Gall Stones

Hi Tommee,
No expert but what I recall reading is that gall stones can appear after rapid weight loss (usually defined as in excess of 2lbs per week for an extended period of time). Therefore people on VLCDs MAY be at increased risk of developing gall stones. My mum developed gall stones after doing Atkins and losing a load of weight- but then my nan had gall stones and that was not weight loss related!

I am not sure how much study has been done with this, if it is an accepted fact or what the increased risk level might be- if I find the link to the article I read I will post it here.

Congrats on your FAB weight loss by the way- what an inspiration!
Kx
 
Hi Tommee- didn't find the article I read but have found this very comprehensive article on the subject

Dieting and Gallstones

It refers to women and people so I am not sure if it is as relevant to men? Anyway it states 4-6% risk for people on VLCDs.

Hope this helps
Kx
 
Have never heard of this connection before - I've had gallstones and had my gall bladder removed so hopefully I won't get this one ... it was agonising enough the first time round. I was shocked when I heard that you can get them again!

Cath
 
Hi

I too had gallstones, and had my gall bladder removed. My doctor (who originally put me on Lipotrim) said it was connected to rapid weight loss - but not everyone will get them! Hope this helps.
 
Hopefully shouldn't happen Tommee...stop worrying about it!! None of my lot have had it yet, nor me. Fingers crossed we'll all be fine.

Yes....gallstones are very sore, not that I know but I am told!
 
Soluble fibre protects against cholesterol gallstone formation so I am told and I take one teaspoonful most days when SSing.

When I was on Lipotrim I took fibreclear and now on CD I use fibre 89.

I have a history of gallstones in my family, so far so good.

Love Mini xxx
 
Sorry Tommee, didn't mean to scare you. I am not at all a scaremonger, nor am I a negative person. Just stated that I had them, but then again, its not surprising I spose considering what I used to eat prior to Lipotrim!!! Most people on VLCD's don't get them. Its just one of those things. Can't blame VLCDs for everything. If you were to catch flu, a cold, whatever it wouldn't be a VLCD causing it - so I would be very doubtful as to the REAL reasons behind gallstones.
 
I am very interested to read this thread - also what Mini said about soluble fibre helping to prevent gallstones. This is good news to me - Mini, where did you hear this from? I must read the link posted above, maybe it talks about it there.

The reason I am so interested is that my sister did CD (with me, and it was all my idea, so I feel really guilty :( ) the year before last, only for about 2 months, but quite soon started developing pain etc, had a really tough time with it all for over a year and she was very ill over last Xmas. She ended up having her gallbladder out in Jan this year. and then last month had to have further surgery because of a stone blocking the duct to her liver. This time last month she was very poorly, but hopefully now she is over it all :) .

Anyway, she blames CD. I keep telling myself that the jury's out over this whole issue :confused: , but I am so afraid to SS again, even though I really need to. So maybe I will try again now, and be religious about taking the fibre, and hope for the best.

Sorry if I appear to have been negative or scared anyone - not my intention - but I am relieved to be able to voice my very real fears. :(

SM
 
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Skinnymongoose , how much do you have to lose ?
Dont let what happened with your sister deter you from doing what you may need to do .
I was also worried about gall stones as i saw my dad very ill with it all , but vcld's are not all bad . Gall stones are due to rapid weight loss , not just vcld's .

I have been told about 'fibreclear' if im worried . I am doing probably 2 more weeks of ss'ing but if i get any more pain in my rib cage , which feels like blocked wind , get the sweats and stuff with it too , then i will see my LT lady on sunday .
But so far so good !
Good luck with the path you choose xxx

Tommee ...you have done really well !!!! BIG HUGS XXX
 
Hi everybody , Dont worry about the gall stone thing, I had gallstones and had my gall baldder removed about 13 years ago and I had never done a vlcd then. The commonest cause is actually being overweight, stereotypical docts description of people who get gallstones is FAT, FAIR AND FORTY! cheeky beggars, so you can be reassured that this is yet another unpleasant disease you are all not gonna get, because soon you will all be slim!
Mine was probaly caused by being fat but also HRT can cause it , so you will be OK Tommee!
Love C
 
Hello
i would really apreciate it if someone could help me out, i think i may have gall stones, and i was wondering if anyone else has had them here?

These are my symptoms...

Sometimes it starts by feeling as though my bra is too tight, but its not, then other times i am alseep and i get woken up by a HORRIBLE pain...it starts on my right side, under my boobs and kind of builds up and spreads to the left. I was so worried the first time that i went to A&E and they told me i had a torn muscle ( which i KNEW it wasnt!) and not to do excersise and the next time i went to the doctor she told me i had probly been exersising to much and to be honest the only excersise i do is walk about a mile a day...the thing is, by the time i have made the doc's apaointment the pain is gone and sometimes doesnt come back for months....I just cant express hhow much it hurts!

The thing that confuses me is that i am only 19 and not THAT over weight .. Probly 1 Stone, so not really the typical victim of gall stones, my diet has changed recently, since i moved out into my own place...so that may be something to do with it? please help, i am so desperate, i dont even feel i can go back to the doctors becuase she doesnt belive me.... :(

Thanks

Emily
 
This sounds like the pains I have from time to time but I don't think mine is gallstones.

I get the feeling between my boobs (as you say, as though my bra is too tight) It gets worse and worse going right through to my back. It's absolutely agonising. My mum had gallstones years ago but used to be really really sick and couldnt even keep down painkillers.

I find my whole abdomen goes solid. It happens after eating rich or spicy food if I am at all stressed. I can now manage the pain but it gets so intense I wish I could be knocked out but usually passes off as quickly as it arrived. Tends to last for about 10 to 20 minutes.

My coping method (mad as it sounds) is to get on all fours with my bum in the air ;o) and breathe deeply trying to relax, hard as it is. Other that that, I sit on the loo or end up being sick.

I think there are so many reasons for pains in your tummy. Try to keep a diary of what has happened just before you have an attack so when you do get to see the doc you can explain the common symptons. It doesn't matter if you haven't got the pain when you actually see the doc, at least you will be able to give him more clues as to the cause.

Good luck xx
 
I have had an issue with gall stones for a couple of years now, it developed after I picked up a bacterial infection in Sri Lanka, but my weight was also a factor! My BMI was too high to have the surgery to remove it but I managed to control it with removing red meat from my diet, and stopping eating to the point I was in pain from being too full!!!
Liklihood is that after I have got down to a normalish BMI and I'm eating again, if the gallstones get worse I will have to go back and have the gall bladder removed. My friend who has gall stones says that the pain she gets is 10x worse than the pain she had when she have birth to any of her 3 kids!!!
I've never had kids, but I can honestly say that the pain I get is the worse thing I have ever experienced in my whole life.

B x
 
Champess said:
This sounds like the pains I have from time to time but I don't think mine is gallstones.

I get the feeling between my boobs (as you say, as though my bra is too tight) It gets worse and worse going right through to my back. It's absolutely agonising. My mum had gallstones years ago but used to be really really sick and couldnt even keep down painkillers.

I find my whole abdomen goes solid. It happens after eating rich or spicy food if I am at all stressed. I can now manage the pain but it gets so intense I wish I could be knocked out but usually passes off as quickly as it arrived. Tends to last for about 10 to 20 minutes.

My coping method (mad as it sounds) is to get on all fours with my bum in the air ;o) and breathe deeply trying to relax, hard as it is. Other that that, I sit on the loo or end up being sick.

I think there are so many reasons for pains in your tummy. Try to keep a diary of what has happened just before you have an attack so when you do get to see the doc you can explain the common symptons. It doesn't matter if you haven't got the pain when you actually see the doc, at least you will be able to give him more clues as to the cause.

Good luck xx
Click to expand...




Thanks :) im just worrid is all, i really wanr to find out the reason behind it.

Thanks for the tips...i find breathing through it works.

if you do find out what causes it could you maybe let me know?

Em
x
 
Hi Emily,

It sounds exactly like the pain I'm having - I have gallstones and have done a lot of research into it and the pain.

It might not be stones that you have - Pain under the right rib cage is generally associated with the digestive system.

I definately think you should see your doctor and mention gall stones or a digestive system problem - you don't don't neccessarily need to be over weight or 40 to get gallstones!

I'm only 25 and have had about 10 attacks in the last 3 months :-( I AM overweight tho - but from what I've read, its more of a result of a bad diet that's high in fat rather than just being extremely overweight. Skinny people who eat a bad diet can have gall stones too.

Fat cant be broken down by water in our bodies so our bodies produce a chemical called bile that breaks down fat instead. If there is too much cholesterol in our diets then the bile can not break it all down and the cholesterol forms stones in the gall bladder - when the stones touch against the sensitive walls of the gall bladder, the gall bladder contracts and causes spasms - thats what is felt as the squeezing pain.

What normally, in my experience, brings on an attack is a change in diet - so going from normally being really unhealthy/eating lots of fat to following a different diet low in fat - OR mainly the other way around - if I've been following the cambridge diet sole source (vlcd and very low fat) and then I have a "break" and have a take away I'm in agony!!

So I'd say, try and be consistant with your diet, try following a diet thats low in fat, drink plenty of water to flush your system out and hopefully you wont have another attack - I know how painful they are!!

Apparently a diet high in refined carbohydrates and low in fibre is a cause of it too. So recently I've started taking a fibre supplement with my Cambridge shakes.

If you DO have another attack - get yourself to A&E WHILST YOU ARE HAVING THE PAIN, explain that you think that you're pain is gallstones (don't worry about self-diagnosing - sometimes you just have to be straight with them) and tell them you'd like a scan to see if you have stones. You also need Tramadol to help with the pain as normal pain killers like paracetemol just dont touch the pain.

I take a hot shower and direct it over the pain while I'm having an attack - a hot water bottle or a hot bath also help ease it.

If you have a juice maker, I'd heard that freshly juiced pears help ease it too - so I now keep some of this in the freezer!

Sending you hugs as I know how painful/uncomfortable it is, I have been suffering with this pain for about 3 months and am waiting to see a consultant to have my gall bladder removed. :-(

They tell you to recognise "trigger" foods and avoid these! I've got to the point where anything is a trigger food! But before it got that bad, it was cheese, pastry and chocolate that were guaranteed to give me an attack! (Note how they're all high in fat!) And raw onions and garlic anything! For some reason my body just cant digest these foods.

Good luck hun! xxxx
 
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good to bump this thread to help other people in similar situations but I doubt emily is still around as she's not posted since 25 Jan 2009.

sounds horrific though. yikes
 
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