Can gallbladder pain feel like this? I’m so fed up.

[Mykittensmittens]

This might be lengthy but I don’t want to drip feed.

In 2019 I had a 5 day long pain episode. I’d give it 3/10 going up to 5/10 (childbirth back to back being 9/10!). During that time I had one episode of yellowish poo, chills, right hand gnawing pain and it was associated with eating - either ramped from 3/10 to 5/10 about 1-2 hours after eating, or occasionally if I let myself have a very very empty stomach. I also had some gurgling noises. This all happened just after Xmas when I’d had a diet of rich food and booze. In fact the day prior to it starting I’d had a very rich cheese pizza at an Italian.

By the time I got into the GP and then for the scan (6 days) the pain was down to a 1/10 and the findings were as follows: no stones. A slightly prominent common bile duct and some fat on the liver.

They were very dismissive of it being anything gallbladder related (although the sonographer did say I could have passed a stone or had subsiding inflammation).

My BMI was 30 so I lost two stones during that year, ditched booze for 6 weeks (I probably had been drinking above the sensible levels) and was fine….

Until I ate a deep fried dish and some wine in a restaurant and boom - it was back. I was on holiday at the time. By the time I got home, it had passed.

Roll forward to now. Lockdown hasn’t helped me. I’ve put half my lost weight back on. I’ve also had another couple of these bouts and am in the middle of one now.

This time it’s lasted 3 weeks of very low level gnawing pain which is definitely digestion related. I’ve not had alcohol for 3 weeks or fatty food, but it does seem to trigger it. The pain feels like a bruise under my ribs. It’s certainly worse when I eat, shortly afterwards. Things like tea or milk don’t seem to affect it but it’s better when I’ve not eaten (despite growling hunger pains). It just seems uncommon to have this lower level longer pain rather than sudden attacks. I can’t get comfy.

Yesterday I had a slice of brown toast with reduced fat spread - that set it off to about 3/10 which subsided after 3 hours. Then I had some tiny pieces of veg sushi, main remained at 3/10. Much later I had a very small portion of pasta with vegetable sauce - small cereal bowl full, with a couple of teaspoons of 50% reduced fat cheese. The pain started within an hour up to 5/10 and didn’t subside until midnight.

I’m away for the next 3 days (which is going to be interesting, supposed to be out for Italian tomorrow!) but when I get back I KNOW I’ll have to go to the GP. I just don’t like the man frankly and (be gentle please) I already have a degree of health anxiety anyway. I’m one of those stupid people who ‘doesn’t want to know’ and buries my head in the sand. Part of these things for me is feeling out of control.

I guess I’m asking does/can gallbladder issues feel like this as a longer term, lower level pain rather than acute attacks? Feeling a bit sorry for myself at the moment. Please be kind.

I had my gallbladder out in 2013. Preceding that, I had about 3 years of on and off low level aches in my right side, nausea in the mornings and generally feeling a bit off. I only had a handful of ‘attacks’ and only one that was severe enough for me to go to A&E.
Spicy or fatty food definitely triggered pain and nausea.

I wasn’t investigated for gallstones until about two years in to all of this, and was found to have lots and lots of little gallstones. Had it whipped out with keyhole surgery and haven’t had any problems since. Lost my taste for anything too greasy now, though (fry ups make me nauseous!) as the memory of the pain is enough to put me off!!

Thank you. I know it’s something ‘billiary’ as I had yellow poo for one day in that first bout. My GP is SO dismissive of me. When I mentioned the yellow poo he pulled this face and said ‘really??’ He literally didn’t believe me he said nothing was important other than reducing the fat on my liver, which the private sonographer had said to me ‘wasn’t ideal, was low level and these days is very common and lifestyle related’ and also said liver fat doesn’t usually cause pain. As I said the sonographer suggested it was probably a stone that had passed.

I just fear the GP as when I go back I think he’ll start going on about my weight again (I’m now 12.5 stone, size 14 and 5ft 3, so appreciate I do need to lose some that I’ve regained) but I’m certainly not morbidly obese. My liver function tests which I have done annually through my private healthcare are always well within normal levels.

Funny enough the spicy thing - that vegetable pasta did have some chilli in it?!

Definitely no appeal in anything fatty now. I just don’t fancy it at all.

My gallbladder area feels bruised and sore constantly and so much worse after eating. I am a strong believer in listening to instinct and my instinct says something in there is sore or inflamed. I just didn’t think gallbladders behaved like that - I thought it was acute attacks of severe pain.

I had my gall bladder removed emergency surgery having never until that week having had any trouble so I cant answer if how you feel can be gallbladder. However I will add that sounds exactly like my IBS so is that something worth looking into?

Sounds like biliary colic. I had cholecystitis around 15 years ago that landed me in hospital for around 8 days on high dose antibiotics and morphine, but my scans showed no gallstones.

I still get biliary colic at times - I've had to stop eating dairy, be really careful of anything fried and can't ever eat takeaways. Buscopan have been the only medication that remotely helps as it soothes abdominal cramping.

I had mine out in August. It didn't sound like your description. Iwas was intermittent, off the scale pain lasting about 2 hours at a time. My pain ws s between the belly button and the ribs but usually it's just below the right side ribs. Episodes started off being every few months, ended up about one a month. For about 24 hours after I felt tired and queasy like a hangover but otherwise between episodes there were no symptoms.

Fatty food is a trigger but tbh anything is.

Sorry between belly button and ribs should be between belly button and the sternum.

I’m off to get some buscopan this morning.

I did wonder about IBS but it’s literally nowhere other than underneath my rib on that side. No constipation. No diarrhoea. No unusual changes in bowel movement.

If buscopan would help for a few days till I’ve been away and I’m back I’ll try it. I know I’ve got to go. I don’t mind about surgery or anything like that - it’s just getting past the GP. I have private healthcare so that’s not an issue once I’ve been referred.

@BrilloPaddy is not the solution to remove the gallbladder then for colic? Whilst I’m all for a healthy lifestyle, if I can never again have cheese or butter even on occasion that’s grim! I’m a strict vegetarian and eat no fish or meat and haven’t for 35 years (I’m 48).

My best description of the pain is like a stitch under/just below my right rib.

Had a slice of whole meal toast with very low fat spread 30 mins ago.

Pain is increasing again now it’s almost at the level of being distracting. Been to the loo, all normal, but it’s made zero difference to the pain.

I had low level pain until one horrendous attack where the pain was 10/10.
I had the op done privately and the surgeon said it was a good job I’d had it done sooner as it was really severely inflamed with lots of “gravel”. The severity wasn’t picked up at a scan

Your pain sounds very much like mine. A weird stitch feeling, sometimes a slight throbbing.

Low fat spread was one of my triggers, too. God knows what’s in it that sets it off. Alcohol was a trigger, too.

Hi OP, could it be pain from a hiatus hernia?

I found out I had one after an endoscopy.

The pain was similar to what you are describing.

I don't really get the pain now even though my weight and diet are pretty much the same.

I would get yourself a different GP as an absolute starting point OP x

I nipped to the chemist and got some buscopan after my last post. I took two about 10.40. Now at 11.20 I could weep with relief - the pain has dropped back down to about a 1/10. It’s still there. If I reach up it feels like a marble or a stitch under my rib, but the gnawing pain itself has subsided.

Coincidence?
Psychological?

@Privatesector I’d love to - but I live rurally and the practice only has one doctor and it’s he who I don’t find very helpful. He’s marvellous with my husbands aches and pains but his speciality is muscular skeletal stuff. If you ask for a female GP you get an appt with his nurse practitioner who is wonderful - but she’ll only deal with routine or minor things like throats and ear infections. If I’m triaged for an appt for gallbladder they’ll insist it’s him I need to see. Maybe I should swap to a practice in the nearest main town but that has its downsides in accessibility I guess.

I've got Buscopan in my handbag, my bedside cabinet and in the kitchen. I literally always make sure I've got them with me - they really do stop any spasms almost immediately.

My pain is right under the ribs, on the right hand side as you look down. I've seen a private consultant about removing the bloody thing but as I've not got gallstones, they're reluctant to. So I just live with it. I'm also a vegetarian.

Sounds like gallbladder to me.
I didn't make the connection with mine when I had an attack for about three years. Occasionally upset stomachs after fatty meals
What can only be described as what I imagine a heart attack on the right to feel like- often at night but starts in centre of chest then goes round to the right and up into my jaw sometimes.
Lots of indigestion and gurgling.
I have gallbladder sludge and the sonographer thought there was probably ar least one stone in the sludge.
Currently managing it with peppermint oil, Buscopan and digestive enzymes- the latter has made the biggest difference. Have you looked at a pop chart (sorry, TMI I know) if your poo has undigested bits in, it's probably gallbladder related.
I'd really push to get a further scan. Once the gallbladder is fucked, it's not going to improve.

Thanks all it’s been really reassuring today. The buscopan really helped initially and the weird thing is/was (it’s lessening now if I’m honest, the pain is back up to a 3/10 but I’m bloody starving too which may not help)…once the pain under the rib lessened a bit, the most it has in days, I can now feel a pain in my back too. It I think prior the pain being stronger at the front hid it. It’s an ache, underneath the bottom of where my right shoulder blade would be. If I rotate my arm it’s there very subtly. I almost feel like I want to stretch it out but it doesn’t work.

Really interesting reading all these posts. I’ve had a permanent discomfort under my right rib and intermittent pressure below my right shoulder blade for 8 months. Scan shows no gall stones (& liver etc = fine) but I’m really concerned they should check the gallbladder further. Really also feel like I’m not digesting food and have dropped significant weight. Was only googling today re gallbladders with no stones causing issues….Have got a private referral and am hoping for a hida scan to settle the argument!!

There's a very good FB group I'm in that gives all kinds of diet etc. It's run by an American couple.
It seems that your gallbladder doesn't have to have stones to be diseased, or even sludge. It can just not function efficiently. In the US they do a hida scan which apparently measures it's effectiveness and many people are found to have a gallbladder with no stones, but that runs at less than 75% for example.

Mine started exactly as you describe. I was in Romania on a school trip- rich creamy sauces set me off. I went to gp as I had an ovarian cyst burst as well- she told me your gallbladder isn’t right- scanned with stones- lost a lot of weight and hit 12 months of pain till removal . Go back to another gp. It’s worst then child birth , Bilary colic is miserable

Thanks for the subsequent posts. I’ve been looking into this the last few days and for those mentioning HIDA/fibroscan the British liver trust does free roadshows where they do these scans that give you a health view of your billiary system / maybe worth a look to see if any are local to those who are still struggling.

I’m okay - although I know this is gastric I did eat out last night (we are away) and had one glass of white wine and a veg lasagna and it’s no worse today. However on the whole it has ‘bettered’ the last few days. It’s just uncomfortable. Most of the time.

I do keep cycling thoughts. I was told there was a ‘little’ fat on my liver 2 years ago but from what I understand for 95% of people that doesn’t cause pain, and by all accounts if you’ve a slightly higher BMI and you drink you would expect to see some fat anyway. I do drink, and at times I have drunk more than I do now, but I have 4 or 5 consecutive days booze free and very much drink in moderation these days. Plus my BMI is up but ironically I had that 6 months when I was t-total and lost lots of weight, and I had an almighty bout of this during that time, straight after eating fried food (which I don’t do very often) so I don’t believe it’s down to a fatty liver.

This is gastric. I trust my instincts and that’s what it feels like.

Ive also noticed this (and I know this sounds odd!) but if I THINK about food and salivate, the pain can come on. Watching bake off a couple of weeks ago I was absolutely drooling over something and contemplating making it over the weekend - the pain started (low level).

I’d describe it today as a discomfort rather than a pain. Like something inside isn’t right. I can put my finger in the spot exactly - if you run a finger down the bottom edge of the ribs and get about halfway - it’s there - although as I say I can also feel a pulling pain in my back too on that side.

I had routine bloods every year with my private healthcare and I’ve re-looked at this years (May). LFTs are all ‘optimal’ - the only thing to watch was cholesterol at 4.6 and vitamin D.

I’ll make an appt next week. Just want to feel normal!

look up sphincter of oddi dysfunction.

I have that following a gastric virus.

trigger for pain and digestive issues is fatty carbs and carbonated or acidic drinks.

Possibly @purplesequins but one of the indicative symptoms of that is abnormal LFTs. Mine are ‘optimal’ (or at least were when I last had them done circa 5 months ago)

One thing in your last post stands out to me, that you get pain if you think about food. That sounds more stomach ulcer like to me. Do you get pain when you take anti-inflammatories like Ibuprofen? Ask your GP to test for H.Pylori (easy stool test). Have you tried taking a med like Omeprazole to cut back on stomach acid at all? If that helps it might be a clue.

Gastro problems are really tricky to diagnose. You need to keep going back about your pain and be persistent.

@Pohtaytoes no pain on taking ibuprofen at all, no.

As I said we are away at the moment and ate out last night - veg lasagna and a glass of wine - no discernible issues.

BUT today before heading home we stopped for a bite to eat. I shared a veg pizza with DS which was quite cheesy. Just water to drink. 60 minutes after eating the pain was back. I’d give it a 4/10. I took 2 buscopan and within 20 minutes it dropped back down to 1/10. Now I’m sat here a couple of hours later, thinking about food and thinking about the issue and it’s going back up to a 3/10 again.

So odd.

Will make an appt for next week.