gallstones question

daisydoll

Gold Member
Hi there

Ive never suffered with any sort of stomach pains/food intolerances before and never get indigestion.

I lost 4.5 stone last year on LL - I finished in June and have now put on about 1.5 stone.

At christmas I was at a friends when I suddenly got massive stomach pains and we had to go home. They came on out of nowhere and it was really strange, but I was fine in the morning and thought no more of it.

A month later the exact same thing happened whilst out for a meal - I rushed off when dessert was put in front of me and spent the next 2 hours rolling about in pain. I put it down to something I had eaten...

Then last night the same thing happened - I was just going up to bed when I had really bad stomach ache and started feeling sick and ended up coming back downstairs for a couple of hours as I was in too much pain to lie down in bed.

I feel fine again now.

Each time I have eaten something different to what I would 'normally' eat (higher in fat/carbs than I usually do) so it could just be that my body doesn't like unhealthy stuff anymore and is reacting badly but i know one of the side effects of losing weight quickly can be gallstones so am wondering if that could be what is causing these pains?

Thoughts anyone?
Daisy x
 
Yes, it could well be. I'd go to your doctor who may refer you for a scan/ultrasound - that's what mine did when l had symptoms like yours last year (pain started in my back, then went to my chest). I had my gallbladder removed by keyhole surgery 2 months ago and haven't had the pain since.
 
i think it's quite common after losing lots of weight. According to our LLC. the gall stones will have already been there, they don't suddenly develop. When everything shrinks the little stones start to irriatate.
Poor you, I believe it is excrutiating.
Do you remember Andy, Serenity Valley?
I think the same thing happened to him last year.
I think you should get it checkd out.
 
Very spooky Daisy but I have been researching this a bit this week because I have been having a lot of pain which I beginning to think might be due to gallstones. I haven't had really intense pain but fairly bad pain in the upper stomach area and also my back, between my shoulder blades. I have spoken to a friend today who had her gall bladder removed last year and her scar is exactly where I have the pain! Her pain didn't start so intensely either but like me it came on after a high fat meal.

I know that I have gallstones though because I had an ultrasound a couple of years ago for a cyst on my ovary and the consultant confirmed it. Since doing LL last year I must admit that it's only in the last couple of months that I have had food with higher fat content, coincidently the same timeline for the pain!

Anyway, I've wittered on about me too much and think that what you're describing sounds like the classic symptoms that I've read about in my research. If I were you I'd get it checked out before it becomes too bad.
 
i'm hoping its not and that its just a co-incidence. I'd never really heard about them until i heard they were possible side effects of losing weight quickly, perhaps i'm a bit of a hypochrondriac!

i'm hoping i'm just being a bit over cautious and because i feel ok again today i'm just ignoring it and hoping it doesn't happen again.

if it is gallstones it will, so i will keep a list of dates and the food ive eaten to see if there are any triggers or reasons for the pain

its made me very careful about what i've eaten today so thats not a bad thing!
daisy x
 
I know what you mean Daisy. I hope it's not the case for me either. Talking to my friends today they were saying I should go to the docs but I'm going to try keeping to low fat healthy foods which really isn't a bad thing anyway is it?

I had my gallstones confirmed 2 years ago and as I tend to not eat overly fatty food anymore it's only since I've gone off the tracks a bit in the last couple of months I've had discomfort. I guess it's a good nudge to keep to the straight and narrow!
 
I was diagnosed with gallstones in November after a series of attacks. My op's scheduled for 23rd March, at the moment I have attacks 2-3 times a week that are generally controlled using pethidine (v strong painkiller), and also anti spasmodics and the odd course of antibiotics if it gets infected and permanently painful.

Generally an attack will come on quite suddenly, and is pain just below the ribs. It can be back pain, it can feel like chest pain or may be slightly to the right hand side. The area under the right front of your ribs may be too tender to touch during an attack. It might radiate into the right shoulder blade. The attacks happen when the stones move, often caused by the gallbladder activating to digest fat which is why they are often triggered if you eat a fatty meal. I thought for a while it was wheat intolerance, but it soon became clear it was more serious.

Sometimes the stones can get stuck in a duct, so watch for jaundice, pale stools and brown urine that doesn't get better, as they can stop your liver from working properly. Sometimes you might vomit, or your blood pressure might drop very low. The attacks normally last maybe 4 hours while you'll really be unable to do much apart from be curled up in pain. Then they'll be over, normally with no long lasting effect. Not all attacks are triggered by eating fat, sometimes they just happen.
If you think you have gallstones go to your gp, it's not just the pain they cause they do affect liver function - I've been having regular blood tests and my liver function is often not what it should be because of the stones. You'll probably be referred for an ultrasound. Once diagnosed if the stones are active the only real option is to remove the gallbladder. This is done via keyhole surgery, though about 1 in 20 times the surgery will turn into open abdominal surgery. Keyhole cases are sometimes done as day surgery, or sometimes with a 1 night stay, and time off work is normally a couple of weeks.

Lots of people might have already have stones, but VLCDs can cause them. I have regular ultrasounds after having an ovarian tumour so suspect I didn't have gallstones prior to LL as they were never spotted. Now I have many gravel sized stones, which are the most dangerous size as they're small enough to go walkabout but big enough to get stuck. VLCDs can cause them in two ways - there's a lot of cholesterol being released in your system which can cause them, or the other thing is because you don't eat any fat your gallbladder is never activated, and the bile in it can crystallize into stones.

If you've been having attacks go see your GP soon. The longer you keep having the attacks for the more damaged your gallbladder becomes, and it makes it harder to get it out by keyhole surgery. The attacks are also pretty debilitating so you need some pain meds too, you'll probably start out with something like diclophenac and codeine and see if that works.

On the LL community forum there are a lot of people with gallstones so might be worth a gander over there and a browse through some of the threads. There's also loads of info if you google it.
 
It sounds exactly as mine first started!
It was like once a month I'd have these horrendous pains. It truly is the worst pain I have ever felt in my entire life. Well its on par with Swine Flu and not quite as bad as the bacterial infection I got in Sri Lanka, but it's definitely up there!
I was diagnosed with gallstones in 2006. But after a while I managed to work out which foods caused them and cut them from my diet. With me, it is red meat, spare ribs and too much food in one sitting.
If I am sure to avoid all of these, I don't suffer with them at all.
When I was diagnosed the doctor said to me that there were two options. Surgery to remove the gall bladder or try and control it by diet. So far, the diet thing works for me.
I mean yes, occassionally I do have one. But touch wood I've not had a really bad one in a year at least. (By really bad, I mean goes on for hours and repeats!)
Obviously at the moment whilst I am in abstinance, dont even think about it! :D
 
I suffered with this pain from the age of about 18 and no-one in the UK would do anything about it. When I was on holiday in America I had a really bad attacked and ended up in hospital where they removed my gall balder via key hole, best decision ever and I was so glad for insurance! It would happen after I ate fatty foods and would cause sickness too.
 
thanks for all your posts
thing is now its two days ago i've 'forgotton' about it! - well not really but you know what i mean!

it lasted about 2 hours and i was doing the breathing techniques they teach you when you are in labour - so it must have been hurting me!

i will go to the docs if/when i have another attack - as 4 times won't seem so melodramatic maybe.

the pain comes on very fast and is under my left rib - not right, perhaps my gall bladder has moved?!

daisy x
 
Hello, I first lost weight last year to have my gallstones out, I had the sharp stabbing pains you mention every month or so, and they were so acute they took my breath away. As everyone has said, get to the docs and they can get it sorted out :) Good luck.
 
Me too!

Thanks for posting this message, I've just had an attack today,for the first time! I remember seeing many 'Gallstone' headings under the LL forum, so came on here to do my research and they pain and location that you have all mentioned is exactly where I had my pain this morning.

Woke up at 5am and had to get DH to get me some painkillers, woke up again at 8am and was in so much pain, so took a couple more painkillers, I was doubled up in pain and curled up trying to get the pain to go. I really wanted to take more painkillers, as they didn't seem to be working and was worried about having already had too many, but the pain was soooooo bad that I took 2 more. Fell asleep for an hour and then I woke up and the pain had gone. I was wondering what it was and how the pain could just go, but one of the posts on here explaines that the pain lasts from roughly 4-6 hours, so that explains it.

Thanks again for posting this, it's really helped.

Louale x
 
Sorry to hear you've got them Louale. I'd go see your GP to get a scan and proper diagnosis. After 1 attack they may not say to have your gallbladder out yet but it means you're further along the path to getting it done should they start getting more active.

My op's on March 12th, can't wait!
 
Good luck Girloutdoors

Good Luck Girloutdoors, hope its not too painfull and you recover fast!

Louale x
 
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