stone in bile duct

plain jane - i am really sorry to hear of your daughter-in-laws suffering, and hope that she feels better soon... at least she will have yourself for advice and support for help with diet and dealing with her condition. its funny when i was diagnosed no one amoung my family or friends had ever had any gallbladder problems in the 3 years since my surgery i have had one family member and about 5 family friends go through surgery to remove gallbladders!!

gallstones unfortunatly dont stick to age ranges unfortunatly - my gallbladder was swiped when i was 34 - i think over the years i had had about 7 instances of discomfort in the area accompinied with vomiting and the first being when i was still at school - all but my first and last attack had followed a meal out and i put it down to mild foodpoisening!! the attack that got me admitted to hospital was 20 times worse - when i had my surgery i was told i had signs that i had had repeated and chronic infection that suggested i had been suffereing for many years- i was told i must have a high pain threshold ... not to have realised i had his problem sooner!!

i hope all goes well with you daughter in law's scan and her treatment.

plain jane - jean - I too am sorry to hear about your daughter in law and hope she gets help soon. It does seem that a lot of people these days are having gallbladder problems and I wonder if it is a change in our lifestyles. I also think, Vixen, that often we are saying how we feel but we are not being listened to.

Try not to worry - all will be well.

Hi plain jane,

I too can sympathise. I had 4 or 5 attacks before being diagnosed. I don't know what I thought was wrong. I'd be doubled up in pain, vomiting every 2 or 3 mins and not able to move but somehow refused to admit i had a problem (I think i was scared it was something dreadfully terminal - not that denying it would have changed anything but go figure!

Then, I had an attack that lasted from Friday lunchtime to 2am Sunday, not keeping anything down (incl water). Doc said I had food poisoning or a stomach bug and told me to take paracetamol. Even though i couldn't keep tabs down. Eventually, hubby got desperate and phoned NHS Direct who were amazing. Diagnosed GS over the phone and got me into the local walk in centre. 2 injections later and no pain and no vomiting.

But no surgery! Apparently if I had gone to A&E rather than the walk in centre they may have admitted me for emergency surgery. Darn!

So rest assured, If i get another bad one i WIll be at the hospital.

BTW, I was only 39 when I had the 1st attack. You tend to ignore the mild ones telling yourself it was something you ate!

Best of luck to your daughter in law. I hope she gets sorted.

Lelly xx

thanks for your replies. She had an ultrasound on Sunday as she was still in severe pain and had to have morphine. They told her that her gallbladder was infected and said blood tests showed a high level of bilirubin,which usually means a blocked bile duct She was sent for an emergency operation on Monday morning and had ger Gb removed,along with the offending stone form her bile duct.At first they told her that she may have drains in and a nurse would have to attend to her every day when she got home,but thankfully they were able to do it by keyhole surgery and she got discharged on Tuesday.One of the paper stitch wounds on her abdomen has opened up a bit,and a nurse was coming out yesterday to change the dressing. Apart from that she is doing fine,a bit shell shocked and unable to eat anything apart from bread and jam .Every food that is suggested,she shudders at the thought of it.This time last week,she and my son were away in their campervan with not a care in the world. Maybe that's the best way,as she didnt have to go through all the waiting around for an op wondering when the next attack would come.she has to be off work for 6-8 weeks according to the consultant.Seems a long time when other people are told they can go back after 2 weeks.She is overweight,though ,and has Asthma,so that may have a bearing on it.

It's over 6 weeks since my operation,and I still have occasional\"twinges\" in the area where the GB was and sometimes get pains in my tummy,which I put down to being a bit constipated. I am still not eating any red meat and tend to be eating more or less the same as I did for the last few months before I had my Op.apart from a couple of fish and chip meals,which I only ate sparingly.Still,Glad it's out and I am sure Nichola will be when she recovers and realises it was the source of all her pain over the last year or so

nice to hear from you all,

Jean

Hi Jean. I hope everything goes well for your daughter in law. Hope you continue to recover. I like you am having trouble with eating and feel tenderness in the gallbladder area. I think I previously said that my Consultant told me that 'recovery time' can be up to 3 months and that the organs all have to start working back normally again.(especially the bowel) It really is a fallacy that you can eat want you want and get back to normal quickly. I have just spent days of pain through eating some low fat crackers and rice crackers that I have not tried before so feel I am back to square one so not sure if it's because everything is still settling or because of my HH and Barrett's.

I do hope your daughter in law and yourself get back on track soon.

Take care.

Hi Maggie,

I feel the same as you. I havent been anything greasy,but I did eat a pineapple cake when I was visiting,and suffered later on with pains in my stomach . I never associated it with eating one small cake,but yesterday I again had a small almond slice cake which was supposed to be \"lighter\", and agian I suffered with pain for a few hours.I don't normally eat cakes unless I have made them myself ,so I don't know if they are what caused the pain. Apart from that I am feeling great,no more \"trapped wind\" and discomfort after every meal and now my wounds are healing am back to wearing normal clothes. I still get a bit more tired than I used to though,especially if we have been out for a few hours. I cant wait to get home and put my feet up.We are off to Rhyl in a few weeks to meet up with my 3 sisters and their husbands. We do this every year at a different venue as we are scattered all over the country and this is usually the only time we all come together. I have never been to Wales and am looking forward to it.And at least I can relax and know I am not going to have an attack of gallstones while I am there.

Hope you feel Ok now Time is a great healer.

Take care,

Jean

hi jean. glad to hear your daughter in law got her surgery and is now at home and able to begin her recovery. while some people are able to return to work after 2 weeks it depends on how they heal, the type of job they do and how traumatic their particular operation was. while she may have had a lap choly if there was infection and a blockage then her surgery would have been more complicated then a planned proceedure - where ideally the infection would have cleared and any blocked stones would have been resolved before surgery and things would have been allowed to settle before surgery performed.

so while 6 - 8 weeks off may seem a long time - at least its summer - hopefully she will be back in 6 weeks - i was off nine weeks following my op and got board by the end of it. she just needs to be sensible no lifting or trying to do too much.

hope she gets well soon.

vix

Hi Jean I am on a fish only diet. Have been thankful for Heinz Vegetable Soup and Mr Kipling angel slices - just to get some variety. I can cope with a Crunchie but no other chocolate. What a bore! Fruit and salads are out but ok with some veg. Oh for a hot chocolate and a piece of cake. One day maybe.

with my last surgery (hernia repair) i was told 6-8 weeks recovery but was back at work a month later - so your daughter in law may be able to go back sooner!!

Maggie,I bought some Heinz vegetable soup after I read your post.I haven't tried it yet,but it was one of my favourites in the past. I had bought some WW tomato soup before my op and that made me feel a bit queasy,so I will see how I get on with the vegetable one.Nichola was feeling great on Thursday,had been for a shower,and had made herself some tea and toast,but yesterday my son said she wasn't feeling too well. A bit sore,and probably just doing a bit too much too soon.I volunteered to do some hours at a new charity shop that had opened up and stood at the till for 3 hours on Tuesday,and was due to go back on Thursday,but the backs of my legs were killing me,and I had aches and pains in my stomach,so I have put it off till I feel better . Maybe when I come back from Wales I will feel more able to do it.I ate so much boiled fish before my op that I can't bear to look at it now. I still have a couple of bags of it in the freezer,but I do like fish and I will cook it another way.

Thanks to all who replied about Nichola. She knows it will take her a few weeks to recover fully.Vixen, you were right about the operation not being as straightforward as some of us have had,with the blockage in her bile duct,and it will be best for her to have the full 8 weeks off.

I havent heard from her today,so I hope she is feeling a bit better.

Take care everyone,

Jean

What a difference 6 weeks can make. I enjoyed a trip to Sheffield to see family and even enjoyed a King Prawn Chow Mein (no onion, little fat). When the others tucked into their hug bowlfuls of Vienneta I had a Mr Kipling angel slice! Everyone says I look so much better and now I can see that I do. Still have a few tinges but nothing to worry about at all.

Jean I have tried some oven baked cod and haddock in breadcrumbs. Managed ok but have to admit not eating much of the coating, just too scared today. Gradually the variety of food is coming back but still keep to small low fat meals.

To everyone waiting for the op I say that it does make a big difference but be patient with the recovery time. Jean and I are older so it may take longer but even younger ones will need time. I feel as though I have at long last got some quality of life back and that is great.

Lelly hope you have made some progress with your GP. Tracker and Jeans Daughter in law hang on in there.