Gallstones

[WhereIBelong]

Originally Posted by DUNXandWILL

Thank you so much and sorry to hear you had a heart attack hope you are keeping well now!

Dunx

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Yep, tootling along fine now. My gallstones are "stable" right now... just knackered knees and a chipped tooth...

Would echo the "keep on at them" message. And find and avoid your triggers.

[Guest]

Re hard / soft water. Don’t know how accurate in the fine detail the map on this link is, but it might give you a broad indication.

divapor/water-hardness.php

[Taffy1959]

I really feel for you as I know exactly how you feel
I had no idea I had gallstones in 2002 when we went to Tenerife on holiday.
After a couple of days I was getting a bit of pain and after a week I was being sick at night on day 10 I was admitted to hospital with acute pancreatitis which was when I found out I had gallstones.
I was in intensive care for almost a week with a tube into my stomach and 2 days after leaving intensive care they operated and removed my gallbladder.
I was stuck in Tenerife for an extra 2 weeks and the medication they gave me after the op made me so sick that I was off work for another month after I got home.

I would do as someone else suggested and every time you have an attack go to A&E and they might just get you sorted out sooner rather than later.
Once I’d recovered I was fine and I’ve had no issues at all since

[KarenG]

So sorry for you - the pain is unbearable isn’t it?

My little sister struggled badly for about a year and ended up in A&E once. She had surgery and has been absolutely fine since, so I hope it’s the same for you

She found certain foods just became complete no go’s and lived off chicken breast and boiled potato for months.

[pinkandfluffy]

Best thing I did was have mine removed. Zero issues since. The pain is awful and it got to the stage that no matter what I ate it would trigger an attack. Particular foods that were an absolute no were cheese and part-baked bread/garlic bread type goods. Just prior to the op I was only eating vegetables but even then I would suffer and there did not seem to be a specific trigger. I waited about 12 weeks for the op, I hope they sort you out soon.

[DUNXandWILL]

Originally Posted by JessBlu

Absolutely it’s so bad Isn’t it, hot bath and a cold drink combo helped mine 🤷🏼🤷🏼🤷🏼

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Ooooh I have not came across this combo on my google journey into gallstone attacks but will try it in the future (on knees praying there is no future attack )

I'm also assuming by cold drink you mean water and not a wine spritzer

[vhm672]

Originally Posted by DUNXandWILL

Thank you for replying, I'm so sorry your mum had to go through so much I do hope she's much better now!

I fear that the NHS are going to be similar with me - they said take painkillers (fairly difficult when your abdomen is on fire and you think you're going to throw up!) But i'll keep at them and see what happens

Dunx

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Thanks mum is totally better and was immediately after the operation. Her description of the pain is totally as you say and 4 months after it started she was only just on the start of the waiting list which is what pushed us to look at privately I am not saying it wasn’t expensive but still far cheaper than we expected. Sitting here on her birthday today you would never know how I’ll she was 18 months ago

[DUNXandWILL]

Originally Posted by FamilyGWales

Re hard / soft water. Don’t know how accurate in the fine detail the map on this link is, but it might give you a broad indication.

divapor/water-hardness.php

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Seemingly i'm in a 'Soft to Moderately Soft area' so I have that going for me!?! ?

[Pumpkin Pie]

Oh I don’t envy you. I’ve been through this and the doctor was basically useless. I was given all sorts of painkillers but nothing was helping. I was told it could take up to 2 months on the waiting list and I was in agony. I don’t think would have survived that long as I honestly have never felt pain like it. I had already had flare ups for several months.

In the end after a week of not eating anything but a few slices of dry toast and sitting up in a chair to try and sleep at night as i had so much back pain with it also I phoned the doctor in tears (never done that in my life before). The doctor said I would just have to wait for the operation and he would prescribe stronger painkillers but not to take them often!

To cut a long story short the doctor reluctantly made an appointment for me at A &E that afternoon. Once I got there they took a blood test and I don’t know what it showed but I was kept in and was on the emergency list. By this time I had started throwing up even drinking water.

Compared to the pain I had been in the operation itself was a piece of cake and I didn’t need any painkillers afterwards. I felt normal almost immediately.

I hope you get sorted soon and in hindsight I should have gone straight to A&E myself earlier rather than listen to the doctor. Don’t be fobbed off like I was.

[ccjames]

Had mine out about 18 months ago and had key hole surgery. I felt quite tender around the entry wounds afterwards (felt like I had been kicked by a mule). Was given co-codamol for pain relief. I was lucky enough to have private health insurance. I was told I would have to wait ages to have the surgery via NHS. I just couldn’t go on with the pain and sickness and was so relieved to get it done. I can eat anything now and no side effects from the surgery