Gallstones

[chris lowe]

Hi, After an ultrasound scan I have found out I have gallstones (quite impressive ones according to the operative :lol: ) Just got back from GP and she is going to refer me to hospital with a view to having the gallbladder removed . Has anyone had theirs removed? How did it go, how long out of action? I go to the gym for an hour twice a week and don't want to have to spend weeks out of it and have to get my fitness levels back up again. I thought that they could be broken up, but apparently this only applies to kidney stones that are then flushed out of the system, but with gall stones (she says) they would just lay in the bottom of the gallbladder like a sludge. Anyone got stones and just left them and if so what side effects did it have? At the moment I get occasional fever, shivering, nausea, vomiting and very loose bowels and while not pleasant I can put up with it for now. Thanks in advance for any help/advice

 

[marie.T1]

hi chris i also had gallstones i had them removed in 2006 . you should only be in hospital for the day but i was vomiting because of the anesetetic so i had to stay in over night. i then had to have 2 weeks off work my gp wanted me to have more time off but i promised to do just light duties . so i think the gym maybe out for a few weeks .

 

[chris lowe]

Thanks for that Marie. Not as bad as I maybe thought.

 

[CathyP]

I had my gall bladder removed removed just over a year ago and would recommend it. Along with the symptoms you described I was getting such excrutiating pain that I would pray to die - no pain like it. It took me several years to get diagnosed due to incompetent health professionals and would have run into the theatre there and then to have it sorted out.

The operation is usually key hole in which case it is day case surgery. I was off work a couple of weeks though probably didnt need to be for that long and I was advised not to do any heavy digging for a while otherwise I was as active as normal. I guess that means you would have to avoid heavy weights in the gym.

If you are unlucky and it is not done by keyhole and they open you up that would be another story as I believe it would take some months for the incision to fully heal. Talk it through with the health professionals and then make an informed decision.

 

[marie.T1]

kathy i was also in a lot of pain i thought i was going to die!!! it was such a relief to get the stones and the bladder out .

 

[SamJB]

I got rid of mine. I stopped eating all fat and they went in about 3-4 weeks. Goggle "gall bladder flush", supposedly quite effective, got to be worth trying.

[Edited to replace typo of "42" to "4" weeks]

 

[chris lowe]

Thanks Cathy, the doctor did say it would be keyhole so I guess not as major as say a hernia (hubby was out of action for about 6 weeks when he had his done some years ago). Know what you mean about the pain, first time I thought I was having a heart attack but for some reason kept thinking I didn't want to bother an ambulance! At least I don't have to worry about going back to work. Will look at the gallbladder flush Sam, I think there are a couple of herbal remedies out there that are supposed to dissolve the stones.

 

[marie.T1]

i barely ate anything ! i lost 2 and a half stone didnt eat any fat at all and still had to have the op because the stones were really big !

 

[MAMA2X]

Hi Chris,
I had mine out the op is no big deal and I would say just go fo it. I was admitted to hospital in a very bad way and found that I had acute pancreatitis(not sure about the spelling) I had had terrible pains that would come on suddenly and I put up with it for a couple of years. When I metioned it at the doctors he gave me meds for IBS!!! Anyway I strongly believe that misdiagnosis lead to the pancrease being damaged after so many attacks and this lead to my diabetes. As OP have mentioned the opp if keyhole is no big deal with healing and discomfort for about two weeks.

 

[lrebecca]

I had my gallbladder removed at age 14 - I was messed around by my old GP who was insitent I was too young and that I had trapped wind! The scan revealed I had multiple stones but by the time they finally had me in to remove the gall bladder mine had become septic. I wonder now whether that added to my diabetes risk.

I was in so much pain I was so thankful for getting the thing out and I would do it again to get rid of that agony. I had no problems after keyhole surgery but was in surgery for several hours because of the state of my gall bladder. I was having pethodine at home in the end because I was having frequent attacks. Everyone else in surgery that day had their little stone in a bottle but the surgeon said mine had ground to dust.

Good luck with however you proceed with yours.

Kind regards

 

[Indy51]

I have 3 very large stones and my gallbladder is quite distended and occasionally gets "pinched" if I compress my abdomen in certain positions, but no signs of inflamation or other symptoms. I believe having the larger stones may actually be preferable to smaller as they're less likely to get trapped/block the bile duct and cause major attacks. Personally, I'd prefer to avoid having my gallbladder removed if possible, as the bile dripping into the abdominal cavity can cause other issues.

I was also recommended to see a surgeon who was very reluctant to remove the gallbladder without more serious side effects, which was a huge relief to me. The gall bladder plays a large part in digestion and I've had enough issues with IBS and SIBO to want more problems.

Some people say drinking apple cider vinegar can help dissolve the stones, but I loathe the taste.

Apparently increasing rates of gallbladder disease are yet another side effect of low fat diets.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that mine stay symptomless and that I won't have any more problems now that I'm on a LCHF diet.

Good luck with yours going forward

 

[Indy51]

PS. If you do have the gallbladder out, apparently taking Bile Salts afterwards is recommended.

 

[shazzie1963]

Hi, After an ultrasound scan I have found out I have gallstones (quite impressive ones according to the operative :lol: ) Just got back from GP and she is going to refer me to hospital with a view to having the gallbladder removed . Has anyone had theirs removed? How did it go, how long out of action? I go to the gym for an hour twice a week and don't want to have to spend weeks out of it and have to get my fitness levels back up again. I thought that they could be broken up, but apparently this only applies to kidney stones that are then flushed out of the system, but with gall stones (she says) they would just lay in the bottom of the gallbladder like a sludge. Anyone got stones and just left them and if so what side effects did it have? At the moment I get occasional fever, shivering, nausea, vomiting and very loose bowels and while not pleasant I can put up with it for now. Thanks in advance for any help/advice

I am just 7 weeks post op with no complications to report. I was not keen on having the surgery at first, but I was told that they turn sludgey and MAY cause liver cancer in the long term. I was off wfew dayork 10 days but to be honest I felt really well after a few days. The few days of discomfort are far better than the constant pain of Gallstones.

 

[chris lowe]

Thanks so much for all your replies and advice. As usual there is a wealth of info out there on the forum. I'm surprised that Indy 51 said the low fat diet was the problem, I thought that it was high fat (therefore high cholestral) that caused the stones. I will have to look at that on google. Seems the medical profession don't know it all. I recently read that so called "experts" are now saying that too little salt is bad for you. Thanks again all

 

[Osidge]

Hi Chris

In deciding what to do about your gallstones please take care with things like flushes (you might want to take a look at: http://www.quackwatch.com/01QuackeryRel ... ushes.html ). Information on the nature of gallstone can be found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gallstone

Post op does not seem to be the problem that I thought especially in relation to diet. Some info here: http://www.nhs.uk/chq/Pages/2443.aspx?C ... goryID=168

Hope this all helps and good luck with your gall bladder problem.

Take care

Doug

 

[RohitKishor]

Gallbladder is an important organ in our body which assist the digestive process by collecting bile and discharging it in the small intestine when food enters. Gallstones or simply known as Stones in Gallbladder are small pieces of solid material formed inside the gallbladder.