What does a Gallbladder attack feel like?

[Jelly4444]

Decided to treat ourselves to a Chinese last night. Big mistake! Woke up at 4am with excruciating pain under my right ribs! Vomited with the pain for a few hours. Took a difene but it did nothing. Never felt a pain like it before. I intended to get the kids to school at 8.30 and go to A&E but the pain went and I felt fine. Rang the doctors and I can't get an appointment until next week.

Does this sound like a gallbladder attack? I'm so worried!

I’ve just spoken to my gp. She has advised that it will take until February/March at least to meet the consultant and then another 2-3 months after that for operation, but might be longer due to covid.

I have daily symptoms so I am now considering going privately. I’m going to call around for timescales and prices I think. I’m lucky that I have some money in savings to do this but can say this isn’t really how I want to spend them.

That is much too long to wait @lostandfound55

My doctor said there's a long wait for surgery here too but if I went privately it would be much quicker - about 2 weeks rather than a year! I need to check what my health insurance covers.

Mine felt like my whole chest was being squeezed tightly and I had a sharp pain under my left shoulder blade, like a javelin had been put through it.
I would really push for diagnosis and surgery to have it removed. Easier said than done though. I really feel for you, it dominated my life for years and I lost a terrible amount of weight. I was able to keep it bearable for a short time with a revised diet or literally no fat.

Sounds very much like an attack. Look out for signs of an infection because it can get nasty quickly. Ie temperature, going yellow, feeling really ill. And if you do experience any of those symptoms go straight to a&e.

You poor thing.

@Jelly4444 speaking to one private hospital the wait is up to 3 months as they are still carrying out nhs urgent work but they said it is up to the consultant on timescale. I have contacted another who said the consultant can see me within 1-2 weeks and then book op after that but they couldn’t give me timescales until I know which consultant I am seeing.

My gp has advised an ultra low fat diet to help try to stop another attack but has said to buy a thermometer as if I have an attack and a fever I must go to a&e.

@lostandfound55 get some solphadeine and buscopan too. My doctor said to try 2 buscopan even though the packet says to take 1.

I've been eating really healthy food(I'm too scared not to) but I can still feel discomfort under my ribs. I also have awful heartburn and serious bloating too

Lost and found - if you have an attack and a fever [38.5 ish] you MUST go straight to A&E for urgent help. That’s pancreatisis. It is potentially life threatening and a blood test will quickly confirm if you have that.

Nearly damned well finished me off. Surgeons had to wait till I was stable before they could remove my gallbladder.

@Jelly4444 thanks for the tips. I have seen buscopan mentioned so I will get some. My gp has also prescribed omeprazole to try but she said it might not help. Feeling pretty rubbish still with diarreah straight after eating tonight. I am eating healthy as well with very little fat but I too still feel a niggling pain under my ribs and in between my shoulder blades and discomfort and bloating in my stomach.

@triballeader thank you. Sorry you went through that. I am eating very carefully in the hope that I can stop another attack happening and will be getting the thermometer this weekend.

@CrazyFoxLady good luck today.

Sorry to jump on the thread. I think I may have have my first ever gallbladder attack last night. I was at work when a sudden stabbing pain started in my upper right stomach. I had some vomiting and a slight fever. Waiting on a scan this week to confirm it.

I thought my pain was awful but by the sounds of sone posters here I’ve had it pretty easy! Starting to think it may be something else

Hi @Tidyomlette

Welcome to the defective gallbladder gang! It sounds like a gallbladder problem from what you have said and what has been described here! I'm going for a scan on 2nd Nov. Can't wait to get it sorted. Fed up of the threat of the pain and being afraid to eat normal things like a slice of cheese or buttery toast

Hi @Jelly4444. I’ve managed to eat relatively well today. My pain started while at work hours after eating so no idea what’s triggered mine. It was such a random pain although I had a similar pain a few weeks ago not nowhere near as bad.

I’m hoping it will just disappear and I won’t need surgery. God 2020 sucks

@TidyOmlette your right 2020 does suck. The pains I’ve been getting have gradually been getting worse each time as well and I also am checking the fat in everything to try and stop any pain. I also get a niggling pain on and off throughout the day but nothing like when I have a bad attack. Good luck at your scan.

Thanks @lostandfound55

Pain starts on the right side, going through to your back.
Feels like a tight band around the ribs getting tighter & tighter.
You’re not able to take a deep breath.
Feel sick.
Pain is worse than labour pains.
When the pain subsides, the stones have moved along the bile duct.
There will be tenderness for a few days after the attack, & you’ll feel exhausted.
Keep to a low fat diet until the gall bladder is removed.

I went for my scan last week and was told they'd send the results to my gp. Hoping it is gallstones as an op to rid myself of the pain would be a huge relief. Trying to control with a low fat diet and am losing weight, so every cloud, I guess.

@Downton57 I hope you hear from your gp soon. The radiographer at my scan let me see the gallstones so at least I didn’t have to wait. I’m eating low fat as well to try to keep away any further attacks.

Sorry but does sound like gallbladder pain, I had 3 attacks over 3 years before surgery, so not many, my gallbladder was jammed full of stones and they couldn’t understand how infrequently I was having attacks. Had surgery and not had any problems since, did take me a couple of months to be able to tolerate fatty food but now I can eat anything I want. I was quite gassy and burped a lot before my diagnosis, not sure if that is an indication. Nowhere near as gassy after surgery,

Tidy- sadly hoping it will go away just does not work. I can honestly say the post-op pain was not a patch on biliary colic. It hurt but nothing like as bad.....and certainly no where even a close runner to the pain level I had with severe pancreatitis and biliary colic. TBH afterwards I could even face trying to eat jelly and baked potatos.
You will need a little fat - just make sure its in the form of good unsaturated fat and not saturated fats. Make sure its no more than 20g we’ll spread across the day. Have a look at Dr Moseley’s fast800 recipes as they are very low fat but contain what you need to stay as healthy as you can. TBH - whilst I have been eating more of them those recipes themselves have been helping with my recovery from two for the price of one that landed me in HDU.

Does everyone burp a lot? I don’t burp at all. I feel like there's loads of gas trapped under my right ribcage though.

@Jelly4444 I do at times but not always. What I find I’m having the most is some pain on the right under the rib cage after eating any food and a change in bowel habits.

My mother had this problem back in the 80s, she was on a long waiting list for surgery. While waiting, she put herself on a strict fat free diet and took something called, I think, lecithin (looked like a powder, or like bran) which she sprinkled in her food. After a while the symptoms subsided. Her consultant must have scanned her again and said the gallstones had dispersed. Sorry if I'm not too clear as was young at the time, and just thought it was mum making a fuss, so I didn't really engage!

Oh and she burped ALL the tine which we were mortified by. I feel sorry for her now

First attack it was thought I was having a heart attack! I was taken by ambulance to hospital and in for 3 days.
It took months to diagnose what it was --- doctors kept putting it down to stress. I was in agony much of the time. It took a year from the first attack until I had my gall bladder removed. In hospital overnight and recovered well. I had two weeks off work and was fine after that.

Does this sound like gallbladder?

I’ve been having ‘indigestion’ for months, bloating, burping loads, stomach pains and right sided aching. Seem to taking Rennie’s most days now.
Yesterday evening I had a McDonald’s (I know) and woke up at 4 am in agony.

Central high abdominal pain that made me sit up and moan out of my sleep. I had a strong urge to go to the toilet which is did, then the urge to be sick came. Sat on the loo sweating and moaning in pain feeling like I was going to faint. Terrible stomach pain right in the middle of my stomach, not bowel area.
Sweat was running off me, drank a few mouthfuls of water which I vomited back up. The pain still awful. I felt chilled shaky and weak. Made my my way to bed and writhed around for a further 20 minutes or so then the pain quickly subsided and I was able to go back to sleep. Woke up this morning feeling winded and achy. Tentatively drinking a cup of tea.
It only lasted about 30 minutes which I’m glad of but not sure if that’s typical of gallbladder? Everyone else who had McDonald’s is fine (it didn’t feel like food poisoning as I brought nothing back up apart from the water I drank).
Really weird