Gallstones, Pain Relief and Nutrition

[bluecatlady]

Saw my gp again, and have an ultrasound booked due to a cancellation week after next yay... Shame about my flare up today...feels like someone has stuffed a beachball under my ribs...bah! No real pain yet just discomfort....worrying thing is I think this was triggered by a Exante diet bar....

 

[foodfairy]

Oh god I can still remember that pain, wouldn't wish it on my worst enemy!! For some people even eating totally fat free foods can bring on an attack so they have my complete sympathy as mine were only ever brought on by fatty foods. Hope the results of your scan get you a surgery appt soon xx

 

[Hoz]

Good luck with the scan, hope it goes all right.
Eurgh I hate that feeling, I've had it almost constantly since the first attacks which is why they signed me off.
Hope you feel better soon and get the treatment you need quickly x

 

[bluecatlady]

Thank you all. My attacks don't seem to have a particular trigger which is annoying. I've had one after a really low fat meal and I've eaten high fat meals with no problems, totally strange. Pesky gallbladders!!

 

[RayeRaye]

Thank you all. My attacks don't seem to have a particular trigger which is annoying. I've had one after a really low fat meal and I've eaten high fat meals with no problems, totally strange. Pesky gallbladders!!

I've noticed this all the time now, too. The problem with dieting whilst having gallstones is that the bile flushes out at some point, no matter what you eat, you may find that it triggers after a low-fat meal when the low-fat meal was never a problem... it's just simply your body doing what it's supposed to do.

My doctor prescribed me NSAID medication in the form of 400mg ibuprofen (to take 3 times a day, after every meal) and I find this and my diet is sufficient [thus far] for keeping any potential pain at bay.
However I would advise some form of strong painkiller (such as Co-codamol) for when the bile inevitably escapes the gallbladder.

Taken as soon as you feel the familiar "gripping" building to that dull ache, I find it helps to stave off any pain completely... otherwise it takes far too long to kick in, and you're left in agony anyway.

I've had my scan and the ultrasound tech told me it was hard to see what was going on because there were so many stones in there (not really what you want to hear, but I appreciated the honesty at least). I've yet to speak to a doctor about getting a surgical consultation, but in a way - after the confirmation I have gallstones - it's quite a relief to be able to finally do some proper research into the procedure.

I've read from a few sources that anywhere ranging from 5% to 40% of gallbladder removal patients develop a condition called postcholecystectomy syndrome... which doesn't sound very pleasant - almost worse than the infrequent pain of a gallstone attack... or I've read all these horror stories about drainage bags and any type of fats "running right through" the patient once the gallbladder has been removed.

Perhaps I'm just psyching myself out, though. I've never had any type of surgery before, so I'm a little nervous... and I haven't even spoken to a surgeon about my options yet!

As for diet, I've found that spicy foods don't irritate me one bit, provided they're not fatty spiced foods. I made a lovely Peri-Peri spiced chicken breast with some steamed asparagus and wild rice and although it was spicy, since I didn't use any oil (and removed all fat from the chicken) it didn't create any issues.

I think, given the waiting times for a cholecystectomy, by the time it comes to the actual op... I'll have a pain-free low-fat menu down pat, busting the gallstones diet myths!

 

[Jammiesgirl]

Hi there, I had gallstones 16 years ago and can sympathise with the pain and difficulty eating. I was given Buscopan which at the time was prescription only but its available over the counter now. Its is now promoted as an IBS treatment I think its to help with muscle spasms but I found it brilliant for the gallbladder pain. I had a stone lodged in the bile duct and went yellow so it was pretty sore. I had mine out by keyhole surgery and have been fine since.
I gather the gallbladder is used to store and concentrate bile ready for when its needed (usually after eating fat) I've since heard that you should avoid too much fat after having it removed but no one mentioned it at the time.I hope things get sorted out for you.

 

[bluecatlady]

I just thought I'd bed a little update to this to anyone reading it.

Against common advice about the low fat diet rule I'm following the Atkins diet which is significantly higher than 5% fat per meal limit... And no flare ups....

My gallbladder has not even grumbled in the last month.... I don't know what's going on as last week I had my conformation ultrasound and it's confirmed I have gallstones but a high fat diet is not only not causing flares up but I'm also losing more weight with less grumble patches that I had low fat on slimmers world. Maybe the gallbladder is happier emptying more often?

Very weird I know. Just my experience, so obviously please no one try a high fat meal because of my words and suffer an attack! I wouldn't wish that on anyone! Just thought I'd update the thread. Also I'm still not sold on surgery and I'm researching alternatives.

Hope everyone is well and pain free.

 

[carlacas83]

I started dieting last may and after loosing around 2 stone in around 6 months I started waking with bad heartburn in the night at one point I thought I was dying as the stabbing pain in my chest was horrendous. If i was sick the pain stopped but then returned worse minutes later, it turned out that I was suffering from acid reflux and the pain is a muscle contracting trying to keep the acid and bile down.

I was prescribed omeprazol which helped loads but then i began waking in the night with stomach pain, hot sweats and being sick. There was no particular foods which set it off, and didnt have to be high in fat either so i couldnt really change my eating habits. I presumed this was gallstones (as my mum and sister have both had them) so asked GP for an ultrasound which confirmed I had lots of little ones.

My sister developed pancreatitis prior to having her gallbladder removed (this went un-diagnosed until after her gallbladder surgery) she had to have full surgery as her gallbladder was too inflamed for keyhole, she was in hospital for weeks, in agony and drugged up on morphine and had to be transferred to a hospital where there was a specialist.

I didn't want to have to suffer like that so I opted to have my gallbladder out as soon as possible.

I had my keyhole surgery done 3 days ago and have 5 small scars, my stomach has ballooned in size and is really swollen and bruised. It's slightly uncomfortable at the moment and hard to get comfy but nothing as bad as when I was having an attack. Hopefully be back to normal after a few weeks off work resting.

 

[rugbykirsty87]

im now due to have surgery. ive been put on the waiting list. i have 4 gallstones the size of marbles.

 

[Chocorette]

Ugh, gallbladder. I do not miss you. >|

I also developed gallstones because of rapid weightloss years ago, which began manifesting excruciating, incapacitating attacks every 4-5 months for the next four years. Many people can develop stones and they will never cause problems, however, the minute you have one attack, there is nothing to do but to get the organ removed. (The only reason I waited so long and through like 8-9 attacks was that I couldn't get on any medical plan or pay for the surgery.)

Basically, after my first attack, I tried my hardest to research ways to change my diet so that nothing would trigger the attacks, but it seemed like no matter what I did, they just kept coming, and basically what happens when you have an attack is that your gallbladder becomes inflamed, scar tissue forms from the movement and rubbing of the stones, and infections can occur. (I literally had mine out JUST in time...it was going into a state of gangrene when they took it out, I saw a picture, it was nasty.)

It was my very first (And only) surgery, so I was panicked a lot about it, but really, the surgery was not bad at all. Only about 3 days of bad pain (which was mostly from the gas they pump into your abdomen to separate your organs from your abdominal wall, it floats up into your shoulders and hurts if you're in certain positions, so I had to actually sleep in a chair rather than lay in a bed for a few days) and then after that, just the soreness from the wounds healing. As for life after surgery, well...it's different for everyone. I still have to monitor what I eat, because if I don't, I'll have to run to the bathroom after certain meals, if it's something with fat or whatnot. Some foods trigger the liver to create bile faster than others, and when there is no gallbladder to collect it, it goes straight into your bowels.

Still, I would take the above any day over the fear of attacks and a rotting organ inside me. D: Make a surgery asap, because once it starts having attacks, it will only ever get worse, there is no healing it.

 

[bluecatlady]

Had another attack today. Longest one yet and I even had to take two co codamols. Before I've been struggling through the pain on 1 or one and a half( I have a pretty high pain threshold due to daily ibs pain)
Problem is the pain now seems to be in my pancreas too, central and back as well as side and the nausea is horrible.

Going to see on is tomorrow for my surgical referral.I was hoping to avoid surgery but if it's now affecting my pancreas I have no choice.

 

[kazisindahouse]

Does anyone mind me askingif someone could describe the pain they feel and whereabouts they get it please?
My reason for asking is after weeks of a bloated stomach and getting in a pain in my back and stomach on the right side I decided to go and see my GP for help and he is sending me for a scan to see if I have problems with my gall bladder. I dont get the pain all of the time, however this morning after something as simple as a cup of coffee I started with this nagging ache which then turned into a dull pain. The best way I can describe it that I feel like I have a band around my stomach that gets tighter and tighter but also there is an ache like a really bad period pain and then I keep getting a sharp twinge in my right side and back. I dont think I can take it for much more!
My GP said I was an ideal candidate for gall bladder problems as I was a woman in my 40's!

 

[bluecatlady]

It's a very VERY intense throbbing ache pain that worsens and becomes a constant throb on your right side that radiates pain into your right shoulder and your back, sometimes felt under the ribs on the right side.

It's unbearable pain, far worse than any period pain, stomach upset or toothache. It gives me intense nausea too.

Lasts anythng from half hour to three hours, although my attack today took more than five hours to pass.

The closest pain I have felt to it is trigeminal neuralgia, but you'd have to have had that to understand it.

From research it seems people that have their first gallbladder attack often think they are very seriously ill and go to a&e, it's that kind of pain.

I hope you don't have gallstones!!

 

[kazisindahouse]

Thanks for that. The ache in my back and side yesterday got to the point where I was rocking in my chair for comfort. I'd taken 2 extra paracetomol and 2 ibruprofen which helped but didnt get rid of it. Trouble is with me is that I have a very low pain threshhold. Eventually it did go away but it took a couple of hours. I think I'll just wait and see what the results of the scan is and take it from there. Meanwhile I am looking at what I eat anyway as I have just started back on a SW diet but I am not having any more coffee thats for sure as it made me so that I didnt want to eat for the rest of the day!

 

[bluecatlady]

In my case a low fat high carb diet, sw in fact caused my problems. On gallbladder only started to play up after I lost a stone fast on slimmers world.

The only way I have been able to avoid attacks is to follow Atkins, high fat very low carb. It was a sandwich that set off my first attack for a month yesterday and my previous attack will also caused by a high carb meal.

Conventional wisdom tells you to avoid fat but if your gallbladder does not empty as you stick to low fat it fills up and it will eventually empty causing a massive attack no matter how little fat you stick to.

Probably best to listen to your doctor but when I did that my attacks were weekly rather than monthly. Reading around the Paleo and Atkins community has shown me another way.

I hope you find something that works for you. if it is your gallbladder you'll probably need some better pain killers soon.