Gallstones

[ClodaghCohen]

I have had gallstone symptoms every few days for the past 6 weeks. The attacks of pain last for up to 5 hours and leave me drained. I also vomit sometimes. The pain is in the centre beneath my breasts and radiates to my shoulders and upper abdomen. It causes me to shiver. The GP initially thought I had IBS. He sent me for an ultrasound which identified gallstones. The GP won't do anything about the gallstones and has decided I need to consider antidepressants for stress and return to work. How do I get him to refer me on because the symptoms are not easing? I don't know when the symptoms will come upon me. The IBS medication prescribed has no effect. I am returning to work in just over a week's time.

[SarahP63]

Can you ask to see another doctor at the surgery and get them to refer you to see specialist? I was lucky and had great doctors but my gallbladder still perforated and I became pretty ill. The sooner they remove the gallbladder the better. Next attack I suggest a visit to a&he. At least it's then on your records that you are suffering big time. Good luck xx

[ClodaghCohen in reply to SarahP63]

Thank you Sarah. This is most sensible. I was beginning to think I was going mad but I'm not. I am very grateful to you.

[jamamakitty]

go to the emergency room?

[ClodaghCohen in reply to jamamakitty]

Thank you Jamamakitty. I appreciate the common sense. I was beginning to think I'd gone mad. Much appreciated.

[grace111]

hi ClodaghCohen. To try and keep the pain at bay. Eat very small meals. you can have a few but keep them small and eat as little fat as possible. They say 3% for each meal which is very difficult. eat things like rice crispies. chicken with no skin rice steamed fish. definitely stay away from pizzas creamy pastas butter and cheese for the moment anything with oil or fat. the thing is we do need some fat to stay healthy and its finding what your system can cope with. i ate lots of different kinds of nuts. in small quantities at a time. porride and bread is fine. try and stay away from prossesed foods and try not to buy things that say low fat as they have been chemically treated and usually full of sugar to make up for the taste. plenty vegetables and fruits some people can eat differnt fruit like apples but i could not eat apples until i had my gallbladder removed. you should have pain killers and if you get acid then you will need something for that and you obviously have nausea to you will need something for that as i had that too and got cyclizine. you may need omeprazole i did and most others have needed them also. this shivering is what i had to i went from hot sweats to cold sweats and always felt as though i had a fever. your doctor can not tell you that you cant have your gallbladder removed unless there is some underlying reason that would make your health worse. go back to the doctor and tell him about you pain and nausea and being sick. all the symptoms that you mention as classic sympomos of a gallbladder is not funcioning any way its a terrible thing and very painful Things can change to fast with gallstones as did with me. i had a stone in my bile duct and was in and out of hosptial a few times before i had it taken out. . i was at A& E so many times and the doctors were all very nice to me and i was given very strong pain relief from them and also told to go straght back if things got worse again. if there is anything you want to know that i'v not mentioned then just ask as there are many here who have had thier gallbladders removed. if you go to the search box at the top right of this page and type in gallstones then you will find many posts to read where you may find helpful adivce. wishing you well. all the best. love grace xoxoxo

[ClodaghCohen]

Hi Grace,

I have managed to get an appointment with another GP next week.

I will take on board the food thing. I've been eating fruit for breakfast.

How long did you have to wait to have the gallbladder removed? Your experience sounds like it was painful. I hope all is well with you now.

[grace111]

My case was a very difficult case as the stone had been in my bile duct for so long, i had symptoms of pain and fever ( as many of us do) i went back to the doctor and they said that they would contact the hospital to get me fast tracked up the list as i was in so much pain. it took me 10 months the first time i went in to have my gallbladder removed and this was me being fast tracked. (thats why you want to get on the system now as its a long waiting time and a very painful one to , not just for me but for almost everyone who get their gallbladder out,.) They went in through the key hole surgery but my gallbladder had shrunk from the size of a pear to the size of a thimble and had stuck to my liver and then they could not find the stone. i only had one stone and it was 3cm. thats over an inch. they left the shrunken gallbladder at that time and i came home that night. i was told i would get an appointment for an MRI and i did about a month later. Two days after the MRI i ended up going into hosptial in an ambulance. i was so sick and shivery and had a fever. the pain was terrible i felt as if i was having a heart attack. my temeture was 39.3 and they said i was a hot potatoe. i was put on morphine and had an ERCP as they kept me in hospital as i was almost delirious. i developed pacreatits. I was on a drip and 3 diffirent types of anti biotics. I was kept in for about 5 days. i was also dehydrated. my blood pressure had dropped down very low. 1/4 of my liver had atrophed and shrived up like my gallbladder. thats due to the infection. when i got the ERCP it was to try and get the stone removed i was in there for an hour. i wont tell you all about that and i have my reasons. They could not get the stone out and they fitted a stent as the bileduct was totally blocked by the large stone. They could not do the oepration then as i had to much of an infection and that had to be cleared up first. i felt so well when i got that stent put in as all the poision was able to be released. about 3 weeks later i went in to have the operation. it lasted 5 hours i had to have my bileduct cut away as the stone was glued up with all the infection. i had my bile duct reconstructed from bowel tissue. im still suffering since i had my gallbladder out. i was 65 then im now 66. I also have a fatty liver. they said i had developed mirizzi's syndrome. The operation was a success. the surgeon was so brilliant. the operation is called a hepaticojejunostomy. Its a very difficult operation. although im feeling ill quite a lot of the time its got nothing to do with the surgeon or the operation. many people who have their gallbadder out are still suffering afterward and there will be many who get completly well. there is a group on facebook you could join and there are many people on there waiting to get theirs done and many who have had it done. What the outcome for each person is no one can tell. I met someone on a forum who feels so well now. we kept in touch from when we were both waiting to have it done. so dont loose hope. if you have no reason not to have the gallbladder out and your suffering which you clearly are then its not up to the doctor if you have it out its up to you. if your really in pain then you must. although i still suffer i still glad its out. it wasnt working or doing its job and thats what causes the pain. keep in touch. remeber if you suffer severe pain go to th A& E as they know just how painful this is. all the very best. keep in touch. love grace xoxoxo🌺

[ClodaghCohen in reply to grace111]

Thanks Grace. Your experience has been awful. I hippie things clear up for you. Take care. C

[OniPepii in reply to grace111]

God bless you poor thing Grace

[Ph77-65twz]

Hi there, fully sympathise with you, just a tip go to AE and ask if they will give you a prescription for morpheine solution. That will stop you feeling this horrendous pain, at least until you get an operation, you would also need anti sickness tablets as a side effect of this medicine can make you sick. The good news is the operation can sort the problem out. Listen to Grace advice v v good. All the best hope you get the help you need soon .

[ClodaghCohen in reply to Ph77-65twz]

Thank you Ph77. I hope so too

[Ph77-65twz]

I ve been waiting nearly a year have an MRCP scan tomorrow and see the surgeon a week later , hope they take my gallstones out, been agony at the beginning of the month lol

[ClodaghCohen in reply to Ph77-65twz]

What happened to 18 week NHS targets? -assuming you are in the UK

[Ph77-65twz]

Exactly my Mrs not v happy either, considering it wasn't diagnosed in the first place reckon I ve had this condition about a year now, got my scan later today. It's so vital to keep to a low fat diet, as grace says little and often, fresh vegetables etc managing to cope at the moment. When you get an attack it's so horrible the pain levels are worse I ve been told than giving birth. So AE visit s become quite common but at least a record is taken of the incidents, reckon it will probably be another 6 months if they decide to the operation lol

[ClodaghCohen in reply to Ph77-65twz]

How did your scan go?

[Ph77-65twz]

A lot of hold your breath breathe out and hold it, throughout the scan and then breathe again , 20 or so minutes in the cylindrical tube that is the MRI scanner will see the specialist in a weeks time to discuss the scan and hopefully an operation, but that will probably be another 4 months in waiting, diet is ok at the moment , take omprazole twice a day and that helps ( deals with avid build up and lines the stomach ) the thing don't deviate from the low fat diet or you regret it as I have on many occasions, the pain is the motivator. Thanks for your support and I hope you get faster treatment for your condition let me know how you are getting on lol mark

[grace111 in reply to Ph77-65twz]

i remeber that and kept thinking hurry up and tell me to breath again. My friend could not hold her breath long enough and they have done tests on her and say she has COPD. Im glad i managed to hold my breath. i didnt take omeperazole twice a day i only took them when i felt that i had acid and not only that i only took 10mg at a time as i didnt realize how many side effects they had or the amount of drug interactions. i still take them but only when i need them as we are all different. not everyone has the same symptoms. i did not have a lot of acid. love grace xoxoxo

[Ph77-65twz]

Seems I have to see a gastroenterologist soon because of it not sure if it's gallstone related or not but certainly it's helped having omprazole 20 mg twice a day . As you say Grace everybody's symptoms are different lol ps hope you are doing better all the best mark

[grace111 in reply to Ph77-65twz]

thanks mark for the good wishes. please let us know how you get on when you see the gatroenterologist and you get the scan. usually they can see gallstones even more so with an MRI as they can see right in to the bile duct. thats the way they found out that my one stone was in there. wishing you all the best too. love grace xoxoxo

[Ph77-65twz]

Thanks Grace will do

[ItsGallingIThink]

If you live in England,dial 111.They often admit you if it's necessary

If I have another attack that's my plan

Good Luck 🤞👍