Gallstones

hi, I have been suffering with chronic symptoms since June ( never had the sharp hospitalising pain, more chronic constant symptoms of IBS, reflux, gas, stomach pain, bloating, under right rib brusied achy feeling, nausea, exhaustion) known I had mulitple gallstones from october. I have worked with 2 naturopaths, removed all dairy and gluten ( initially helped, was low dairy and gluten anyway) already ate paleo 90% so half the herbs and foods they say eat to help with gallstones and to prevent and get rid of them, I already consumed, so obviously didnt work, took all herbs and suppliments from naturopaths amd even tried the stone breaker tea chanca piedra, still have multiple mobiile gallstones several months later. I keep my symptoms mild avoiding most foods ( lost 14 kg and almost underweight now) but they still flare from time to time and I usually feel sick and bloated. Reflux and bowels vary and no longer seem controlled by food, just decide to hit me when they feel like it, so in my opinion, no foods wont help. I am now awaiting surgery.

Weirdly I can eat pork sausages, dark chocolate, corn chips etc.. with minimal symptoms but lamb, red meat, eggs, dairy, gluten and lots of coconut/nuts, raw veg and certain fruits, cause me huge issues...

High risks are adhesions, rupture, infections,blockages, malignancy, liver and pancreas damage and emergency surgery, so yes they can be high risk.

By the way CHANGE your DR urgently!!

oh also they say to minimise fat to help in the meantime, This I havent really done, I have just removed foods I react too as I believe fat is essential to health, so I eat minimal nuts, coconut yogurt and a small amount of healthy oil, however ox bile and digestive enzymes have been a saviour for me.

I too had multiple large gallstones in the gallbladder and bile duct so I know what you are going through. Three times I tried to get urgent appointments from my GP and I was turned away and forced to go to an urgent care centre where the wait is a minimum of two hours - not easy when you're in bad pain.

Maybe the liver problems you have are down to a having fatty liver and not alcohol?

Glad you've taken steps to change GP. You should make a formal complaint.

The risks from gallstones are many. The gallbladder can rupture and put you at risk of peritonitis which is life threatening. Gallstones can affect other organs like the liver and pancreas. You are also at risk of jaundice. Watch out for dark coloured urine, pale stools, itching all over, and yellowing of skin and white of eyes. It also makes you feel very very unwell. Other, less serious, symptoms include loss of appetite, tiredness, nausea, sickness, inability to digest fatty foods and diarrhoea where undigested food passes through the gut very quickly. It's not a nice illness I'm afraid.

People will offer lots of advice regarding flushes and supplements but I was too afraid to try anything that wasn't medically proven in case they exacerbated my symptoms. If you've stones in the bile duct, flushes can make them move and cause blockages elsewhere.

I was advised by my surgeon to eat a low fat diet. This definitely helped me. You can still eat most foods - just choose low fat versions. Choose skimmed milk, 0% fat yogurt and use Flora light instead of butter. Avoid fried foods and baked goods apart from bread. Chicken, fish and lean meats with salad or vegetables are included and fruit also. Rice and mashed or baked potatoes too. Basically it's very healthy foods, but low fat. I still had attacks but they weren't as painful and didn't last as long.

I waited seven months for surgery so if an early date is offered to you, please accept it. Some wait even longer. Delay will only put you at more risk of what I mentioned earlier.

My experience Is, once you've got stones, they won't disappear and surgery is needed, however, even open surgery isn't as bad as you might think. You feel rough for a few days afterwards but after a month you feel so much better. I feel better now than I have in years, having minimised all the risks.

Hope everything goes well.

There is no way to deal with Gall Stones, you have to remove the Gall Bladder, My Grandma's gall bladder exploded inside her body causing severe kidneys damage, you can die of a Sepsis. Avoid fats until the DR have it removed.

hi,it seems strange your not getting the help you seek, if you have a severe stabbing like pain rib cage to stomach area,it is what i was experiencing,my eating was fine etc, then 3 days of agonising pain had a job to walk couldnt sleep,was rushed into hospital a gall stone had become trapped in the duct,had all removed,im now on mend but still have tender stomach area, but the stabbing pain has gone, all best

Does anybody have swollen stomach at the bottom of it and its firm no pain and it's making my Virginia have a buldge sorry to be rude.

What everybody's symptoms strange ones to