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Lying here awake... again

Posted , 6 users are following.

shalaya
shalaya

Just need to vent. I started having gallbladder attacks in november last year about a month after having my baby. It took 5 weeks to get the ultrasound and another 6 to speak to the surgeon and surgery isnt until april 27th. In the meantime i have had 24 attacks. 18 of which have been major (lasting 3 or more hours with intense pain). I have been to the ER 4 times. The last time was for an attack lasting 24 hours which was due to acute pancreatitis. They originally were going to do my removal then and there but the surgeon on call didn't feel like it. I have been eating almost vegetarian for the past month with added chicken breast, eggs and non breaded fishes which has made most attacks minor and bearable but here i am again. Sitting awake at 3 in the morning with a major attack complete with vomiting, chills and intense pain even on my meds. Just feel so frustrated with the system right now and want this stupid thing out. Its hard enougn getting sleep with a 4 1/2 month old baby without the added attacks to worry about sad

3 likes, 14 replies

14 Replies

  • sally_14743
    sally_14743 shalaya

    Posted

    You poor thing .. Try cutting out caffeine tea and coffee and hot chocolate causes gallbladder to contract and drinking camomile its a soothing tea.. I ended up cutting out dairy , eggs , meat , just living on boiled potatoes and boiled veg..so so boring 

    wont be long and you will be well again ...

    and life will be peachy 😀👍

    • shalaya
      shalaya sally_14743

      Posted

      I've cut out caffeine altogether except for the occasional chunk of a chocolate bar. I think it was the 2 tbsps of mayo with my can of tuna last night. Also seems to happen more when i get on the dehydrated side. Due to my size i need 4.5 litres a day to stay fully hydrated. I tend to get around 3. Its hard finding the time to drink more than that. And thank you for the support
  • angela72602
    angela72602 shalaya

    Posted

    Hopefully, there will be a cancelation and you will get in there sooner! I do not undeertsand the surgeon! As bad as your attacks are it seems you qualify for emergency surgery. Where do you live?
    • shalaya
      shalaya angela72602

      Posted

      I'm in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. During my last visit to the ER every professional there except the on call surgeon wanted the surgery done that day. The GI specialist who saw me about the pancreatitis said if i had another attack over 5 hours to come in and she would force whichever surgeon it was to do it. I dont think i wanted that surgeon doing it anyway. He seemed young and arrogant. Asked me how many attacks id had and i told him 18 which was the count at the time. And his reply "oh thats kind of alot but we still cant do it today. We will get you on the cancellation list with your surgeon" which i was already at the top of
  • janet74211
    janet74211 shalaya

    Posted

    Big time no to eggs, do not eat any dairy what so ever. The fat content can set your attacks of. Change to soya milk or equivalent dairy free. I made the mistake of eating an egg, landed up in hospital with loads of morphine, the only thing to ease the pain.. Google foods not to eat with gallstones.
    • shalaya
      shalaya janet74211

      Posted

      Eggs have never triggered an attack for me (maybe because they are vegetarian feed?). I drink almond milk and when i use cheese its light and not much of it. That usually gives me mild bloating for half an hour. I've already googled the list and mostly adhere to it. Its usually processed sauces that I add to things that have given me mild attacks so i try and avoid it but sometimes i just want the flavour. In the beginning it was cream soups and hamburger that were giving me bad ones before i realized it and stopped using them.
    • janet74211
      janet74211 shalaya

      Posted

      Like you eggs fine to start with. But then noticed attacks after eating them this was before knew what was wrong. So wouldadvise you try it. Wish you the best.
  • tamsyn59552
    tamsyn59552 shalaya

    Posted

    It does sound terribly serious Shayala and I cannot believe they are making you wait this long. I'm waiting for 5 weeks before I get an ultrasound. The doctor suspects Gallbladder. I can only sympathise with you. I hope everything works out.
    • shalaya
      shalaya tamsyn59552

      Posted

      Unfortunately the surgeons are too few. The surgeon im waiting for felt horrible that april 27th was his earliest appointment and that was why he placed me at the top of the cancellation list. If I'm lucky something will come up before then. Best of luck with a speedy surgery
  • phoebewhite
    phoebewhite shalaya

    Posted

    Hi, sorry you are suffering, I remember what that pain is like, just a suggestion, stop eating the eggs, I was a nursing auxiliary when I had gallstones and all the staff watched what I ate like a hawk, I was told not to eat eggs or only to eat egg whites as the yolk is full of fat apparently, I always got cravings for things I shouldn't have, I had a teaspoon of peanut butter once and boy did I suffer, if you can bear it until April try adopting a vegan diet but remember not to eat anything too spicy. Good luck.
    • shalaya
      shalaya phoebewhite

      Posted

      I will certainly try eliminating eggs although i managed to go two weeks without an attack on the current food regime. Fairly certain it was just the mayo (no other trigger foods yesterday). I dont want to go all vegan due to the price of it and its hard to get 2100 calories on it (my recommended to not lose more than a pound a week and trigger attacks that way)
    • phoebewhite
      phoebewhite shalaya

      Posted

      The vegan thing was just a thought I'm not vegan (my son is), I just know he doesn't have much fat in his diet.
    • shalaya
      shalaya phoebewhite

      Posted

      The thought was appreciated. I did try it actually for a week when switching to vegetarian and was having more attacks than normal although they were minor because it was causing my body to break down too much stored fat. So I ended up adding some meat back in and it tapered off.
  • melissa59601
    melissa59601 shalaya

    Posted

    I'm sorry to hear about you problems mine seem minor compared to yours. I really hope you get some answers soon. Also I didn't know this but some contraceptive pills can cause pancreatitis. I stopped taking Yasmin for this reason.
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