Gallstones, Newly Diagnosed

[Makaluu]

Hi folks

recently got an ultrasound that showed gallstones, bit freaked out. my story goes a bit like this:

started getting pains around my breast bone, mainly at night, and a sore abdomen. Pain came and went so seen doctor. they didn't diagnose anything, just prescribed omeprazole for stomach acid.

fast forward a few months, on a night out i quickly scoffed a large sausage roll and chocolate etc. that night i was in mild agony. it calmed down a little until the next night where it was more of the same. then the next night I was rolling around, could not sit with the pain. i was still able to function and took myself to the out of hours doctors. they just said it was probably reflux 🤨

it settled down and i went to doctor again who organised the ultrasound. also told i have a non alcoholic fatty live but he wasn't concerned about that.

had other tests and they are coming up clear thankfully.

largest gallstone is 1.8cm apparently.

been watching what i eat for the past month. no really painful attacks but everything i feel now freaks me out. have lost some weight over this, not the biggest of guys so that is worrying me too (i'm a natural born worrier which doesn't help 😀)

i always ate what i wanted so it's been a massive adjustment trying to eat healthy and still get the energy i need ( i do /did a lot of exercise).

so it seems they don't really do anything (i.e. gallbaldder removed) unless you are having frequent attacks?

any stories welcome, have you adjusted to life with these little nasties?

thanks for listening, first post but i'm sure i'll have many more questions 👍🙂

(47yo, male)

[Castal]

Hello Makaluu. I think I may be in the same boat, in fact I'm kind of hoping I am because I'm waiting for an ultrasound for suspected gallbladder issues and, unless I'm missing something, stones don't usually seem to be too serious.

I can relate somewhat to the anxiety over pain. I'm 67 with a fair few health problems but have always had a tolerant, apparently cast iron gut so it's a case of 'does not compute' plus the pain is not something I can ignore even for an instant. Recently however I've been virtually pain free which is lovely. That sausage roll & chocolate etc. did you a favour IMO, i.e. you're finding out what not to eat.

When you're worrying it's hard to work out which is worse - the condition or the anxiety. But looks like you do know that the anxiety you're experiencing probably isn't warranted. And I think you probably will be able to adjust to eating healthily and getting enough 'fuel' for your lifestyle. And in fact 47 seems like a good age at which to start eating as well as you possibly can so the stones may have done you a favour.

Hmmm, I've probably lost you with that last sentence (if you got that far!) but really, note all the good stuff in your life and practice feeling proud / chirpy etc. Yeah, I know, that's a lifelong job but somebody's got to do it. Sounds like you're going to be okay, all the best to you!

[Paintingicons in reply to Castal]

Similar to you, eating any fatty foods caused me severe pain. I was just walking up and down in agony. I was taken to hospital by the ambulance team but after about 8 hours of terrible pain it subsided. The doctor there said it was acid reflux. However I have had the latter which is nothing compared to this. Still the GP then told me to take omeprazole. This was useless when in pain. I asked for a scan and was told I had gall stones. The only way to stop the pain was to avoid fat. I had to look at all the ingredients on every packet and since I am vegetarian, sometimes eating fish it was difficult to know what to eat, no cheese, nuts etc. I lost about two stone very quickly. Eventually I saw a consultant who suggested I needed to have my gallbladder removed. He wanted me to see the anaesthetist in the first instance. I waited nearly a year and eventually rang the secretary to the consultant since the people who gave the appointments knew nothing . This was then a fast track. I saw the anaesthetist who questioned me and eventually went to the hospital for the operation . It is a day operation so one goes home straight afterwards. I had this done just before my 80th birthday. It took a while for me to recover but now I can eat most things without a problem.

[Redgreenblue]

I had gallbladder polyps, plus 1 stone, the stone was tiny, but the polyps largest one if I remember correctly was around 6.3cm. they gave me the option of just watch and wait or gallbladder removal, I opted for removal. i thought i would be easier than waiting years getting older then needed surgery when older, can bring more risk?

[Mandrax]

i had my gall bladder out about 32 yrs ago. It was a big op then not like now they do keyhole. Everything was fine afterwards and carried on eating what i wanted. Every ten yrs about. I have had a elevated blood test which has shown after endoscopy that gall stones can still form in your bile duct. Recently i have had this again but had mri a fibroscan and normal ultra sound scan Found nothing noticeable but was sent for endoscopy again. On the day one of the machines wasnt working so the dr said it was only to have a look for any debris and as scans and mri was ok i didnt have to have it if i didnt want to. Which i didnt as i dont do well with them. Last time was cancelled as sedation didnt work i was trying to get off the table. Went back again and this time stone had gone. My bloods were going back to normal slowly. Had blood test last week to check still going down. X also i must say that after my original op i still had pain which drs told me i couldnt have as no gall bladder turned out the agonizing pain was from trapped wind which bent me over double but any type of mint stopped the pain within 5 minutes so i didnt really need my gallbladder out at all everyone can have stones its wether they cause a problem or not good luck they put me on a low fat diet before the op too

Just to say i was 23 when i had my op and im sure its much easier now

[Anthonysmate]

Having my gallbladder removed on 11th December, as the stones keep blocking bile duct and I get chronic infections. Been waiting a year now.

[Makaluu in reply to Anthonysmate]

i haven't had any bad pain in a while but i'm concerned i have an infection from the last time it got bad. don't think they tested me for infection so going to ask the doctor. is it a course of antibiotics if you have infection? would i know all about it if i did or can it be mild pain with infection.

[Castal in reply to Makaluu]

I'd have thought that if you had an infection you'd be in pain. I don't know this for sure but I reckon that thinking you have an infection without any troubling signs (assuming that is the case) does sound like it might be 'just' anxiety. But of course I realise that there's no 'just' about it as anxiety is hard to cope with. Why not see a doctor for reassurance as much as anything?

[Makaluu in reply to Castal]

thanks, yeah i've been incredibly anxious over this. i've never had any major health concerns so this has hit me like a lightning bolt. might ask the doctor for peace of mind.

[Castal in reply to Makaluu]

Oh please do. Hopefully the doctor will be wised up to anxiety issues & understand. Good luck Makaluu, let us know how it goes.