Anyone any advice: suspected gall stones?

[Honneybunny]

Hi! Have been in and out of (out of hours) GP
since yesterday afternoon, and they have diagnosed me with suspected gall stones.
Am not seeing a specialist until 17 April, which is soon fortunately. Was just wondering if anyone has any additional advice than that the GP has already told me: avoid fatty foods, and have many light meals spread over the day.

sorry to hear that. Switch to a low fat diet asap, including switching to skimmed or semi skimmed milk. If you have cheese it should be grilled/cooked as your stomach is more tolerant to it this way. Ask yuor gp for some painkillers in case you have another attack.
Best of luck

Thanks for the message FlyingLow
i got some paracetamol, normally would take ibuprofen, but GP said that as long as it is not excluded to be a stomach problem (ulcer i guess) this is not a good drug to take.
i just hope i will not have another attack until the 17th: it was absolutely awful !

oh I know, its worse than labour!

Start monitoring how you feel after everythig you eat - you'll quickly figure out what things are particularly bad for you. I recommend limiting all cow products as much as possible, especially fatty ones, but including steak/mince/cheese etc.

Drink a cup of hot water with lemon first thing in the morning - it kick starts the liver which if you've got gall stones is never a bad thing as the gall bladder stores bile that the liver produces so the healthier your liver is, the better.

Eat beetroot- lots and lots....and courgettes. Drink lots and lots of water.
I recently had a scan for suspected gallstones (it wasn't) There are some really informative threads in the Gen Health section on gallstones.

Every sympathy Honneybuny .

Good to get a fast diagnosis as this can take a while (6 months for me). It can be intensely painful (as bad or worse than childbirth is the general opinion; can be mistaken for suspected heart attack) so you may need more than paracetamol - I have dihydrocodeine & paracetomol to take together. If it gets bad you may find you throw up any oral analgesic - so get yourself down to A&E for intravenous.

As I am a vegan I was very surprised I got attacks as thought I had a low fat diet - but then found out through trial and (painful) error to avoid any oil other than olive oil; margarine; and most prepared foods as they seem to have some kind of oil & fat. I am now living on rice & steamed vegetables - which makes going out a chore - and better to eat little and often. Thankfully I can still drink coffee, tea and (a little) alcohol as I need something not totally austere.

Getting my gall bladder out next week and can't wait! I have lost a lot of the last year to those pesky stones and want my life back!

oh dear, pain like no other, would rather go though labour again!!
hints, low fat, loads of water, dry food like toast, chicken, rice. Aviod apple with skin on, too much wheat, peppers, cumcumber, anything spicey.
If you get another attack go straight in or call GP for pain shot, trust me it doesnt go away on its own
HTH

Ooh, Hackney - it will change your life.

My hot post gallbladder tip is:
if you're planning on buying new lipstick/make up, save it for post surgery as your skin tone will change. I am not exaggerating. I have a picture of me, taken the day before one of my attacks at a party where I was wearing my fabulous new lipstick that looked fantastic. It looks fantastic in the photo too. It looks absolutely minging now - the colour is totally wrong for my new, non slightly yellow (which I hadn't even noticed) complexion.

Im in the same boat.... have gallstones confirmed (back at beginning of feb) but have to wait until 14th may for pre-op assessment.

ive had a few attacks since diagnosis, but ive almost expected them as a result of things i have eaten.

I was told fat-free dairy-free was the way to go, but that is virtually impossible. I just try to eat lean meat, steamed or boiled veg and use Frylight to roast potatoes and parsnips.

its a long slog, but fingers crossed you have a health authority that will see you promptly to put you out of your misery. xxx

Had my gall Bladder out last year, and haven't looked back. My GP advised to get it taken out ASAP as the various treatment - laser etc don't work long term. having talked to others and own experience, she was so right.
Pre op I found my diet didn't make any difference strangly. Certainly post op I can eat anything.
just so glad the b*dy thing is out and rather proud of the fact I had 43 stones

Thanks OhBling and coldupnorth. Lovely to hear such positive posts. Re skin tone - people have been making sympathetic noises even days after an attack so perhaps I am slowly going yellower and not noticing.
Coldupnorth - 43 stones! That deserves a prize.
Honneybunny - hope this all useful for you too

Had my gall bladder out last year and my mother had it out a fornight ago.

Stay of dairy completely if you can and drink lot of water. Light meals especially in the evening and reduce alcohol intake generally will reduce pressure on your system. In the end I coudl not walk far because it messed up my pancreas and I was producing too much insulin when the bile backed up an dirritated it.

Above all, do get the gall bladder out. Do not struggle on with it as my mother did. In the end it almost burst into her body cavity as the stones had worn the walls of the gall bladder away. The GP had sugested she wait and see but the consultant who saw her last week pretty much said she had been very very badly advised and should have had it out years ago.

If you get biliary colic the pain is agonising. I have had it and so has my mother.

I am not completely well at the moment even though I had it out a year ago. It can mask other symptoms as my consultant has told me. I have found by trial and error that keeping off dairy and backing of on the alcohol even after the opertaion has made me feel a lot better.

thank you all so much for sharing your experiences! very useful info.
i feel fine now, still slightly sick after meals, but no longer having the awful pain.

i had some blood tests today, for blood count, liver function, kidney function and pancreatic function. gp is taking things very very seriously, which is great!

had a strange attack on monday night, suddenly feeling very light headed, chills, shaking all over (esp. legs), cramps, pressure on my ears
(blood pressure felt very high). is this related?? i had this once or twice before, also shortly after (within days) having the colic pains (?) under my ribs and in back.

coldupnorth, 43 stones wow!
my grandfather had his gallbladder plus stones removed and asked the surgeon for his stones (he didn't have that many, but he did have some impressive ones that were very big (he called them his golf balls). he kept them 'pickled' in a jam jar and showed them off to visitors.

hi again
i thought id give a little update: was seen by the specialist today, and he has referred me for an ultrasound. this is going to happen next week, and if it shows that i have gall stones (which he thinks is highly likely), he said i could have it out mid May. wow, i guess i am lucky with private healthcare... (having read your story DJMouse).
thanks again everyone for the helpful advice. the consultant today said exactly same: staying off fatty foods/dairy/etc until it comes out -if i have stones- will lower the chances of me having another colic episode.