Gall stones

[Southport-beach]

Hi everyone,Do any of you suffer with recurring gall stones? I have fibro & IBS as well. I had my gall bladder removed 9 yrs ago and since then have had two ERCP procedures to remove gall stones from my bile duct. The last ERCP was in April last year. I have started with symptoms again. Nausea, pain in chest & worse IBS than usual. My doctor thinks it may be gall stones yet again & my surgeon referred me for a MRCP scan, which I had last Friday, so I am waiting for the results, whilst living on a fat free diet to try to keep the symptoms under control. If any of you do have recurring gall stones do you have any suggestions that may prevent/slow their formation?

The surgeon told me that they couldn't insert a stent (this can help the bile flow more freely) so the only thing he could suggest was a pill taken daily which may help in some cases (I don't know the name of it). If it is gall stones again this time I really don't want to have to face regular ERCP procedures as it is very unpleasant. Starting to get desperate to find a solution.....

[Yassytina FMA UK Volunteer]

Hello , I had my gall bladder removed too a few years back , thankyou for this information , I never realised you could still get the stones . Very informative post , I do hope something can be done for you, oh dear procedure does not sound very nice at all 🙁xx

[Southport-beach in reply to Yassytina]

Hi Yassytina

Thank you for your reply.

Most people don't go on to develop gall stones in the bile duct. Whether they form in the bile duct post gall bladder removal seems to depend on the exact formulation of bile produced by the liver, which varies slightly from person to person.

The ERCP is a bit similar to an endoscopy. The surgeon passes a tube down the throat into the stomach & then a wire is passed into the bile duct to break up the stones & remove them. It's quite a high tech procedure carried out under sedation. As part of the procedure they make a small cut where the duct enters the stomach to try to ensure that the bile can't get trapped & form stones.

The difficulty is that some doctors & most of the public aren't aware that stones can form in the bile duct so being believed & getting treatment can be a bit of a lottery. The symptoms are similar to a gall bladder flare-up but whilst a fat free diet reduces the risk of pain & nausea it doesn't completely stop them.

Hopefully you will be lucky and not have any problems with gall stones🤞.

xx

[Yassytina FMA UK Volunteer in reply to Southport-beach]

Many thanks for that info xx

[CheetieCat]

Same for me, I wasn't aware either! 😳 had mine removed less than a year ago. Must be awful having them AGAIN

Had an endoscopy without sedation and it's certainly not pleasant but ERCP sounds even worse 🫣

Really hope you find a solution to save you going through it again

[Southport-beach in reply to CheetieCat]

Hi CheetieCatThank you for your kind words. 🤞 you will be in the majority who don't form more stones. If you do, at least you know what to look out for & how they are treated.

Take care of yourself.

[CheetieCat in reply to Southport-beach]

Absolutely, they don't tell you there's that possibility at the time do they. Come back & let us know how you're doing, meantime you take care too x

[moo196]

long term solution is to have the gall bladder removed

[Southport-beach in reply to moo196]

Hi moo196,

My post was about the ongoing formation of gall stones in the bile duct a few years after surgery to remove my gall bladder. This pain is added to fibro pain & also increases my IBS symptoms.