Gallstones... anyone else got constant pain under right breast

Hi I have suspected gallstones and waiting for an scan appointment, all night I've been in agony with pain at top of my right breast into my arm, like I'm being stabbed, has anyone else suffered these symptoms coz I've no pain in my stomach 

I'm still waiting to have my gallbladder out. My op is on the 19th of this month. When my pain first started it was a discomfort under my ribs right hand side. I thought it was tight waist bands trapping wind perhaps, that's all. But then it got so that it felt that even my breast put pressure there. Id sit with my hand lifting my breast up! I'd put on quite a bit of weight. Some time later, in the summer I had a bbq and ate some ribs. I got terrible cramping but I thought it was just the ribs and alchohol. I ignored it.

Then I started feeling quite bloated on occasion and my hands and feet would swell, my tum would gargle and the feeling of pressure under my ribs was worse. Like a fist under there, sometimes a stitch. It was a very gradual thing. I got full quite quickly and I'd get a stitch feeling. I got super hot flushes a lot as well. I ignored all this and put it to the back of my mind really.

Then I went through a phase of attacks about 2 years ago. Like you, nothing in particular set me off or so I thought. The attacks would only last for 20 mins to an hour or so in the evening. By the next day I couldn't be bothered to go to the doctors. I'd had some problems with doctors not related to gallbladder and I thought I would just be messed about. I didn't think the doctor would be able to do anything if I wasn't in pain when I went. I'd guessed it was gallstones and took apple cider vinegar.

I didn't have another attack for a good 8 months. Then last May, out of the blue I had one that lasted a while. The next day a good friend of mine was visiting me. I hadn't seen her for ages and she doesn't live local so I put off going to the doctors again. I then thought I will go to the docs one day and mention it but see how I go. I still had the discomfort but I didn't then have another attack until October but this was different. I felt very tired and nauseated the day before and my stomach was bloating. I had water retention as well and could not go to the toilet. I had a big family dinner when the pain started. I kept taking myself off to sit on the loo, lay down, walk about, thought I was going to be sick. I didn't know what to do with myself. The pain eased off a little and I went to bed early. The pain got worse and had me tossing and turning all night. I was soaking in sweat. I'd get out of bed rock for a while, try to go to the loo and was repeatedly sick gallons of bile. I held off until 6am when I told my husband to ring for an ambulance. I couldn't take it anymore. When I got to hospital I was quickly diagnosed then after blood tests and an ultrasound. I had multiple gallstones which turned into cholecystitis. It was horrible. After three days in hospital, I went downhill. Despite the IV antibiotics, I needed oxygen and my blood results indicated a possible blockage. My antibiotics were changed and I was booked in for an MRI the next day. I woke the next day and felt like the room was spinning and I was falling backwards. It was awful and I vomited a whole bowl of sludge. I went for the MRI and my bile duct was inflamed. They think I passed a stone thay had got stuck. It was awful. I never felt so unwell in my life and I was in hospital 9 days on IV's and discharged on a weeks worth of oral antibiotics. My bloods have never resolved since and I've had to wait all this time for surgery.

I've been told to stick to less than 3% fat diet. I didn't think anything in particular set me off but the week leading up to my big attack, my diet was appalling. It was strange because I actually had less bloating and discomfort so I ate more rubbish because I felt so well. The Friday my hub bought me a fresh cream Victoria sandwich slice and when I went round to my mums she'd bought a lardy cake. I felt well so I ate some of that too. The Saturday evening me and hub had a takeaway pizza and some beers and the Sunday was the day I suffered all day, all night before I was admitted to hospital on the Monday morning. What I'm saying is, I wouldn't assume it will be ok because it might not be. If you are on the list for surgery then I would hold off eating anything that might trigger an attack or blockage. When you eat fatty food, your gallbladder releases bile. Cholecystitis starts because the gallbladder contracts and the stones move around and can get caught in the neck. That's when infection can start. You may be fine one day eating what you like but the next, the gallbladder spits a stone. If you are lucky it will pass quickly but if you are not, well, you don't want to find out. I've stuck ridged to the 3% and have lost 3 and half stone. Much needed but I've had less bloating and discomfort. I've had mild attacks and I get the stitch but touch wood I've avoided anything worse. It's not easy to do and it's so boring but I'd rather starve than ever go through that pain again just because of what I've eaten. I wasn't brave for not going to the docs sooner I was stupid. Lol

Please don't apologise for your long 'posting'.. I'm very grateful to you.  It sounds like you've been having an awful time of this... particularly in relation to the 'cholectcystitis - that must have been terrifying!  When you said that you were diagnosed with 'multiple gallstones', were they 'tiny' ones like mine or were yours bigger.  The reason I'm asking is that i think i may have a false sense of security in thinking that because mine are only tiny there is no risk of them getting 'stuck in the bile duct'. 

When you said that at the start of the problem you had the feeling of having something 'like a fist stuck under your ribs', this is exactly what i said to my GP when i first went..... that in itself was a really awful feeling.

I understand what you are saying about the 'fatty food'.  I really have been incredibly good since i was first diagnosed - l just began to associate food with ''pain'' and it was actually easy not to eat anything bad because of this - also at the start i definately had a reduced appetite anyway. i only tried the fatty food before i was going to see the surgeon but i know that it could be easy to try, say a cake, and think i was fine with that so I'll have another and then the second time you eat one you get bad pain or the dreaded D.  When i first went to the doctor my symptoms / pain were much worse than they are now - I seemed to get a bad flare up of pain every evening about 5pm despite eating very well / /hardly anything.  That seems to have stopped now and I've only been getting the really bad pain once a week (always on a Saturday???). This has also puzzled me as i thought that the symptoms/pain would get steadily worse, not get better. Having said that, after reading your post, you seem to have got better - in relation to just getting the milder attacks and the stitch like pain - and put that down to just being very careful with what you're eating.

Not long now until your operation - i exect you must be feeling nervous.  I really hope everything goes very well for you and you'll come back on here saying how great you're feeling. 

Thanks so much for your reply.  When i started with this pain i had not long since had a routine mammogram (which was clear) otherwise i think i would've worried about having it being a breast tumour. Wearing a bra was also really painful with it (i kept going out and buying new ones - thinking the one i was wearing was the wrong size).  It's interesting that like you, i also felt very uncomfortable when sitting down.  I was much less aware of the problem when i was walking.  When i went to the GP and got referred for an ultrasound the waiting time (despite being listed as 'urgent') was several weeks so i paid to get one done privately - i wanted to know whether or not i had gallstones straight-away, not in 5 weeks time!!  It sounds like you had a terrible ordeal before you were admitted to hospital. I'm so sorry to hear that you're still having problems now and hope that they are only minor ones that will settle down eventually.  Best wishes.