Gallstones? Anyone else have the pleasure?

ancient_mariner

ancient_mariner

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A week ago I had daytime pain in my stomach, back and RHS chest not severe, but enough to make me take it easy. Then Thursday night I had quite strong pain, and eventually called 111 at 4am, who arranged an ambulance and a prompt visit to our local A&E.

A heart attack was quickly discounted, and I was also given various things to counter stomach acid, which made no difference. An ultrasound and CT scan was done looking for a ruptured aorta, and that came back negative except for "you have a gallstone but we don't think that's the cause". I was given antacids, codeine* and sent home "come back if it gets worse". The rest of Friday was pretty bad, Saturday getting better, and today I'm well enough to load the car ready to go away for the holiday we should have started yesterday. I hope. Only minor pain and I've stopped taking the codeine (they really mess me up).

So has anyone else had the pleasure? Did you have your gallbladder out or just put up with occasional pains?

*This is one of the reasons my replies in the nifty fifty thread are a bit jumbled and unclear - it's affected both thought processes and eyesight, making it hard to read or write.
 
I haven't had gallstones but Mrs Tringa has and it clearly was very unpleasant for her.

It came out of nowhere and with her it was a strong pain in the side/lower back that lasted for hours. She usually felt better during the day but the pain seemed to come on more frequently in the evening and night, though it did also sometimes occur during the day. Like yourself she ended up in A&E in the early hours.

She eventually had her gall bladder removed and, other than the 'normal' expected discomfort after an operation the beneficial effects were instant.

Hope you get what ever it is it sorted soon and bad luck with it arriving just as you were getting ready for a holiday.

All the best.

Dave
 
Thanks Dave, good to know the op was immediately effective and she's fully recovered.
 
It was 35 years ago. The pain always occured after eating a large meal in the evening. In those days we were regularly involved in dinner parties which usually resulted in us leaving early and a painful night though I took pain killers. I eventually saw my G.P. who initiated a blood test which showed a liver enzyme level too high but my G.P. insisted that this must due to drinking too much alcohol. I knew that this was not the case and insisted I saw a consultant. Initially he said no but I then mentioned I had insurance and could pay so a few days later saw the consultant, He had not received the letter from my G.P. but considered their opinions were a joke anyway and his conclusion was Gall Bladder. A further test showed my Gall bladder was set to burst (peritonitis) which could be fatal if you were not in or near a hospital. The operation to remove my Gall Bladder took place a few days later; keyhole surgery was not possible in my case. Not long after, I visited my G.P. and though initially very annoyed that the NHS system might have resulted in my death, my G.P. did give me some helpful information about recovery. In return, I did not tell him what the consultant said about him.

A couple of years ago my wife developed similar symptoms but she was quickly sent to a private consultant who could remove her Gaul Bladder by keyhole surgery. A day before her operation the Government grabbed the local private hospital and hung on to it for 6 months (during COVID). This might seem understandable except hundreds significant operation were cancelled and the NHS did not use the private hospital at all during that time. My wife just had to put up with the pain but the operation was straightforward in the end.

We are both fine now unless you have an aging cure!

Dave
 
My wife had gallstones which led to pancreatitis and she was rushed to hospital by ambulance.
The staff were extremely concerned about her condition which she fortunately recovered from.
Once the infection had cleared she had her gallbladder removed. Still has to be careful with fatty foods and takes a daily prescription drug to control her bile acid.
 
gall stones, we used to say fair, fat, forty and frumpy, probably get struck off nowadays for using that terminology , definitely not a laughing matter but not as bad as kidney stones...now your talking pain passing one of those bad boys
 
Brendan Mulachy said:
gall stones, we used to say fair, fat, forty and frumpy, probably get struck off nowadays for using that terminology , definitely not a laughing matter but not as bad as kidney stones...now your talking pain passing one of those bad boys
Click to expand...

They asked me to rate the pain - I said 4 to 6. I know a 10 pain.
 
had my gallbladder out in June. Also had kidney stones a couple years ago, both v painful in different ways but i think kidney stones pipped these in the agony stakes. Gallstones felt like a heart attack, kidney stones was just pure , unadulterated pain and agony. Anyway it all went ok. Just got to watch i dont eat too much fatty stuff now. The muscles around my side and back still hurt though, so god knows what they were doing in there. It was keyhole surgery so i didnt think it would be that rough!
 
Lots of recoveries, which is all good to hear. I also wonder if there's a few other things going on in the background which makes a difference.
 
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