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Acid Reflux

Posted , 9 users are following.

welshwoman
welshwoman

Hi Everyone,

Im glad that people suffering with Gallstones take the time to post on forums to help other sufferers and im hoping to get some feedback also. I have been diagnosed with Gallstones 18 months now and I thought I was coping ok on a diet of less than 5% fat but 4 months ago I started getting lots of acid reflux and I have been given medication for it. What I would like to know is Acid Reflux common for Gallbladder sufferers because I dont seem to read anyone else commenting on Acid reflux.

 

0 likes, 17 replies

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  • dorcas44815
    dorcas44815 welshwoman

    Posted

    Hi. Yes Acid Reflux is basically heartburn. I am having my operation in a few days, and this was after a year of being told by the consultant that it would be "OK" if I just took the medication for acid reflux (he gave me a prescription and told me to also take Tesco's own brand of heartburn & indegestion liquid). I tried (in vain) to tell him it wasn't just heartburn - although I did have heartburn nearly every day - that the pains that brought me to him were different.

    Good luck.

    • welshwoman
      welshwoman dorcas44815

      Posted

      Good Luck with your op and please come back and let us know how it went. Now I have decided to have my Gallbladder removed I would love to hear how your experience was during and after your Gallbladder removal, as Im sure all will on this forum.

       

  • kim59492
    kim59492 welshwoman

    Posted

    I've had heartburn for three years. Now the docs are going down the gall bladder route. Today I had a HIDA scan. I get results in a week. So I'm thinking heartburn is definitely connected to gb probs. 
    • welshwoman
      welshwoman kim59492

      Posted

      I hope you dont mind me asking but have you been given anything for your Heartburn to control it ?

       

  • designergirl12
    designergirl12 welshwoman

    Posted

    Hi all,

    I don't have acid reflux but I just want to pass on a tip. It might work for you, it has for me, and that is to eat artichoke hearts. I have a 13 mm stone with chronic diverticulitis, so they are just leaving the stone in place, but since I started eating artichoke hearts, I feel much much better. Hope that helps. 

    Tesco has them on their salad bar and they are delicious. the reason I started eating them is because I read that artichoke hearts are good for gallbladders.

    • welshwoman
      welshwoman designergirl12

      Posted

      Hi designergirl12,

      I have never eaten Artichokes before but I will certainly add them to my next Tesco shop.  biggrin

       

  • Lgl88
    Lgl88 welshwoman

    Posted

    Hi 

    Just thought id put my experience in. I've had heartburn/indigestion problems for 3 years now where I get it for weeks at a time then nothing and I'm now starting to think it's gallbladder related. Just had my scan today but tech says I'll have to wait 7-10 days to hear off my doctor as to whether it's gallbladder related or not.

    When you had your scan did they tell you straight away that's what it was? Or did you have to wait too?

    • welshwoman
      welshwoman Lgl88

      Posted

      I would like to thank everyone for replying to my post and so quickly too. I had a Ultrasound scan when I was admitted to hospital after 5 hours of terrible pain and the scan showed up lots of slush in the bottom of my gallbladder and a few large stones. I had the results a few hours later from the doctor. The pain went after a while and everything seemed ok so i was discharged 24 hours later and told I would need to go back for a CT scan to check my liver was ok. A month later I had the scan and 2 weeks later I received a letter with the results and everything looked ok for the op to go ahead for Gallbladder removal. This is where it gets a little bit different I guess from everyone else as regards to treatment, I have Muscular Dystrophy and cope very well with it but before doing any surgery the Doctor needed to gather all my past medical history. I totally changed my eating habits never eat anything with more than 5% fat content only eat Veg and non citris fruit, Brown Rice, Brown Bread (there are some nice ones with low fat content) Baked Beans, Cod, Chicken Breast, Walkers do some really nice Salted crisps called Baked, Pasta. Eating these things meant I only had a few more painful episodes in 18 months, The downside to this is the weight loss which I did not mind to begin with as I thought a few months later my Gallbladder would be removed, and I was also told orignally that my Gallbladder had to come out as they wanted to remove it in a controlled operation instead of an emergency situation with my medical background. 3 months ago I saw my Respiratory Consultant and expressed that I wasnt happy with the length of time i was waiting and also there had been talk about how they were going to handle the aftercare. He agreed with me and had me transfered to the hospital he was working from which was 30 miles away form where i live. I was then given a different Gallbladder Consultant who was more experienced I was told. A month later I met the Consultant who told me he did not want to remove my Gallbladder as I had not had any pain for a long while, so he left the decision up to me and that was 4 months ago. He also told me to start eating more things with fat in and not to be so strict as I needed to put weight back on (lost 3 stone in 18 months) and if i could control my diet and put weight back on all was good. All was good for a month, I even ate low fat chicken gravy and cheese sauce and omg Marshmallows they tasted like heaven and then Bang omg the Acid. My GP does not thing it is associated with my Gallbladder Im on lots of PPI blockers and the Acid does not go away so I stopped eating the foods I would not normally eat and it has cooled down alot. So that is why I think maybe it is Gallbladder related and if so I will be having my Gallbladder removed because I cant live on the food I eat for too long a period. Having feedback from this forum is a big help   biggrin

       

    • dorcas44815
      dorcas44815 welshwoman

      Posted

      Hi again welshwoman. I would be willing to bet (I am defo not a Dr, but from my own pattern of symptoms) that the weight loss/strict diet is the reason your symptoms more or less went away and come back when you add in more tasty food.

      I had less severe symptoms including heartburn/acid reflux and some of the easier to deal with pains for several years. I went on a very strict diet (before gall stones were even in my vocabulary) and lost about 3 stones in weight. As soon as I had lost the first stone, my heartburn went away and the pains were almost non-existant. Then as I usually do, I caved and started eating food that had sugar/fat etc and gained the weight back. My symptoms stayed away until all 3 stone was re-gained, but came back with a vengeance - a LOT worse than before.

      This may not be typical, but I am convinced that the weight / diet issue made a distinct impact. Best of intentions, I am bad at sticking to a low fat healthy diet. As I said in earlier posts, in the last month I have lost about 1.5 stones due to bad attacks every day. I am getting the surgery this week, but I hope that afterwards I will be able to eat if I so choose, but hope I choose more wisely from now on.

      Good Luck.

  • dorcas44815
    dorcas44815 welshwoman

    Posted

    Hi Welshwoman. When I had the sonogram, the tech said yep there is a stone - but then I had to wait for "official" confirmation. When I had the MRI, I didn't get anything from the techs - had to wait about a week to hear from GP.
    • Lgl88
      Lgl88 dorcas44815

      Posted

      See I'm thinking it can't be stones now or they'd have said but then some people say they don't tell you :-/
    • kim59492
      kim59492 Lgl88

      Posted

      He didn't tell me either way. He wouldn't. I did ask. But they said they have to do some adding up and % rates. Just gonna have to wait. 
    • Lgl88
      Lgl88 kim59492

      Posted

      Yeah mine was just a normal ultrasound not a HIDA scan ( yet anyway) if it's not stones/sludge I'm going to ask for one though 
  • kim59492
    kim59492 welshwoman

    Posted

    my last ultrasound in dec 2013 showed nothing in my gb. No stones, no sludge, apparantly though sludge wont show up on an ultrasound, hence why i insisted on the hida.
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