Gallstones anyone?

Hi!

I really feel for you! I suffered with gallstones for (at least) 2 years before finally having my cholecystectomy last month. I seem to have a totally different story to everyone else as I put on a lot of weight! The reason for this is because I was prescribed stupidly strong painkillers and I lived on them. Suddenly my pain was bearable (just about) and I would comfort eat. I used to sit on the sofa in the evenings, heavily dosed up, holding a heat pad against my side (heat is really helpful btw), scoffing junk food. The problem I had was it got to the stage where I had virtually constant pain so it was no worse when I was eating anyway. As a result of that I managed to put on a stupid amount of weight and am now trying to shift it. Are you planning on having the op? It sounds as though you need to, you cant keep suffering. I'm so glad I did. The post op pain was bad but nothing compared to the gallstone pain.

All the females in my family have had our gallbladders removed.Don't let them make you suffer! I felt like crap for years before they found my gallbladder was not excreting bile necessary for digestion.Now I feel great and have lost 22 pounds even though I quit smoking last January!

Gallstones suck. I had my first bought about a month or two ago. I got mine because I lost so much weight, then on a cheat night I ended up in the ER. Problem is I have a lot more to lose before the surgery. I’ve been reading and researching Gallbladder disease and have learned a lot. I’m still trying to find out all the do’s and don’ts with food. I get the fatty fried stuff. I have a friend who’s a naturalist, he has me on AF Beta Food. I haven’t had another attack. Maybe I can help with the food, I’m a cook, I use to chef out at our local country club and did my own catering. I just need to learn everything I can. I also have to have a low carb/sugar. I’ve been doing the eating right thing for over a year.

I had three gallbladder attacks before I had mine out in October. Turned out it was half full of gallstones. I don't think I've ever hurt so much in my entire life as when it was hurting. I try to eat low fat foods. So far so good.

I was 22 when I felt that pain, extreme awful, I don't know what this is! Pain!
Took an ambulance ride to a hospital, got there about midnight and they said it was Gall Stones.. they put me in an operating room at 4 pm the next day.. while I waited, I suffered. While they wheeled me into the surgery I saw my surgeon and asked him if when I woke would this pain be gone? He said, yes, but you will have a new pain from the surgery. I said "I don't care if you kill me, just stop the pain!" So obviously I survived and the recovery was almost as bad as the initial attack.. because, my gall stone removal turned into being a full gall bladder removal and well, this was back in 1986, not a good year to end up having to need two blood transfusions on top of the Gall Bladder being taken out.
I thought I would have a restricted Jello and broth diet for the rest of my life, but I didn't. I can (not that I would now) but I can eat anything, french fries, greasy stuff, etc.. seems like the gall bladder never did do what it was supposed to I guess as it is supposed to break down fatty foods.
My friend had a scheduled gall bladder removal.. she got the little lazer surgery dots by her belly button, unlike mine. She recovered much faster and she too does not have to restrict her diet, nor live with that kind of pain anymore.
I would say schedule a surgery, remove the gall bladder. That pain is not something you can "learn to live with"
Good luck

I had some misdiagnosed VERY severe gallstone/gallbladder attacks a few years ago- thank goodness you know what's going on It happened to me after I lost my first 60lbs or so, I was only 20 so the doctors were VERY surprised. I wound up in the ER, hospital for a week and they took it out- SO MUCH BETTER I cannot express.

Until you have it removed you will probably find that fats and heavy/rich foods will be terrible for you, but after you have it removed no diet modification is expressly required. I have had no problems since, but have stayed far away from heavy foods or ones with a lot of animal fat (cream, butter, etc) and I go for olive oils instead.

Best of luck to you- Hope you're feeling 100% soon Feel free to add me!

I actually went about 10 years before I had my gallbladder removed. When I first had episodes, I had no idea what it was. Went to the doctors office, they couldn't find anything. Then, the episodes stopped for about 5 years. Went to a different doctor, told him the type of pain I was having, the symptoms, etc. They did an ultrasound and finally found some stones. They took my gallbladder out 13 months ago, and have resumed a normal life and diet. I didn't drastically change my diet except for soda- don't drink it at all anymore.

I went into the ER with pain and they said it was inflamed gallbladder to watch what I ate also gave me a list of items to eat and do the no-fat low-fat diet. So a year later watching what I ate and still having a flare up every 1-2 months I finally gave up and went into the ER again. To tell me last time I had stones and lecture me as to why I didn't see a specialist. I did a follow up and was admitted the same day. Emergency surgery to remove that bad boy. What they told me was a half an hour procedure turned out to be almost 3.5 hours!!! Doc said he had the hardest time getting it out. Had to open the incision in my bellybutton bigger to get it out. My boyfriend at the time was so worried and asked and asked but they wouldn't tell him anything since he "wasn't" my husband at the time. Walked out a few days later with a tube hanging out to catch excess fluid. Really wish I knew that I did HAVE stones and taken that thing out sooner.

Got the battle scars to prove it.

Now, with a laparoscopic approach (which is much preferred by surgeons), the surgery is shorter, recovery time is only a couple weeks, and you will be back on your feet without pain sooner.

Exactly 4 incisions they are in and out and you are on the mend. Don't wait like I did.

I agree completely. I had mine out with the laparascope/4 tiny incisions and I was working from home the next day.