Gallbladder problems - Please help MNers!

[shinybootsofleather]

I recently went to the doctors after what appeared to be a gallbladder attack. I had pain under my ribcage on the right hand side, pain in the right shoulder blade and pain when I inhaled. He decided to refer me for an ultrasound to check for gallstones. I have to wait for this until the end of July.I remember having similar symptoms about 2 years ago that were put down to stress by my GP. I had an emergency CS nine-months ago and have been feeling really crappy since then. For the last couple of months I have been feeling really nauseous and have had four nasty bouts of severe diarrhoea (sorry if TMI). On one of these bouts, I weighed myself the next day to discover that I had lost 4lbs overnight . Unfortunately this weight came back on when I recovered.
I am obese. 5ft 2in and 15 stone. I suffered with PND after DS's birth and ate like an idiot and was immobile for a while due to healing issues with the CS scar, but have lost 2 stone recently with a combination of Slimming World, walking, the gym and the 30 Day Shred. The only advice the doctor gave me was to avoid fatty foods. I have been doing this for some time. The only thing I can link this to was a 4-day beach holiday we went on 2 months ago where it was well nigh impossible to get hold of anything apart from chips, and the weekend prior to the attack when we had friends over. Had chips on Friday and roast dinner on Sunday of which I only had a small portion. Has anyone else experienced this type of thing? I have been eating little more than fruit, veg, wholegrains and some lean lamb and chicken for the last few days yet I am still experiencing pain, albeit not as severe as my first attack 5 days ago. I was diagnosed with IBS before pregnancy and suffered with this a great deal and I am wondering if it could be related. Feeling a bit miserable and sorry for myself at the moment. I can't really exercise at present as my stomach still feels very tender after the attack and even walking to town is completely knackering. This is not normal for me. Although I'm a fat bird I am quite fit(!) Any advice from any MNers who have had similar problems?

A&E is where my other ended up after 2 years.

The consultant who saw here after she turned up in A&E was utterly gobsmacked she had been left in that state for so long. In fact he was extremely annoyed because her condition was so serious. Infected gall bladder and as I said earlier very close to rupture.

my mother ended up...

mine was supposed to say avoid red meat full stop

Wow, 143 stones! I can't imagine an organ that small holding that many. Have you found that you needed to change your diet much after surgery uggmum?

I have been researching this a little and have been told by someone that sometimes the stones can be "passed". I am feeling a lot better today and perhaps I am being wildly optimistic, but was wondering if anyone here had experienced this. I am hoping against hope that this will go away without the need for surgery.

erm...passing them.....don't go there! some people end up with 'gravel' in their gall bladders...the tubes stones/gravel have to pass through are tiny which = excruiating pain, far,far worse than childbirth so don't think of that as an optomistic option. the best and only option is a lap chole and get rid of the bugger!
The pain I had on a fat free diet and no booze would last 3-4 days and when they eventually took it out it was on the verge of causing peritonitis.
Just to say pregnancy can exacerbate and trigger gall stone problems...all to do with oestrogens.
Good luck and if you have bad attacks present yourself at A&e..it bumps you up the list. I was stubborn and refused to go to hosp despite rolling on the floor in agony and hyperventilating etc...I wish I had as I was a non urgent case so kept getting shoved down the list. THe minute I woke up from the op I felt like a new woman!! NO nausea no pain well relative to the pain I had experienced....recovered very quickly even with 2 tinies and a dh who couldn't get time off work.
Push the op is what I say....get rid....Good luck!!

Eeek, I hope that when/if I have my next attack it's not when I'm at work. I start back next week and I am very concerned about having time off. Will bear in mind the advice about A&E. TBH my attack wasn't as severe as many of those posted about on this topic so I wouldn't have felt justified going to A&E at that stage though.

Having the lap cholesystectomy is way less painful than having the attacks. Please don't think you can pass them - OMG OUCH!
In some circumstances, they can use sonar to zap them but don't think it always works. They can also give meds to disperse them if there aren't too many so ask gp about that too.

read this

Not quoting this to scare you but my surgeon in Germany discussed that this could happen if my gall bladder wasn't removed.....

"Gallbladder Cancer: Gallstones are present in about 80% of people with gallbladder cancer. There is a strong association between gallbladder cancer and cholelithiasis, chronic cholecystitis, and inflammation. Symptoms of gallbladder cancer usually do not appear until the disease has reached an advanced stage and may include weight loss, anemia, recurrent vomiting, and a lump in the abdomen.

Research shows that survival rates for gallbladder cancer are on the rise, although the death rate remains high because many people are diagnosed when the cancer is already at a late stage. When the cancer is caught at an early stage and has not spread beyond the mucosa (inner lining), removing the gallbladder (resection) can cure many people with the disease. If the cancer has spread beyond the gallbladder, other treatments may be required.

This cancer is very rare, even among people with gallstones. Certain conditions in the gallbladder, however, contribute to a higher-than-average risk for this cancer."