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Gallstones symptoms?

Posted , 6 users are following.

halfrainbow
halfrainbow

Hi,

I've been having some stomach problems for about three to four months which haven't really subsided (in fact, have got worse) and I was wondering if others had experienced similar issues with gallstones, as haven't found anything online that suggests constant pain is a symptom of gallstones, and beginning to worry it's something else.

I started off experiencing a lot of acid reflux and pain in my upper central abdomen, just below my breastbone, and gradually have been getting more and more pain in my right hand side under my ribs, and into my back. The pain I am getting both in the middle and right hand side of my stomach is always there, generally as a dull ache - it never really goes away at all, however at times, the pain in my right hand side becomes unbearable, and can last from a few minutes to a few hours. I know the latter is a common side effect of gallstones, but have others experienced a constant dull pain, and also pain in middle like this?

I am also getting a lot of acid reflux, and awful pain in my oesophagus area when I burp (which I seem to be doing a lot of), it almost feels inflamed - has anyone experienced this? The doctor put me on 20mg of omeprazole for this, which really helped at first and also seemed to help a little with the pain in the centre of my stomach, but as time as gone on, the pain has got worse and the omeprazole isn't touching the acid reflux.

The gp has sent me for an ultrasound and is also going to do some blood tests, but I'm starting to worry about my symptoms and just how unwell I'm feeling.

The key things im worried about are the fact the pain is pretty much always there, the pain in the centre of my stomach, the acid reflux and the amount this seems to be irritating my oesophagus, due to the pain there.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this with gallstones?

Thanks in advance!

0 likes, 10 replies

10 Replies

  • Scottie13
    Scottie13 halfrainbow

    Posted

    The longer my symptoms went on, the more constant the pain was! The pain was under my ribs on the right side and went through to the same part on my back. Prior to that though I did have gastritis which was treated too. I was told with the gastritis and with gallbladder issues to eat small amounts little and often. Hopefully your ultrasound shows what’s up so you can get treated for whatever it is xx
    • halfrainbow
      halfrainbow Scottie13

      Posted

      What sort of symptoms did you get with gastritis? And do the two often go hand in hand? The doctor I first saw initially treated me with gastritis. In all fairness, I've only seen a doctor twice. We moved house three months ago, and it's taken me a long time to move GP. I went once, and because the pain was more in the centre of my tummy, the GP thought it was more likely to be gastritis, and gave me omeprazole. For a couple of weeks that really helped, and the acid reflux subsided, as the acid reflux subsided, so did the pain, but over the last two to three weeks, the pain in the centre of my tummy is worse than it's ever been, and I'm not getting a lot of pain in the right of my tummy too, just below the ribs. This was something I've had for a while, but it's worse now than it's been, and that seems to have gone hand in hand with the pain in the centre getting worse.

      I've registered with a new GP and went to see them on Friday - he's referred me straight away for an ultrasound, and to be fair, I had a call yesterday to arrange the appointment - didn't answer though, so not got date yet, but can't fault them in the timescale so far.

      The thing that I'm finding hard, and which feels unrelated, is how much trapped wind I'm getting, and how much pain I'm in, in and around my oesophagus. It all feels really inflamed - not sure if this is from the acid reflux or totally unrelated, but I just feel grim at the moment. Can't quite imagine this could all be related!! Starting to worry about it all quite a bit now, as am in so much pain and it's gradually getting worse.

  • Slippifish
    Slippifish halfrainbow

    Posted

    Does your doctor know the pain is always there? If not, tell them, it was one of the symptoms they told me I had to report back on if it started.

    If your doctor does know, they should monitor it for you.

    I'm totally amazed that in the UK the NHS is all so very laid back about gallstones, they only seem to worry if things go wrong.

    • matt57085
      matt57085 Slippifish

      Posted

      It really is a total JOKE over here.

      I'm not going to go through my whole story but i've had all the classic gallbladder symptoms for 2 years. They only seem to wan't to treat people when they turn yellow or get admitted to hospital. 6+ months to see consultants etc and so on.

      A little story for you. My Sister 2 weeks ago was admitted to hospital eventually after getting fobbed off in severe pain. It turns out she had a huge kidney stone and massive infection. She was on IV antibiotics for a week and once the infection was under control they've sent her home. It's so big it needs surgery. Waiting time for surgery............................................ 6 months, yep 6 bloody months with a ticking time bomb of a huge kidney stone.

      And another for you. One of my good mates had a twisted bowel in Oct 2017. My hospital now has no emergency surgery services so he was rushed to a hospital 30 miles away requiring emergency surgery. He nearly died and the reason for this was they couldn't do the surgery straight away, why?..................................... They didn't have his correct blood group! How pathetic!! That's like a newsagent having no newspapers!! Pretty basic stuff!!!

      To the OP it sounds like gallbladder to me. If you've got the money go private.

    • alana97422
      alana97422 matt57085

      Posted

      Yeah I agree I was yellow too my bilirubin levels were sky high. I went to the hospital on the Monday then had to go back on the Wednesday for my ultrasound. That’s when they discovered the stone and my bilirubin levels, I had an mri on the Thursday and had to wait til the following tues for the ercp. I had some complications after the ercp and lost a lot of blood. This was end of Oct and I only had my gallbladder out last Friday 
    • matt57085
      matt57085 alana97422

      Posted

      Waiting 8 months for surgery after your diagnosis and ERCP is just so, so wrong.  

      The frustrating thing is i bet if you're an MP or a Royal you wouldn't wait that long under the NHS.

      Glad you've had your surgery and hope your recovery goes well👍

    • matt57085
      matt57085

      Posted

      And just to add your surgery taking 2hrs rather than 45mins will all be down to the NHS not sorting you sooner.

      I've followed a Facebook story about a lady who's gallbladder op took 5hrs at my hospital because it was all left to long. It just doesn't make sense, total false economy.

    • alana97422
      alana97422 matt57085

      Posted

      Yes your right as my gallbladder had been left it had got more inflamed, i think the majority of the damage was done the week I was waiting for the stone to be removed from my bile duct. The nurses and doctors on the wards were amazing they worked so hard but the  nhs system is failing 
  • alana97422
    alana97422 halfrainbow

    Posted

    Hi 

    My symptoms were very similar to yours. 

    I started off with pains in the middle of my stomach and shooting pain up my shoulder blade and across the middle of my stomach and back, this usually happened after I had eaten something greasy like kfc. 

    Then I went on a diet and started eating healthy and my symptoms subsided so I put the pains down to being unhealthy and having trapped wind etc. 

    Then I went out one night and ate a McDonald’s and again the pain in the middle of my stomach started and also to one side it was like a dull ache. I had this for a few months and then I was st work one day and I suddenly had excruciating pains on my right side. I went to hospital and they done ultrasound and blood tests and i had a gallstone stuck in my bile duct. Whilst in hospital I had the acid reflux like you say you have had. They then done an mri scan and removed the stone by ercp. 

    Last Friday I had my gallbladder removed the op took 2 hrs instead of 45 mins as my gallbladder was inflamed and I had scarring on my bile duct.

    I’m feeling much better I am getting the odd pains in my belly atm but nothing I can’t handle I’m not even taking painkiller and am guessing it’s body adjusting to not having a gallbladder.

    So my suggestion is next time you get bad pains go straight to a and e and hopefully it will speed things up for you. 

    Alana

    • halfrainbow
      halfrainbow alana97422

      Posted

      Thank you, that's really helpful to know. It's helpful to know someone else has had similar pains, and experiences, as hear a lot about pain on the right, and sharp pains, but not so much about dull aches and pain in the centre. I'm so glad you're feeling better now, and that having it out has helped. Really hoping the scan gives me.some answers, as feeling so rough at the moment x

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