Could this be Gallbladder, IBS, Peri, anxiety or all of the above

[wordleinthemorning]

I have another thread going about having a gallbladder polyp that possibly may mean having gallbladder taken out.
I have an appointment with a consultant in two weeks.

Gallbladder polyp found a long time ago (25y+) had niggles on and off over the years that have always been put down to polyp. I have had ibs in and off for almost as long, I get all the symptoms. A few years ago I started with acid. GP said reflux put me on Lansoprazole
And problem seemed to be solved.

In the last couple of months I've definitely noticed a huge increase in Peri symptoms. Obviously digestive issues are one of them.

I've always suffered with anxiety I'm not medicated for it and it seems to be certain things that trigger it (medical issues are one of the triggers)

Since I had the letter for appointment with consultant I am hyper aware of all of my symptoms. Which is making me anxious as I am petrified of having surgery.

I have intermittent aches around gallbladder area, I have awful wind, after some meals I feel like I need a bowel movement. I wake in the morning most days with wind. My anxiety is always at its worst when I wake up.

I know all my symptoms go hand in hand with anxiety but also with IBS, Peri and menopause. I also know my anxiety is feeding these symptoms too. I keep having to remind myself I am not in agony just discomfort on and off and I'm constantly worrying over it.

Sorry it's been long! I am trying to get a GP appointment but to no avail at the moment

First off, morning anxiety is a 'thing' - it's due to a surge in cortisol designed to get you going when you wake up so it's completely normal; often just knowing that is enough to stop worrying about it.

Secondly it is normal to be anxious about the appointment with the consultant; anxiety is the emotion that fires up when there's something that's too important to ignore. Because of your digestive issues the fight or flight response that's triggered by anxiety will be concentrated there.

You could try box breathing during the day and progressive muscle relaxation at night to help your system to calm itself.

Thankyou, I know the morning anxiety is a thing. Most days I wake up with it. It's definitely got worse since Christmas and it's not just mornings.

I am worried about my appointment as well so I think it's just a viscous circle with anxiety, the digestive symptoms I have and peri.

I've stuck to a plant based diet most of the week and I've had minimal symptoms.
I've been out for lunch today and had Turkish eggs and a hash brown. Within 30-45 mins of eating it I became bloated, had excessive wind and had sharp pains under my right rib. This then triggered anxiety and I felt like I was going to have a panic attack. I also felt fullness in my abdomen.

It's been about 4 hours since it started and my right side is still grumbly, I feel like I need to open my bowels but can only pass a little when I try to go.

I've avoided dairy and my meal did have yoghurt with it and I had one hash brown so I'm presuming it's one or both of those that's caused it.

Coeliac?

I had no obvious gluten related symptoms but it came back positive.
Completely out of nowhere after eating gluten my whole life

I guess some of my symptoms fit. I did have sourdough bread on the side and the meal had some kind of nuts and seeds sprinkled on it?

I do often get windy after pasta and bread.

I was really blindsided by the coeliac diagnosis as all my symptoms pointed to gallbladder flares.

The weekend I was diagnosed I ate:
Shredded for breakfast
Sandwich for lunch
Pasta for dinner plus cake with no obvious problems.

It's a simple blood test so just get it tested to rule it out.

My heart keeps racing and I can't figure if it is just anxiety or connected to whatever I have going on.

I've had these issues for years on and off but not as severe as they are now. I also suffer with mouth ulcers quite a lot but they seem to have settled after switching to an SLS free toothpaste.

So this week I've stuck to a low fat high fibre diet. No issues as such but this morning I had 5 BMs in the first 15 minutes of getting up, my rib cage is a little sore and my shoulder blade.
Don't know if it's gallbladder related or ibs or too much fibre. I also started spotting this week as well so don't know if hormones are playing a part of this too.

Saw the consultant today and he doesn't think my issues are Gallbladder related he thinks it's IBS. He seemed to think if she took it out which he said he would do I would still have the same problems and nothing would be resolved. He also said my polyp is tiny and is unlikely to cause issues and on my last scan the wall of my gallbladder is thin - which is good.

I hate to break it to you, but hormones and gallbladder health/gastric are VERY closely linked.

I don't want to go into it here, and it's quite niche and outing, but I've had incredible problems with my GB and there most certainly is a link between hormones, especially with worsening symptoms in peri. I know multiple women who are seeing their consultants and discussing it, and finally making some progress.

Also to add - my pain is 100% improved with HRT.

If you want to DM me, please do x

I plan on making a GP appointment to discuss things. Consultant did say he would put me on the list for removal of things stay the same but he was very adamant it was ibs. I'm taking the progesterone only pill for help with my periods that have gone erratic (heavy bleeding, weird cycles etc) but I have been considering HRT as well.

So today I went out to eat and again within 30 mins of eating wind began. I had eaten baked beans so was expecting it. Only this time I had wind under my left rib, it almost feels the same as when pregnant and baby's elbow is under there (which is very unlikely to be as I'm on the mini pill, late 40's and have a DH with zero libido) as soon as I feel the movement under my rib I've got gas. It's not painful just obviously excess gas in there. I've taken an ibs buscopan in the hope it helps to relieve it.