Newly diagnosed with gallstones and feeling depressed

Hi Hazel, Lots of people have no more pain once their gallbladder has been removed. Some do though, and they are the ones you will read about. For me, having it taken out has been the best thing - no more pain and everything is back to normal. Be guided by your consultant and I hope everything goes okay for you x

Hi Hazel 

i am the same as Chris ...removal solved my problems .😃

it is a minority who suffer after and it seems a lot to do with complications in surgery or pancreatitis etc ..

some who get diarrhoea say it settles after 6 months others it doesn't ...

i use this site as I am a carer and at home a lot ..but reality if you totally recovered from your operation are feeling great your not going to comment as much on here. If your unwell suffering off work worried etc you will comment on here ..try not to be frightened ....but do really talk to your specialist .....

Not everyone has trouble after gb surgery. Yes, a lot of us do. You need to talk to your doctor and he will advise you after surgery and what to do. There are different ways to combat diarreha and nausea. Good luck to you and keep me posted.

Hi hazel,

I know exactly how you feel. I was told to go away and read up online about the op and am worried about having it done. I do know someone who had the op 30 years ago and she was fine after and told me to get it done but it is still daunting. I will be asking lots of questions when I go next and will take the advice of the consultant. Hoping I will see the same one as last time as he took the time to listen and explain to me which helps.

Many thanks to you all for your kind and reassuring comments.  I suppose it’s the same with any operation – there is the possibility of side effects and, as you say, people unfortunate to suffer them are more likely to post their concerns on a forum.  So far I’ve been lucky after the operations I’ve had so fingers crossed! 

Hi Hazel,

The pain with gallstones it horrendous, I suffered with it for 3 years-the pain is relentless, the vomiting, inability to sleep and the exhaustion after an attack, I finally had pancreatitis which meant they had to remove the gallbladder as a preventative measure!!

I had regular attacks but I managed to control the attacks for the three months before my gallbladder removal by avoiding fat, dairy, chocolate, white bread, white pasta and spicy foods!! It was difficult but I realised those foods were the a trigger for the gallstone attacks!!

Since I had the gallbladder removed I still have to avoid certain foods as they tend to go straight through me, but it's definitely helped me to eat cleaner healthier foods!! The only other issue is the relentless heart burn, although this is manageable with Omeprazole!!

Thinking of you.....I know how horrible it feels!!

Even though I am one of the unlucky ones for whom gallbladder removal didn't turn out quite as I hoped (I guess that's why I am writing here , I would say if it is causing you trouble, take it out. The chance of the operation not helping you is very small. Certainly smaller than the chance of a bile stone getting stuck and causing pancreatitis. You could however consider the following:

1. Definatelly, definatelly make a 100% sure your pain is caused by the gallbladder. You may have gallstones and bad stomach ache and they still could be unrelated. Do your liver enzyme, bilirubin, AP levels rise during an attack. Is it visible on an ultrasoun that the gallbladder is in distress? Stuff like that... 

2. Are your stones big or small? If they are very, very tiny and are cholesterol stones, I know people who have been able to get rid of those by a prolonged treatment with Ursodeoxycholic acid (issued by a doctor of course). Doesn't work for everybody and even if it does stones may form again at some point. If they are very big the chance of them managing to get into the bile duct is pretty small, so somewhat decreases the risk of a block at least...

Basically, try to learn as much as you can about your current condition in order to take an informed decision. Definatelly work with a doctor you trust and rely on (if he has proven the gallbladder is the culprit and there is evidence it could cause serious complications, I say take it out). Then make a decision and feel confident about it. Don't stress. The procedure is easy. The recovery is quick. Chances are you will be feeling much better after it.  

I wish you the best of luck. I am sure if you decide to do the operation, you won't have any problems with it, don't you worry.

hiya hazel... i know exactly how u feel as im depressed as hell afeter being in hospital 4 days. They find gallstones and a cyst on my ovary and im still not right .. sent me home with ranitadine x4 aday and omeprozole aswell. I still feel bloated im constipated then runny, i feel sick and headaches constantly and feel im just left to fight it on my own. I want my gall bladder out but everyone is saying my sypmtoms are not what they found. It stupid and i think unless your in agony they wont do anything. hope u get sorted xx

 

In January I had a stone blocking the bile duct for 6 weeks . The pain was indescribable and everything I ate ( even soup ! ) brought on the pain . So I lost 1.5 stone as I barely ate . A few days before an ERCP ( camera down throat) the pain eased and after the op I was told the stone must have moved itself. I have now had the gallbladder out as it was basically a bag of stones infected and inflamed . the only way to keep the bouts of colic at bay is a very low fat diet . Chilli and spicey foods is a no no . I also found that co codomol started these terrible pain bouts off . When on the phone to an A&E doctor before being admitted for morphine - she told me patients can get gall bladder pain after taking co codomol . So I never took it . Tramadol is a good pain killer and a warm bath helped me just get through the hours of pain till it eventually subsided . Eating really healthily was the only way to stop the painful bouts . I am two weeks post gallbladder op and feeling more human again . Also a size 12 from a size 18 . Although I can think of better ways to

Lose weight - I feel healthier for it and will remain on a low fat diet now that I do not have a gallbladder to help with the digestion of fat .

Hi Hazel

sorry to hear you re in so much pain but then you wouldn't be on here if you weren't.I was told that I had gs 3 weeks ago and today i saw my surgeon.My pain comes and goes and I can only sleep on my back with a heat pad on my right side and round my back.I belived that my gs were the reason I was in so much pain and that the removel of my gb would stop the pain.this is what happened today,I explained how I was feeling to the surgeon,pain in right side and back,feeling sick,worse after meals,and when I move.I also suffer with lower back pain which is under control by pain relieve.I was seeing someone for my back pain before I got my results back from a scan I had done in April,he felt that the pain was too high up my back to be caused by my lower back issues,and was more likely to be some thing else.The surgeon today said he felt the the pain I was now in was due to my back and not the gs.I have been left feeling very depressed as I was hopping that if my gb was remove my pain would come to an end.not to be.I now have to wait to have another MRI on my back and if it comes back that there is no change in my spine then could it have been my gs as i was first told by my gp.Don't get your hopes up  like I did that they will remove your gb and the pain will be gone.don't get me wrong I was glad that the surgeon didn't just want to wipe out my gb but while I could blame the gs for my pain there was hope,now I don't know what is going to happen and I know I now have to wait yet again to see someone and it still could be the gs causing my pain in the end

hope things go well for oyu

keep in touch

Pat

Sorry to hear that so many of you are going through hell with it all.   Hope they can come up with something to ease your symptoms.  It’s awful to just be abandoned by the medical profession. 

Saw my G.P. today regarding my scan result of lots of small gallstones and she’s referring me to a consultant to discuss the best option.  Might get an appointment by July if I’m lucky!   Meanwhile she’s arranged for me to have more LFTs as one of the readings was unusually high.  Don’t know which one as but it was apparently way over the top.  She’s hoping it’s now come down again as my symptoms have eased considerably.

At the moment, if I didn’t know I had gallstones, I’d swear I’d got I.B.S. again, which is what my GP told me I had a few years ago, without arranging for any tests.  There seems to be quite a similarity in the symptoms.

Rachel, that’s interesting about the Co-codamol, seeing as the G.P. gave me them for gallbladder pain!   Took a few but they didn’t have any effect so I stopped.