gaul stones

Posted , 9 users are following.

Hi all!  I have just recently discovered this forum, and would like some advice please.  I have just recently had an ultra sound, and discovered that I have gaul stones.  the pain was so bad that not even paracetamol helped on friday night, and I had to call the out of hours doc who was very nice, and gave me a pain killing injection, and stronger pain killers. he suggested that instead of using semi skimmed milk, i use full skimmed, and instead of eating digestive biscuits, i eat oat cakes. can anyone give me any diet tips please?  He also said that the only thing really, would be to have the gaul bladder removed, but i'm a bit sceptical, and would like other users views on this.  he said if i did have this done, i could eat almost anything.  please give me your views on these points, also help with the diet thing.  I have losgt a tremendous amount of weight, and sometimes don't feel like eating.  thanks in anticipation.  Val

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  • Posted

    Mine hasn't been diagnosed as being a dysfunctional gb but I'm sure it is. 

    I find if I stick to a non fat diet ie: no butters, oils, or anything with fat on it, I'm ok. 

    Yesterday I had a fried egg sandwich after an hour that familiar upper right stomach and shoulder pain started. 

    My doc wants me in anti depressants as he thinks it will help. I won't go on them so we are stuck at stalemate. I'm going away on holiday I will check If I'm better there. Then when I get home I'm going to kick some backside to get to bottom if this. Not sure why your doc said go to full fat milk instead of half fat sort of defeats the objective if ur having gb probs. google diets for gb. There are lots you can follow. Try that see if it helps. Good luck. I know your pain well. 

    • Posted

      Hi Kim!  thanks so much for that.  its good to know i'm not alone in this.  Val.
  • Posted

    I ended up with pancreatitis 2 weeks after i had my baby in febuary and it was brought on by gallstones. The pain was worse than labour pain and thats putting in mildly. I had to wait  until may to have my gallbladder out with having my newborn but it was the best decision i ever made as i was hospitalised twice as the pancreatitis kept coming back which makes it worse, i could hardly eat, i was actually scared to eat incase anything set it off- i hardly ate until my op as anything and everything set the pain off! Once i recovered from the op- couple of weeks i was feeling much better and not had a problem since! This was my first ever hospital stay (apart from my 2 labours) and first operation but quite frankly i couldnt wait to get it done
    • Posted

      It's nice to read a success story. That pain actually scares me so much it's awful. 

      My HIDA said I had normal gb function but I find that hard to believe as I get nasty attacks every so often and my ejection rate after food was 83%. My doc said that was normal !!!!! I don't think it is. 

    • Posted

      Hi Lewise!  Thanks so much for getting in touch.  Like you, i'm so scared to eat because of the pain it brings!  When next i go to my gp, i'm going to suggest she puts me on the waiting list for a gaul bladder removal as it seems to be the only answer.
    • Posted

      It has to be referred To a surgeon. If he's anything like mine and doesn't believe me then good luck. Very frustrating. 
    • Posted

      Hi Kim its val again!  Yes, the pain scares me so much that i'm scared to eat in case of bringing on an attack.  it was so nice to hear of luise's success story, and i only hope mine ends up as successful.
    • Posted

      Hi Kim!  Yes, i know it has to be refered to a surgeon, but my gp has the results of the ultra sound scan as proof.  surely, that will carry favour?  Val.
    • Posted

      GPs....sometimes i wonder if they Just want u out the door. Unless they have gone through it themselves i doubt they know the pain we are or have been in x
    • Posted

      Im plsd i ended up getting admitted after being sick and having pancreatitis. I went to urgent care the night before taking bad and the dr said i had inflammation of the stomach and gave me so tablets.. When i got to hospital the following day the drs and surgeons were astonished that she did no tests on me as if she had checked my urine she would of know it was a problem with the pancreas. I would suggest if ur urine turns orange and ur sick go to a&e...they will probably take u more seriously. I had to have a drip, antibiotics and morphine for my pain and was only allowed clear fluids to drink. I would definitely recommend the gallbladder removal!! Xx
    • Posted

      Hi Luise!  i'm very lucky with my gp she was so worried about my rapid loss of weight, that she pushed through my getting an endoscopy and ultra sound scan.  i'm hoping she'll do the same with the removal of the gaul bladder.  Val.
  • Posted

    hi valerie.

    i had my gallbladder removed in march 2012 but before that suffered with excruciating pain and vomitted just about every time i tried eating. i found that bland foods such as steamed fish and rice or chicken and rice were the best things for me to eat. once i had my gb removed i have been able to eat all most anything. if you have read through some of the other comments i have put you will notice that i have had a few medical problems since my op but don't  be put off by that. just because i had problems afterwards doesn't mean you will. my stones were very large and left a lot of debris behind in my bile ducts. i would still have the gb removed all over again if i had too. good luck with decision making. keep in touch. annie.

     

    • Posted

      Hi Annie!  I'm almost sure that i'll have the gaul bladder removed, because i'm so afraidof that pain.  Thanks for talling me your story.  will let you know of future developments.  Val.
  • Posted

    Hi Valerie 

    if you eat bland really low fat food no caffeine it will settle down until your next flare up. 

    Your gallbladder is a wonderful organ it stores bile from the liver concentrates it and your stomach requests more or less bile from it depending on what you eat. So a fried breakfast lots of oil more bile needed. Then your gallbladder squeezes contracts to squirt extra bile into your tummy. Then the stones rub against each other and make your gallbladder sore inside and sometimes a stone gets stuck in a duct then you have that agonising almost heart attack level pain , vomiting ,fainting pain...after several hours the stone settles back in the gallbladder if your lucky. If not you are rushed to A and E . 

    So eating bland foods that don't require extra bile settles it down. Caffeine causes it to contract chocolate was a killer for me. Buscopan can ease the contracting gallbladder in a colic attack. 

    So yes surgery is the answer if you want to be able to eat normally out of fear of attacks and general gnawing pain.

    but while waiting the diet can make it manageable. Omeprazole helped me too as it reduces the amount of acid your liver produces. 

    The good thing is it's fixable . Had mine out in February 2014. And I can eat.. Also I realised for years I had suffered with nausea slight when I ate and when I had bowel movements. I just thought it was normal. All gone now 

    hope that helps and the operation is keyhole day surgery and safe . As safe as an operation can be smile 

    • Posted

      Hi Sally!  you've been so helpful!  I've been having trouble with my bowels, but didn't realize this was related to the gaul stones, and was beginning to think i had bowel cancer. sometimes my poo is so slimey, and other times, it is normal.  the doc who came on Friday night to give me the pain killer injection, said that i could eat things like poridge if it was made with full skimmed milk. also, if i wanted a snack, to eat things like rice cakes and oat cakes. is this ok to eat these things?  i hope it is, as i'm trying to avoid getting that awful pain as much as i can.  Thanks again Sally.  Val.
    • Posted

      Yes anything low fat .. 

      Rosemary conleys low fat diet was invented by her as she had gall stones and couldn't have the operation for a few years . You can google it quite interesting. She discovered she lost weight and marketed it. 

      Now I have had the operation I realise how messed up my digestion was . I had gastritus , wind, peptic ulcers etc since removal I don't produce enough bile/ acid so I can eat fruit, tomatoes, curries etc if I eat too much fat I don't digest well and feel a bit bilious not that bad .. It's because your bile just drips gently into your stomach from your liver . No concentrated boosts for fatty food from your gall bladder anymore . Some people are left with diarroeah a small percentage after the operation I guess there liver drips more bile than necessary . I have read they can take acid reducing meds. 

      Worth knowing as you won't be surprised if you have after effect after surgery ... But beats the agony your in ... Hope it settles soon .. 

    • Posted

      Just re read my last message . My stomach is really good now .. No need for anti acids or intigestion remedies . Operation solved that too. 

      Sorry I should of re read before posting lol 

    • Posted

      Hi Sally!  i'm afraid i'm not much of a cook, so inclined to get meals already prepared, but finding it hard as most of the ones i've found are either over spiced, or contain things that just trigger thihngs off!  sometimes, i just don't feel like eatig at all.  Thanks for being so kind, and for the advice.
    • Posted

      Hi Sally!  just read the last message.  I hope when i do get the operation, it does the same as i'm on omeprazole 20mg twice daily, and also domperidone twice daily.

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