Anyone able to advise about gallstones?

[Downton57]

I've been getting bouts of abdominal pain and vomiting, a few weeks apart. I've seen the doc who has given me painkillers and is organising an ultrasound as she thinks there's a possibility I might have gallstones. She says if I do need an op, the wait might be a long one. Has anyone got experience of gallstones and any advice on how to manage until the scan/diagnosis/possible op? I'm a little overweight, but not obese. Will losing more weight help?

Avoiding any fatty food will help as this tends to aggravate the condition
You have my sympathy as gall stones are very painful

Don't try and loose weight quickly - it can trigger an attack. Avoid anything spicy / greasy

Very very low fat diet and avoid stimulants like spicy food or caffeine.

You basically need to avoid release of bile so small regular meals and keep v low fat, the rosemary Conely type diet was developed to hep with this sort of issue originally - altho a little old school these days - so low fat and clean protein such as chicken and fish no red meats or highly processed. No cheese etc

That's roughly what I thought...makes sense, and I'm eating low fat food anyway as part of my weight loss mission. Although I'm obviously failing sometimes or I wouldn't be getting flare ups. Wonder if a daily food diary would help so I can start to recognise triggers. The pain is intense so I am keen to avoid! Any advice about what to do during an attack, apart from painkillers, as they are useless if I'm being sick?

The usual trigger is fat, because of what the gall bladder is for. While I waited for my op I had to eat a very low fat diet - any more than about 10g fat at a sitting would trigger a very painful attack. It was a right pain to stick to.

Eat as low fat a diet as able as it can cause an attack.

The need for surgery is inevitable, I limped along with gallstones for 8 years as I didn't want the op but after a particularly rough summer I was begging for it. In hindsight, I should have taken the surgery option as soon as I got the diagnosis.

Find out what your trigger foods are, mine as cheese and as long as I avoided it I could minimise attacks. Weirdly, I could eat many other fatty things without a problem.

I had a cocktail of Buscopan and Tramadol to take when I felt the first twinge. It didn't stop the attack but took the edge off the worst of it. My attacks were short (< 60 mins), but very fierce.

Def do the food diary, mine was cream in any quantity so no sauces etc

I was diagnosed with gallstones after the birth of DS1. My GP failed to pick it up for around five months until I ended up getting a blockage in my bile duct and started to turn yellow! I had to have an emergency ERCP to remove the blockage and then surgery to remove the gallbladder to stop it happening again. When they took my gallbladder out, it was in such a bad way that the surgeon told me that it was about to rupture. In the intervening weeks between the ERCP and the surgery to remove the gallbladder, I ate a very, very low fat diet which stopped the gallbladder attacks so I highly recommend that you do this. But watch out for signs of jaundice and seek urgent medical advice if you do think you have jaundice.

Yikes @BunsyGirl, that sounds horrendous. I will do! Thanks all for the advice. I'll keep the food diary and attempt to stay on a very low fat diet. x

@Downton57 It was bloody awful...but thankfully I’ve had no further problems since having the gallbladder removed.

When I had attacks, I sipped hot water, paced up and down the hallway, or sat learning forward over a pillow. Paracetamol can help if taken right at the start, or buscopan. You could also try omeprazole as a preventative, but you need the prescription strength one, not the over the counter one.
Low fat diet, mine was no more then 5-10g fat per day, and no spicy food or onions.

@Downton57 I don’t envy you at all! I had severe attacks often lasting upwards of 12 hours each for at least 18 months before the doctor would refer me for a scan because I didn’t “meet the criteria” 🤢 apparently you have to be “fair, fat and over forty” 🙄 I was 21 and slightly overweight. Was having to work 10 hour shifts on my feet all day in retail during the attacks and it was the most horrendous pain I’ve ever had 😔 I’d have to leave the sales floor multiple times a day to be sick because of the pain! Had around a 6 month wait for my surgery after my scan - would have been longer but I was phoned about a cancellation with 24 hours notice 😂👍🏻 hope you’re not left waiting too long for the surgery if it is gallstones 🤞🏼

I highly recommend a food diary! For me it was dairy in any form that was a major trigger so had to avoid that completely. Some days unfortunately it would just happen but low fat and avoiding triggers made the attacks a bit less intense for me! Don’t feel like you’re failing though if you’re still getting attacks. I literally ate very low fat dairy free butternut squash and red pepper soup for every meal for 2 weeks to try and curb it and still had attacks 😂🙈

I never had much luck with painkillers - I know a lot of people rely on Buscopan though. Can’t say it did anything for me but could be worth a try 😊 the only thing that ever worked for me was sitting in shower/bath with a HOT shower hitting the middle of my back for a while. It didn’t take the pain away and unfortunately only lasted for as long as I was in the shower but gave me a bit of relief when things got really bad!

Once they are causing problems, only an op will do.

My gallbladder diet was very very tedious. I think it mainly consisted of steamed fish and vegetables. Every single day.

I lost loads of weight which was great but my god it was dull.

Keep in mind that if your gallbladder is the problem, it may not be stones. My gallbladder was virtually non-functioning, and it causes the same pain and vomiting as stones do. The test for functionality is entirely different that it is to detect stones, but the treatment is the same - it has to come out.

Thank you @ATowelAndAPotato. I shall ask the doc about buscopan and omeprazole. And yes, @RWK29 I'm finding hot baths really helpful, for as long as I stay in the water! When I mentioned I might have gallstones to a relative, she said it was because I was 'fat, fair and over forty'. I definitely fit the age-profile, and I do have another stone to lose, but fat was a bit much!!

@Aquamarine how did they find out? Did you have a scan or blood tests or something else?

*@Aquamarine1029

It's called a HIDA scan, and they inject a radioactive tracer into your blood stream. The then monitor how well your gallbladder is to mentioning by watched the tracer work it's way through. It's a very easy test, and I think it took about an hour.

*functioning, not mentioning!

@Downton57 Yeah they’re profile is a bit ridiculous 😂 Fingers crossed you’re not left waiting too long! When I went in for my surgery one of the nurses was outraged that I’d been left waiting so long. Said she had had 2 severe attacks and couldn’t have handled any more and had managed to get her operation really quickly. Said she’d had 4 long natural labours with her kids and they weren’t as sore as her gallbladder attacks 😳 Due my first little one in a few weeks and I’m hoping she wasn’t exaggerating 😂🤞🏼😂 wishful thinking I’m sure 🙈

Well I meet the fat criteria, but I was 34 when I had mine, and dark hair/olive skin.

My stones had also gone for a wander and blocked my bile duct causing jaundice, then 6 weeks later, pancreatitis. I had 3 A&E trips followed by 2-3 night admissions within 3 months and was very lucky that I was able to have my op done through my company’s medical scheme, otherwise the waiting list was nearly a year!
After the first admission, they gave me oramorph at home as it was the only thing that cut through the pain and I needed it pretty much every day following the 2nd admissions. I think I was off work for about 4 months before I finally had my gallbladder out.
You have my utmost sympathy but no for you, I’m afraid!

Also @RWK29 , everyone I know who has had a natural labour and gallstones have all said gallstones was far worse. so fingers crossed and for you too!

@ATowelAndAPotato Haha, thanks! Fingers crossed 😊 Your gallstones sounds awful too 😓 I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. It was one of those awful pains that you just can’t get away from 😭

I had gallstones and a gall bladder removal a few years back. I lost weight in the first month or two after diagnosis because an attack every weekend with d and v and the agony making me scared to eat anything made me lose weight funnily enough! My GP was cross about this and explained that weight change would make things worse - I ended up on these protein drinks from the chemist to keep my weight stable. A friend who had been similarly afflicted suggested I try pear juice when I felt an attack coming on. I bought loads of cartons of M&S pear juice and it did seem to help.
The fair fat forty thing hacked me off as I was slim and not fair, though admittedly 40! The consultant told me that they think there is some connection to hormones - high oestrogen perhaps - because many women suffer with them within a year or so of childbirth too.
The relief post (keyhole) removal was immediate. Good luck. I believe that it’s the most common surgery carried out in Western world so that may be some comfort when your time comes.