Gallstones

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Had my first gall stones attack a couple of months after my twins were born. The worst pain I have ever felt. Truly unbearable. Had it removed 3 months later. Best thing ever. I do now have IBS which doctors said isnt related but I'm sure it must be. While I was waiting for the operation I barely ate as I was so scared of the attacks. Used to have morphine injections to get rid of pain. No regrets having it removed, hospital for 24 hours and back to normal in a couple of days. Hope you manage to sort it, wouldnt wish that pain on anyone.
 
I had my gallbladder removed Wednesday last week, i have recovered well however as i do a manual job I'm not going to rush back i am entitled to Company Sick Pay so i will return when im ready to.
As for eating - i had to go on a low carb diet as my liver was very fatty i eat wholemeal bread, eggs, skinless chicken and lots of vege. I'm determined to lose the weight i need to (3 Stone) and hope to achieve this.
Everyone recovers differently, you know your own body but one thing i will say is rest as much as possible.
 
I had mine removed about 5 years ago now and was also the bets thing ive ever done!!
i managed to keep mine at bay for a while but then after i had my daughter it got worse and worse.
I ended up having to stay in overnight as I got an infection but was out the next day, took me about a month to feel OK again - i was sore for quite a while. My IBS most def has flared up since having it taken out and TMI i suffer with an upset belly more than i did before also still get bad hearburn. But its worth it!!
 
Hi everyone, I haven’t updated for a while... ended up getting pancreatitis in the end (imagine this it was honestly 100x worse than the gallstones pain!!!) I couldn’t stop screaming. Now been in hospital a week and a half recovering from the pancreatitis. And have just had my gallbladder removed (as in I came back from theatre to the ward about 3 hours ago now). Feeling in a fair bit of pain but so relieved it’s now done. Fingers crossed for a good and speedy recovery and to be able to live a mostly normal life now (and hopefully I’ll even be able to eat Christmas dinner without pain / fear).
Thank you all so much for your help and advice, very much appreciated. If anyone has any advice on the surgery recovery do let me know (it was keyhole surgery luckily) xx
 
Oh you poor thing, have heard pancreatitis is the absolute pits painwise. Hope it is all past you now...here's to pain free Christmas dinner and all of the nice things 🙌
 
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I had my gallbladder out 5 years ago, for Gallstones I found that porridge helped and so did apple juice. Gaviscon too. Avoid any acidic food especially tomato based foods if you can. The pain was horrendous so I feel for anyone suffering now.
 
This is odd as my mum had her gallbladder removed after suffering for years, it got so bad though as she had to go to hospital on Boxing Day.

She was always adamant she didn't want an operation at her age but the pain got so bad she practically skipped down to surgery!

She also suffers now with an upset stomach/bad IBS, so surely it has got to be linked?

My mum said it was the worst pain she had ever had and she's had 5 children......!
 
I must look into it more and ask the GP again. My IBS only appeared after the gallbladder removal. Seems too coincidental to me. 🤔
 
Yes there is a link between diarrhoea after gallbladder surgery. My GP says it’s to do with bile acid constantly entering your intestines which would normally be stored by your gallbladder.
 
What is anyone’s experience with having gallstones and taking the contraceptive pill? Does the pill aggravate them at all? Thank you!
 
Yes there is a link between diarrhoea after gallbladder surgery. My GP says it’s to do with bile acid constantly entering your intestines which would normally be stored by your gallbladder.
It's called dumping syndrome. I suffer from it a lot depending on what I eat since having my gallbladder removed 4 years ago.
 
2 years ago I woke up with unbearable pain in the right side of my stomach. Dr said it was gallstones and had to have a scan to confirm it was lots of little stones. I was taking cocodamol as and when needed. I had my op last October which was a success. I was a day patient and was very scared (not of hospitals as I've had 3 children) but because i was under general anesthetic and was frightened i wouldn't wake up - I know it sounds silly but that's what im like, I always over think.
I came home same day and the care i received in hospital was excellent. I was in pain for at least a week however it was less and less painful as days go by.
You have 4 incisions, and the scars heal really well. Took me at least a week before i could bring myself to take off the dressing.
Didn't help on Day 2 that my daughter told me a funny joke and i couldnt have a proper belly laugh.

Please note you may have a sore throat for a day or two after the op thats because of the tube thats inserted in your throat when having the op. By day 4/5 that's when you can finally go for a number 2.

The surgeon said my liver was very fatty and needed a low fat diet, have i stuck to it.....nope - some days i do some i dont. I can still have takeaways but in moderation.

The hospital will write you out a sicknote for 2 weeks but if you need longer then contact your GP. Don't be afraid to milk it a little like i did, i wasn't ready to go back only because my job involves heavy lifting and my employer couldn't accomodate me so took as much time off as i needed.

The one thing I've noticed since having my op is you are having to go toilet alot more.

Sorry that this is long, feel free to ask me anything or have any concerns pre op.
 
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I was diagnosed with gallstones in 2015 and had it out via keyhole surgery. I stayed overnight in hospital but most people can go home the same day. My pain reduced but never went away completely, and I was left with bile acid malabsorption. It meant still if I ate fatty food I could get pain, and then the most unpleasant bit was the bright yellow diarrhoea (sorry). If it effects you that badly you can take medications to bind the bile. I actually ended up having different colorectal issues, unrelated to gallstones, and now I have an ileostomy so it actually cured the bile acid malabsorption 😂

I was told a third of people are essentially cured after gallbladder removal and have no further pain or issues, a third remain the same, and a third get worsened pain afterwards. My dad was in the latter category and ended up needing a second surgery (sphincterotomy) for sphincter of oddi dysfunction
 
I’ve known about my gallstones for around 3 years, I’m on the waiting list for surgery but it keeps getting pushed back because of covid so I can’t see it happening any time soon.
I have a flare up every couple of months I would say.
The thing is...me and my partner are really keen to try for a baby this year. Has anyone had any experience of pregnancy and gallstones? Have you been told to avoid it? Thank you for any advice x
 
I had my gallbladder out and it seems to have created a few problems ... a few months after, I was hospitalised with diverticulitis (which comes and goes, and nearly always results in hospital time), and a few months after that, I suddenly felt really unwell ... lots and lots of hospital tests later I still didn't have a diagnosis until one day a thought popped into my head to ask if I'd been tested for coeliac disease (I do not know why I thought that - must've been a guardian angel). Anyway, that's what it was.

Actually getting my gallbladder removal surgery in the first place was a very long and frustrating process ... I saw three surgeons, none of which felt that my condition was bad enough (it most certainly was - I was crouched over in pain, trying to wriggle it out, several times a day). Finally, my GP told me to go the ER next time it happened - which I did - and it was taken out a couple of days later.

Five years later, there are things I just cannot have anymore ... standard milk (I drink lactose free), some types of coffees, milky drinks (even if made with lactose-free milk), fatty foods ... it's a bit of a nightmare. Socially, it's better that I stay home. I still get "phantom" gallstone attacks, which feel like I'm being stabbed. They're so painful that if I'm driving, I have to pull over off the road and stop until the attack passes.