestion since before Christmas. I am on two doses of Lansoprozole a day but it doesn't seem to be making any difference at all. I have constant discomfort, a croaky voice and an awful taste in my mouth. My GP referred me for an endoscope but there is no chance of that happening for some time.

I had a telephone consultation this morning with a different GP and she picked up on a pain I also have under my right ribs. She thinks it could be gallstones or a problem with my pancreas so has referred me for an ultrasound. Again, she has no idea when this will be. She has told me to take Buscopan in the meantime and if I get a temperature to go to A&E.

I do have health anxiety quite badly and I am now really worried. She also said that I needed blood tests to check my pancreas function but that this could wait. I absolutely understand why I need to wait but I am panicking that this is actually something worse and it will continue getting worse before I can be seen.

I haven't lost any weight, I haven't been sick but do have diarrhoea fairly often (I also have IBS). It isn't stopping my eating or affecting my appetite.

Does anyone have any experience of gallstones or pancreas problems? Can these things become urgent? Did you get heartburn/indigestion symptoms? I don't ever google because of my health anxiety (it sends me spiralling, although I am spiralling this morning anyway!).

Any help/advice gratefully received!

Hello. I'm sorry you are in such discomfort. I have gallbladder issues and was due to have it removed next week (obviously now cancelled). I struggled with symptoms like yours for about 18 months before it became acute around this time last year. What happened for me is that my bile duct started to get blocked and I ended up with a bad infection. I had to go to the hospital daily for intravenous antibiotics. This sorted it out in the short term. The advice is to maintain an extremely low fat diet - this will ease pressure on the gallbladder and may improve your symptoms. If you get a temperature or feel increased symptoms or display any yellowing in eyes or skin then seek immediate medical advice.

Thank you Redazzy! I’m so sorry your op has been cancelled. Did you experience heartburn and indigestion also?

Heartburn wasn't too bad for me although it can be a symptom. Mine was more an overwhelming feeling of my entire digestive system being in distress. And then the dull ache in my right side. I had experienced severe gallstone pain at other times which is a seriously intense pain. This was different; it was dull and constant. I think eating as little fat as possible is really helpful and making sure you don't overstretch your system by having too much food at one sitting. This definitely helped ease my symptoms. Wishing you well. It's never nice feeling unwell but at this moment in time, it can leave you feeling very vulnerable.

Hi OP, sorry you are feeling so rotten.

I suffered from what I thought was indigestion that got progressively worse over three days. By the third day I felt very ill, and has started being sick. It turned out I had acute pancreatitis. I was admitted to hospital, and basically nil by mouth for about 3 days until they could stabilise me. A month later I had my gallbladder removed.

I'd had a few very small gallstones pre this, (sludge, according to the sonographer) but they'd not caused me any problems before this. At this point though I was only 7 weeks post birth with second child, so probably a bit all over the place anyway!

I haven't had the weird taste that you're experiencing OP, but I definitely had the pain under my ribs. It was as though I had the worst trapped wind, and just could not get comfortable.

Thanks ethel. Sounds like you were really poorly. Must have been frightening. Seems there’s a lot that can go wrong in the area. Your experience sounds very sudden. My experience started around December; I’m hoping it doesn’t develop into something more acute.

Redazzy I totally get the feeling of the whole digestive system being in distress. It feels like there is definitely something wrong. It’s so worrying.

Thanks for sharing both. I really appreciate it.