Gallstones

Dave

Full Member
Does anyone know anything about gallstones?

My wife has been following the CD since January and has lost just over 3 1/2 stones.

She has been to the doctors today and has been told that she has gallstones... she has been prescribed painkillers but they are not working... the doctor told her that if this is the case to go to A&E...

She is a trained nurse and very stubborn... she says she does not want to go. As an adult (who is a nurse) I feel I have to respect her wishes... but do not like sitting about doing nothing whilst she is in pain.

I was hoping if anyone knew anything.... they could tell me how important it is to get her to A&E or leave it until morning like she wants.

Dave x
 
I am by no means an expert but my understanding (my mother had them) is that they are not dangerous just agonisingly painful. Normally when you are diagnosed you would have a period of waiting until you get an appointment for an operation and are advised to follow a low fat diet to minimise attacks.

Hope this helps.

Gx
 
a girl I used to work with had them after she had lost a lot of weight, and from what I gather she had them a long time before she was operated on, so I guess they can't be too dangerous, but they did cause her a lot of pain and sickness, especially if she ate the wrong foods. she had a long list of stuff to avoid..
 
Thanks for you advice... do you think I should try to persuade her to come of CD for a while? She won't like it!
 
Think you would probably need some further advice on that from the doctors.

Gx
 
I couldn't say myself.. I didn't really understand too much about it. maybe it would be worth checking with her counsillor or phoning the CD head office in the morning to see if they can offer any advice?
 
Yeah, thank you. Just concerned for my wife and hate feeling helpless coz I can't to more to ease her pain. I am pretty useless... I just fuss about and keep on offering to get her stuff like drinks and run her baths... but she just wants to be left alone.
 
Aw you sound lovely, and I'm sure your wife appreciates you fussing!

Hope she gets the advice she needs.

Theresa x
 
Thanks, I am lovely! :)

Now I just need to delete this thread before she logs on tomorrow and gets annoyed for discussing it on here! :confused:
 
Hi Dave,

I really suffered last year with gallstones, I was told by the doctor to come off CD as that agrevated them, but it is up to the individual... now I am not preaching in any way just giving my experience...

Luckily I was in Bupa and had my operation within 6 weeks, but I know the NHS would of been much longer, aparantely I had multiple small stones which were compacted into my gallbladder which made them more painful!

So I know exactly what she is going through, nothing helps, painkillers didn't work for me or anything else, and I was sooo glad when they took them and my gallbladder out!! (apart from the post operative hernia and further operation) but that was due to a chest infection and coughing afterwards...

Hope she is feeling Ok soon, what i found was they would flare up with fatty foods etc, but losing weight agrevates them too...

Sorry I can't be of more help Dave...

Love
 
Hi Dave

I am sorry your wife is suffering so much with gallstones. I remember when I had them - strangely when I had lost quite a lot of weight some years ago. The pain is like none other I have ever experienced!

I was told by the consultant that there was a long waiting list for the operation and to follow a low fat diet. Apparently, weight loss can cause gallstones to become troublesome - but does not cause them, if you follow me. I was also told that if I had a particularly bad attack I was to go straight to A&E as, if they are left when they are so inflamed they can lead to more serious problems as they block the bile duct.

Once I got into hospital, I had the operation by keyhole and was home and raring to go by the next day - although I was advised to take 3 weeks off work so I had a good rest.

I should persuade your wife to take the doctor's advice and go to A&E! Its a relatively simple operation these days and it will avoid such nasty episodes of pain or even worse, complications.

Hope that helps.
x
 
Thanks everyone! I think I have the answers I was looking for.
 
Hi dave, i had my gallstones/gallbladder removed a few years ago via keyhole surgery, i suffered excruciating pain (worse than childbirth)
was having at least 1 attack a week, doctors thought i had stomach ulcer at the time, thought i was too young to have gallstones, took about 4 months to get a scan gallstones were confirmed, totally changed my diet to non dairy and no fat, had the doc out on a number of occasions he used to give me a jab of morhine, it totally spaced me out, got rid of the pain though. Was prescribed tramadol painkillers if i had an attack 1 of them tablets done the trick. I was diagnosed in feb 2002 had my op in feb 2004 on nhs, reason for long wait i was pregnant and doc wouldnt do surgery for 6 months after baby was born.
 
I had one large gallstone,which apparently would be fine as they don't tend to travel, I had tramadol, pethedine, and buscopan to ease the pain at home while I waited for over 6 months for the op.
A week before the operation to have my gall bladder removed the stone travelled into my bile duct and caused a blockage (the registrar sai it wouldn't happen!), and the onset of jaundice.
I ended up having 3 ERCP's the first was to insert a stent to widen the bile duct so the bile could escape and the second & thrid were to grind the stone so it would pass, and then remove the stent. This was all done via sedation and they were the most unpleasant experiences I have ever had. A couple of months later I had my gallbladder removed so no other stones would form.

If your wife is in pain she really shouldn't have to suffer, and a trip to A&E would mean she would get morphine, which is sometimes the only thing which will ease the pain. The gall baldder can also get infected when stones are present and can sometimes fuse onto other organs cause damage so it really would be wise to go to A&E.

Is she on a waiting list to get the stones removed? If so she could perhaps visit the GP and get stronger painkillers and explain that the pain is really bad and the GP may ask the consultant for her to be considered a priority and get the op sooner.

I can really sympathise....I would rather give birth any day than have the gallstone pain again (I enjoyed giving birth though ;))

Helenxx
 
I had my gallbladder out with me stones (still have them) had them during pregnacy. Had them for nearly 2yrs before i got appoitment to get them out. There not dangerous just really really painful when you get an attack of them. I know when i got attacks i was bent over in pain from them. I dont know if cd makes it worse but if it does you could get her of it and to eat healthy. No fatty foods is what i was told also even after she gets them out no fatty foods as you cant get rid of the fat or sumthing.im sry i dont know techinal side of things. make sure she drinks lots of water although id say she does that anyway been on cd!! good luck to her :)
 
I had my gallbladder out a couple of months ago :clap:

Gallbladder pain is horrendous yet I still insisted that it was mine and mine alone and I wasn't going to have anyway remove anything.

Then I was told that it was highly unlikely that I would be free of trouble. The pain would just keep coming back. It became more regular as the months went by.

Gallbladder troubles can lead to pancreatitis which is very serious. Do try to persuade your wife to get it seen to. I'm so pleased I've had it out. Such a relief.
 
Didn't dear Nigepoo post something about VLCD and the gallbladder? The lack of fat in the diet causes stasis in the gall bladder, hense all the minerals clump together to form stones, cos its the fat in the diet that stimulates the gall bladder to empty and then reload/refresh. All the above posts are true, the longer it's left the worse the potential problems can be. I had mine out in a week when we lived in the states! A small ache, diagnosis, and OUT! In a week from start to finish. My poor friend over here suffered for months and months waiting for an NHS appt. It really is such a shame.
 
I suffered gall stones 6 years ago and suffered for about 6 months with the pain on an off. I would'nt put the pain on my worst enemy so i really feel for your wife. I was put on a waiting list for an op and given extra strong painkillers, then one day i woke to find i was yellow. I was taken to hospital and they found that one of the stones had got stuck in my bile duct and was making my liver fail so had an emergancy op straight away to remove my gall bladder and the stuck stone. I was so poorly and had to have morphine for the pain. I am totally fine now and it has'nt made a difference to my life but i would really urge your wife to get it sorted as it will only get worse.
 
Didn't dear Nigepoo post something about VLCD and the gallbladder?

My consultant wouldn't accept that there was a link at all. He said it would be very difficult to prove as gallbladder problems were so very common in ladies. He also went on to say that I was the only one he knew who had been on a VLCD, yet he had done the operation on hundreds.

Morphine is fantastic isn't it:cool: They didn't give me any painkillers to cope with the pain, but each time I went into A&E (about 5-6 times in all), they put me on the morphine drip. Incredible relief :clap:
 
My consultant wouldn't accept that there was a link at all. He said it would be very difficult to prove as gallbladder problems were so very common in ladies. He also went on to say that I was the only one he knew who had been on a VLCD, yet he had done the operation on hundreds.

Morphine is fantastic isn't it:cool: They didn't give me any painkillers to cope with the pain, but each time I went into A&E (about 5-6 times in all), they put me on the morphine drip. Incredible relief :clap:

I hadn't been on a vlcd before my stones either, but I was fair fat 'n '40! Apparently that is the higher risk group! LOL! In the liptrim Literature I was given, it did mention that gallstone formation could be a problem on VLCD.
 
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