Been diagnosed with gallstones

[sergregor868]

I finally got a diagnosis today for what has been causing my high LFTs and acute abdominal pain. I had a liver ultrasound done which showed I have gallstones. Doctor said I must be unlucky as I am quite young to have gallstones and they are more common in women than men. I believe I should have been diagnosed much earlier as I first went to A&E in October with the pain, but no ultrasound was performed until today. The doctor said I would need to have an ERCP procedure to remove the stones. This involves having another endoscopy done. I had an endoscopy last week for the first time and though it only lasted around four minutes, it was extremely unpleasant. An ERCP takes significantly longer and requires sedation. I am back at home now. I am still having pain but the codeine is keeping it in check. Is it safe for me to be at home with gallstones? Has anyone in the community had them?

[grace111]

hi sergergor. yes many of us have had or still have gallstones and are in the process of having surgery. its good that they have found out what was causing your pain, gallstones is becoming more and more common those days seeminly due to lack of exercise and eating food thats not healthy. there was a surgeon on the forum few weeks ago talking to us and answering questions about gallstones. i'v had my gallbladder removed. they are getting better procedures all the time now. at one time it was gallbladder out and not they are managing to remove the stones sometimes with out removing the gallbladder. i had open surgery and i had an ercp and it didnt work for me as i had the stones in the bile duct `(is thata where yours are) the stones had been in my bile duct so long that they had calcified and i had a only one stone it was a large 3cm stone. just over and inch.i had to have a new bile duct recontructed from my bowel tissure and it was a 5 hour operation. i saw so many young people in the hospital with gallstones it was quite shocking. i feel i should have been diagnosed much quicer to as that stone in the bile duct was causing extreme pain and infections and my liver function readings were all over the place. and my white blood cell count was always high indicating infection. this is what caused my stone to calcify in the tube. so im a bit upset about that but what can i do. just make sure that you stick to low fat meals and make them as small as possible. also make sure you have pain relief medication expecially with the christmas holidays coming upon us and if your pain worsens in any way go straight to the out patient dept of your hospital as gallstones can cause serious illness if left untreated in the bile duct. so dont be afraid to go to the hospital.it is safe for you to be at home with gallstones but as i'v said if there is any pain that changes and becomes worse you must go straight to the hospital. dont be worrying now as we all go through the same procedure of sitting at home waiting for our operation date to come and taking pain killers. its not a pleasant thing to have at all. im hopefull that many others will come and speak to you of course this is a very busy time of year and not only that its a depressing time for a lot of people to who are in serious pain. thats what i feel anyway. i hope 'iv been helpful to you. love grace xoxoxo

[grace111]

i just wanted to say i have read your other posts and you have certainly been through the mill with A and E visits. im so glad that they have found out what has been causing all this pain. all the best. love grace xoxoxo