Gallstones

I have had gall stones and that was the most painful 2 years of my life. The doctor just kept giving me pain killers rather than find out what was wrong. It wasnt until I got pregnant with my second child that they finally figured out what it was. I had to go to emergency procedure to cut my ducts open, they found that they were blocking not only my gall bladder but my liver and my pancreas as well. Needless to say I had to have my gall bladder removed after my son was born. During my pregnancy it was really hard for met o gain weight because of this I think I lost 20 pounds to start and only ended gaining back a pound. My son was born early because of this and only weighed 4lbs 1 ounce. I still have attacks here and there even without the gallbladder as the stones that had been able to travel through the opening in the gall bladder do tend to float around in your other organs.

Hope this helps, and good luck

I rarely had pain, mostly at night and then didn’t relate it to my gallbladder. To be more specific gallstones are caused by the up and down of yo-yo dieting. The bile in your gallbladder dries up if it is not released. It is released after you eat a fat filled meal. Hence, low fat dieting = gallstones. All of that being said, I had a massive attack one night after eating a huge burrito from Chipotle; I was in the ER within an hour. My Dr. asked if I wanted it out or just try to manage it with pain meds. I opted to have it out. Good thing too, after the surgery he told me it was infected and was a lot more serious than I he thought.
I’m glad I had it out, it is a common surgery now (unfortunately for America’s waist line). The procedure is laparoscopic. Four small incisions, and week of rest, and your OK. You have to change your diet like staying away from fatty foods. I had no complications, most people don’t. I do have some phantom pains every once in a while, but I stretch and they go away. I think it is just a bit of scar tissue. If you have the option of scheduling to have it out you may want to consider it. Because trust me an attack like I had is very painful. I’d take voluntary surgery over that pain anyday.

I never had pain from my gallstones, my GI specialist told me they were microscopic. The reason my gallbladder was giving me issues was because it (the bile) was "sludgy". So I had to have it out due to that. I got SUPER sick after having it removed, and as a result I have severe IBS. A lot of the time removal of gallbladders don't give people problems!

I had my gallbladder out a couple years ago. I really wish i hadn't. there are ways to manage the stones if it hasn't gotten too out of hand. i now have digestive problems. you don't think your gallbladder does much, but it really does!

I too had my gall bladder removed and experienced the digestive problems but I must admit that since changing the way I eat and the things I eat, I no longer suffer from them. It has been a blessing getting healthy.

I understand...I would recommend switching your diet up to eliminate anything that could set it off. Eat little amounts at a time. It doesn't always work, but it could help. And remember that if an attack does happen, it won't last forever. If you could deal with what you have already been through, you can deal with a gallbladder attack.

I rarely had pain, mostly at night and then didn’t relate it to my gallbladder. To be more specific gallstones are caused by the up and down of yo-yo dieting. The bile in your gallbladder dries up if it is not released. It is released after you eat a fat filled meal. Hence, low fat dieting = gallstones. All of that being said, I had a massive attack one night after eating a huge burrito from Chipotle; I was in the ER within an hour. My Dr. asked if I wanted it out or just try to manage it with pain meds. I opted to have it out. Good thing too, after the surgery he told me it was infected and was a lot more serious than I he thought.
I’m glad I had it out, it is a common surgery now (unfortunately for America’s waist line). The procedure is laparoscopic. Four small incisions, and week of rest, and your OK. You have to change your diet like staying away from fatty foods. I had no complications, most people don’t. I do have some phantom pains every once in a while, but I stretch and they go away. I think it is just a bit of scar tissue. If you have the option of scheduling to have it out you may want to consider it. Because trust me an attack like I had is very painful. I’d take voluntary surgery over that pain anyday.

Absolutely! I went on a low fat crash diet (+ lots of exercise), lost over 4 stones in not many months then suddenly WHAM! Excruciating pain correctly diagnosed as gallstones. It was only afterwards when I researched it that I realised that sudden weight loss can cause it.

I couldn't eat fatty food but it just got worse over a couple of months until I could barely eat anything. Great for weight loss but unbearable pain! While waiting for a date to have my gallbladder out, I suffered a serious attack & ended up in the back of an ambulance to ER. I was in agony & could only crawl on the floor until the doctor gave me a morphine shot in my leg. I had the op (totally painless) and was absolutely fine afterwards.

Since then I've put all my weight back on (+more) & have recently been suffering pain in the area after over-eating (as though everything inside is being pushed up). BUT since downloading this app, and eating sensibly, it has been fine so I know that it was the extra weight & stupid eating habits that were putting a strain on my insides.

I do worry that I may get gallstones again because I know what to expect pain wise, but hopefully the risk is less now I don't have a gallbladder? I don't know. Oh, the only other thing is that I sometimes get a weird feeling as though I have an elastic band inside that gets twisted! Stretching does help & I think it is again possibly related to over eating.

The weight loss was a fantastic feeling. The gallstones were as bad as child birth. The op was amazing and instant relief!

I think people should be aware that fast low fat dieting CAN cause gallstones.

I had them as a result of rapid wright loss. Man that was the moat pain I've ever had to endure. It sucked bad. I wish this soon no one. It finally cleared up but I had to take a trip or two to the hospital before they found it.

Hello guys. I was diagnosed with gallstones 2 years ago. But thank God, I have no attacks yet. No attacks, no pain. But sometimes when I starve in an evening I feel bitter taste in my mouth. I'm a little bit confused - at what time should I have my last meal/snack? What is your diet regime, since you have gallstones?

Wow got alot of info & tips from all your posts. I found out I had gallstones while I was pregnant. I never felt the worse pain ever, child birth was breeze ! The dr told me the pain compares to the pain of a heart attack, scary ! I have changed my whole diet because I did not want another attack, but I had one yesterday. It was soo fustrating that I have been doing so well to change my eating habbits & losing weight & yet still had an attack. From what the dr told me, it didn't matter, an attack will happen whenever, but of course after you eat something greasy or spicy =(. Glad I found this post to see other people here have/had the same problem. I would like to get the surgery, cause I do not want that pain again, but at the same time I have no insurance. Plus the thought of a surgery scares me, and then gaining my weight back. But I'm sure not having anymore pain will out weight all those things.