omg.....pain!!!!

[lcg]

fao squad, jenna and anyone else with experienced of gallstones. i am fairly sure that i am having a gallstone attack. for the past 3 hours at regular intervals i have ended up rolling round the floor with dreadful pain under my right ribcage and upper gastro pain too. i have been sick and the pain is astronomical. i thought it may be gallstones before i looked it up on the net, but now i know it is as all my symptoms match. what should i do? it's calmed down a bit while typing on here, but i am sure the pain will come back. what sort of outcome to people have with gallstone problem? i would really like to know. thanks for your help x

[DTCwordfan]

also there is a feck of a difference between a gallstone and a kidney stone. I have had both, kidney stones feel like a cold steel knife passing through you and localised agony. Gallstones, your diaphragm and stomach in a throbbing deeper agony, the want to puke, and also a pain high in the right shoulder.....

[rsvp]

Rolling about on the floor in pain - 1st world country here, shouldn't be acceptable - hospital, GP, argue, shout - get a diagnosis and treatment .

[Eve]

I was in and out the same day, I got to go in first (on my surgeon's list) which was good.

Mine was going septic and had split which was probably why I felt so awful with it. I have had problems since, apparently quite common with issues with fat malabsorption but I had the condition beforehand anyway, it's just worse now and not responding to meds like it did but hopefully it will settle down, it's only been 5 months since my op.

Let us know how you get on and hope the pain stays away! x

[DTCwordfan]

Yes, you can put on a fair bit of weight post the gall bladder and your poo can be very squishy, sticky and not dark (I know that is gross).

there are 5 Fs that characterise it; Fat, Fair, Freckled, Over Fifty and Female - it hits more women than men.....maybe I ought to look at my testerone to oestrogen levels.

[DTCwordfan]

Rapid dieting (@1kg per week) also can trigger it - which was what happened in my case. I was dieting and then the stress of my divorce, compounded with a nasty virus was probably the cause. I mention the dieting to those of you who like to go onto severe diets, as a caution........

[lcg]

thanks guys....i appreciate your input. i feel better today, just a bit achy and nauseous. i am going to spend the day resting and not getting up to much. however, one more whiff of the pain and i shall be whizzing off to the docs. i have an appointment on monday anyway, so hopefully will make it until then. cheers x

[Sqad]

Glad you feel better.

[lcg]

thanks squad. i have to say....it was on a par with childbirth (the pain). i plan on not eating anything again, ever! am taking my usual painkillers plus sedatives to pre-empt anything else happening x

[Eve]

It's horrible isn't it, hope you're feeling a lot better now. Does put you off eating doesn't it, I lost a load of weight.

I had heard people say it was worse than childbirth so I asked the lady I was in hospital with as she has quite a few kids and she said she'd rather have a load more kids and have the childbirth pain than any more gallbladder attacks!

[DTCwordfan]

lcg - don't be deluded by the lack of pain today - you need to get to a quack and start the process on getting the offending sac out - first thing apart from Omeprazole is to get an ultrascan and you can see the little blighters in there, the crystals that is - they are very different to kidney stones but, like them, can vary in size. The pain comes from the crystals going through the aperture.

[DTCwordfan]

Fatty and spicy food can trigger the attack by the way.

[Sqad]

DT why?
Why get the sac out?
Supposing she doesn;t get another attack?

"Fools rush in where angels fear to tread."

[Eve]

A family friend had a really bad attack years ago and hasn't had one since.

It is nice not to have the feeling of dread now when it started twinging and episodes of hiding in public loos waiting for the pain to settle.

[lcg]

thanks again, guys. so far, so good....no pain again today. i am going to the docs tuesday anyway and get myself checked out - any other shehanigans and it'll be tout de suite!!! i'll keep you posted as to how things go x

[solvitquick]

My Dear Icg76,
You're like so many of us, rationalising our symptoms behind hope they are going to go away because we are afraid of hospitals where we sit for hours without info or prioritisation. But there is an upside, after the wait you will probably get a real appointment to get a thorough diagnosis. That word "diagnosis" is the real key to good medical practice - not a quack GP's scrip for pain-killer or whatever.
BITE THE BULLET AND DIAL 999 NOW. Or suffer agony before you then have to do it. Then won't be too late of course but you will suffer many needless hours of pain longer than a hospital wait. In fact you are clearly suffering two-fold: pain plus fear of pain. I am not medic qualified but have made the same mistake as you - avoiding 999. but I paid the price of my stupid delay. PHONE 999 and all will be well honey.
Love and best wishes xxx