Urgent - Possible gallbladder problem; can I take painkillers

[LackaDAISYcal]

Currently in the grip of my second attack of what might be gallbladder probelm this week.....pain really bad, like the worst indigestion ever or labout pains. Feels like indigestion but no burps coming out.

Passed in about two hours last time (but recurred overnight altho to lesser extent) so by time ambulance arrived I was feeling better and didn't got ot hsopital due to not wanting to leave 14 weeks old BF baby.

saw doc on monday and due to back pain as well diagnosed kidney infection. Been taking ABs since then and kidneys clearing niocely.

Bad attack of pain today again.

Anyhoo, upshot is, will painkillers help, or do I just have to ride it out?

BUMP

yes painkillers help. I would go back to gp and explain situation though. if you are getting pain frequently then an urgent GP appointment wouldn't go amiss. do you suffer with gallbladder? Has you been diagnosed as such? if not you really need to get to gp with that sort of pain.

not diagnosed. only second time happened and last tweek was complicated with kidney inferction so pain was attributed to that with a view to keeping an eye on it and go back if happened again.

This pain is no where near my kidneys though and is very debilitating.

am in charge of two children and a baby and waiting for dh to get home from work.

this prob isn't what you want to hear but you need to be seen. Ring nhs direct and talk to them. It may or may not be gallbladder so need seeing and diagnosing properly. HTH

thanks have spoken to doctor who is going to come out but not till after seven.

still waiting on DH coming home. nothing i can do till then anyway as 3 dC

thanks normansmum. I got to the doc who think probably gallstones but might be peptic ulcer. he gave me co-codamol and an acid suppressant and is doing an urgent referral for further tests.

I'm still feeling awful though.

If anyone can tell me about their gallbladder symptoms I'd be grateful.

Is it normal for the pain to last for this long?(started building about 3.30 and was at it's peak by 6.00 and although it's better now, I've had two cocodamol)

I feel really cold and shivery and very sleepy as well; just want to crawl into bed.

I had a severe gall bladder problem until March last year when I had the thing removed.

You need to get yourself to the doctor and get a scan to see if you have gall stones. Small ones are worse than large ones as they get stuck in the bile duct and block it which causes the pain and inflames the pancreas that causes it to release insulin which makes you tired.

Do not be fobbed off by your GP. I ended up not being able to walk up a hill, extremely tired and in pain almost constantly. My friends said I aged 10 years.

If you get severe vomiting for days, shivering and a pain under your right rib cage and round your back which is worse than child birth you have blockage in your bile duct whch is backing up into your pancreas.

A woman in her 40s is a prime candidate for this condition. Eating a fatty meal usually causes the symptoms to become even worse.

However, these symptoms cn also be caused by an ulcer so it is hard to diagnose just from the pain. I now have an ulcer after having had my gall bladder removed!

If you become jaundiced you are almost certainly suffering from some form of pancreatic/bile/liver problem.

paracetamol only really I was advised. Ive got gallstones and awaiting an op to have gallbladder removed.

Fat free dairy free diet will stop all pains - yes its an arse, i know, im living it, but it really does help. Ive been attack free for 4 weeks now.

Lots of sympathy here. Do get a scan as soon as possible. I had symtpoms for months, didn't get them checked out and ended uo dangerously ill with an infected bile duct from a stone blockage.Gallstones hurt like buggery and can lead to nasty complications. Not worth it. Low-fat diet to ward off attacks. I had very bad pain for up to about 12 housr at a time.Worse than labour. would lie in a very hot bath with painkillers, was some help. Hope you are OK.

Oops, reading more carefully see that you have been referred for more tests.

thanks for the responses. I am two weeks past my 40th birthday, lol....middle age anyone?

thanks abetadad for that. I saw the doc tonight; he saw me after surgery had finished and was very good. I feel incredibly tired after the pain starts; like I could just close my eyes and sleep so what you describe makes sense. I also had a baked potato with cheese and coleslaw for lunch so lots of fat and dairy. attack last week was after a big roast dinner and a homemade rice pudding made with cream.

The doc said I should be seen within 10 days for the scan so not too long to wait thankfully, and has advised me to go low fat asap. (waves bye bye to lovely M&S valentines dine in for two )

bloody scared to eat anything but am BFing and starving.

thanks again.

LAcka - it is hard, but it does get easier.

Ive had the scan, had the diagnosis, but am waiting for my crappy hospital to contact me with an appointment to see surgeon.

I have been told that if there is fever, sickness or severe pain whilst fat free/dairy free then A&E without delay.

The back pain is the gall bladder pushing on your liver.

Jacket pots with weight watchers beans and weight watchers cheese has been ok.

Fat in small tiny amounts is managable.

Any support you need please contact me, I have been living this for about 8 weeks now x

DanJar i am at the same stage as you.

I get an attack after eating fatty food, if i am overly stressed and i swear my pill was making it worse.

It hurts right under my right rib and towards the back, i usually get it during the night and lasts hours.

Oh and i'm only 28 so not middle aged yet.

thanks jarm . I can dig out my rosemary conley book. She developed her diet after going low fat for gallstones I believe. And the weight loss bonus of a low fat diet will be welcome as I'm overweight at the minute (another risk factor).

things are settling down painwise now thankully.

I hope you hear about your operation soon

Im only 26!

Im overweight though and I do have a family history of young gallstones.

My scan revealed that my gallbladder is a reduced size than it should be and choccablock with stones.

It is fucking painful - worse than my nightmare labour with DS..... but I know that its the fat content that causes the attacks.

I usually got woken up with the pain at about 3am.... but things came to a head when I had been in agony for nearly 24hrs and couldnt sit/stand/lie down..... was hellish.

Have you had blood tests done for liver function? My liver test results were through the roof - so much so my doc called me at 5.15pm on a friday night to get me to see him urgently, and said that if i had been in pain i would have been referred up to the hospital for emergancy removal. The same blood test 2 weeks later (so 2 weeks of fat free/dairy free) I was almost back to normal levels again.

Its only since being fat free dairy free, Ive realised I really cant stand brocolli without lashings of gravy!!! Its vile!

no liver tests done, but i had a full bllod count done last week. Only thing that showed was low iron levels. Not sure if it would have picked up anything with liver function though.

no, the liver test is seperate to FBC. Brown bottle.

That should really confirm for the docs the gallstones issue without the scan details.

the scan can take 10days to get results to your GP.

Such a long waiting game its silly.

If you can afford private (i cant funnily enough) and have a spare £4k you can have the op that way, otherwise its join the line with us on the NHS.... just pray I hear something soon.... Im craving a serious amount of chocolate!

I've not had a liver test done. I was lucky the results of my scan were with my doctor two days later.

That was lucky Tomarto - my bloods have been great, hospital phoning through the results to GP same day so no waiting there, but the scan took its time - not helped by my GP being on holiday for a week and he wouldnt let me see anyone else!

DH has just started a new job and although he has private medical insurance with it, it doesn't start until he's been there for six months....typical, we've had it for years through work and never had need of it before!

How long are you having to wait?

I just dont know Lacka

My GP referred me on 5th Feb, so far heard nothing.

Praying to at least get an appointment by march and hopefully op over and done with before holiday at the end of may, but that may be a little optimistic!

If you are waiting for referal and are prepared to travel I would ask your GP to find any place that has a short waiting list and ask for a referal.

Try Oxford John Radcliffe /Churchill hospital. It was reasonably quick once I had been diagnosed on the NHS. Do not fall for the 'I could do it quick if you went private' trick. I think it is immoral to say that to someone in obvious agonising pain.

My mother is suffering form gall stones and has been waiting for ever up in Scarborough North Yorkshire.

I think the postcode lottery applies a lot to gall bladder ops.

It amazes me that something that the body can function quite happily without can cause so much grief when it goes wrong....like the spleen and appendix.

Maybe it's nature's way of telling me I need to go on a diet though?

the stress is an interesting point tamarto, I suffer with stress and anxiety so hope that doesn't kick things off.

I know what you mean LAcka, I am appendix-less too! Just wondering when the spleen and other kidney are gonna pack up on me!

As for weightloss, ive managed about 9lbs in 6 weeks.