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I was rushed into hospital on Friday evening in severe pain, came out yesterday. Apparently I have gall stones & need to have my gallbladder removed.

The best part about it all is I've had these type of pains for the past 4 years & dr's have put it down to indigestion, gastric trouble & viruses. When you get the severe pain it's a medical emergency because the stones can be blocking the liver or pancreas.

Why do dr's pass most things off as a virus, you'd think 4 years of pain that they would insist on investigating.

Anyone else had similar problems or knows what to expect with the removal of the gallbladder?

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If you're having keyhole surgery to remove your gallbladder you can expect to be in for 2 or 3 days, for an open procedure more like 5 days.

 

I haven't had this done, but while i was in hospital when I was first ill there were lots of people that came in for it and left shortly after (I was in for almost 2 months).

 

From the 3 people who I know personally that have had their gall bladder removed, they all felt immediate resolution of their symptom, and the only things that they had to change were their eating habits- avoiding very oily foods and going hungry followed by a huge meal (things that we are advised to avoid anyway!).

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I was rushed into hospital on Friday evening in severe pain, came out yesterday. Apparently I have gall stones & need to have my gallbladder removed.

The best part about it all is I've had these type of pains for the past 4 years & dr's have put it down to indigestion, gastric trouble & viruses. When you get the severe pain it's a medical emergency because the stones can be blocking the liver or pancreas.

Why do dr's pass most things off as a virus, you'd think 4 years of pain that they would insist on investigating.

Anyone else had similar problems or knows what to expect with the removal of the gallbladder?

 

I've had similar problems with Doctors but not to do with my gall bladder. I think the problem is that many GPs don't like to admit they don't know what's wrong and refer you to someone else, preferring to put things down to something generic like a 'stomach bug' or their favourite - 'stress' (which can apparently cause every physical symptom you can imagine). Unless you have some medical knowledge yourself and are prepared to question doctors or even ask for a referral yourself, it's a matter of luck on who you see and whether they've seen your condition before and therefore recognise it.

 

I know a couple of people who've had their gall bladders removed laparascopically (keyhole surgery) and it completely changed their lives. One had been on a diet of almost nothing but rice for years, because eating anything with any fat in caused so much pain. Sorry to hear about you being rushed to hospital, but it's great they've found out what's wrong, and now you can get it sorted :thumbsup:

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I was rushed into hospital on Friday evening in severe pain, came out yesterday. Apparently I have gall stones & need to have my gallbladder removed.

The best part about it all is I've had these type of pains for the past 4 years & dr's have put it down to indigestion, gastric trouble & viruses. When you get the severe pain it's a medical emergency because the stones can be blocking the liver or pancreas.

Why do dr's pass most things off as a virus, you'd think 4 years of pain that they would insist on investigating.

Anyone else had similar problems or knows what to expect with the removal of the gallbladder?

 

Presumably they gave you a scan, which should have shown whether or not you have stones. If you have them and they are causing you trouble, then have the operation (which normally involves removing the gall bladder as well as the stones). The pain from gallstones can be excruciating and is liable to recur, so there is only one effective remedy - surgery.

 

The surgery is nothing to worry about unduly. Removal of the gall bladder is the most common form of minor surgery in developed countries. I had the traditional type (i.e. not keyhole) as my stones were judged to be too large and I also had an infection of the bile ducts, leading to jaundice. But even so, I was only in hospital for only two or three days after the surgery (you will feel some pain afterwards as the incision takes time to heal, but they will give you diamorphine). You should be back to normal after two or three weeks if all goes well.

 

As for the effects of the removal of the gall bladder on your lifestyle, well its minimal in my experience. In fact, you can pretty much eat and drink as normal, although I know some people might find fatty foods harder to take. Personally, I've not really noticed much difference.

 

I have absolutely no regrets about having my gall bladder removed. My attacks of gall bladder pain were so severe that I was on several occasions literally doubled up in agony and ended up writhing about on the floor. It was definitely the worst type of pain I have ever experienced and I am so relieved to know that I can never suffer from it again.

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........ so there is only one effective remedy - surgery.

 

 

Effective in preventing recurrence, but it is not the only treatment to remove gallstones.

If they are caught early enough (and, therefore, not too large) they can shatter the stones, using ultrasonic shock waves, into smaller pieces that can then pass out into the intestine or be dissolve with oral medication.

 

I do have two friends who have recieved this non-surgical treatment with success.

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I was rushed into hospital on Friday evening in severe pain, came out yesterday. Apparently I have gall stones & need to have my gallbladder removed.

The best part about it all is I've had these type of pains for the past 4 years & dr's have put it down to indigestion, gastric trouble & viruses. When you get the severe pain it's a medical emergency because the stones can be blocking the liver or pancreas.

Why do dr's pass most things off as a virus, you'd think 4 years of pain that they would insist on investigating.

Anyone else had similar problems or knows what to expect with the removal of the gallbladder?

 

I had exactly the same problem for 4 years too!! I was given gaviscon during that time (which I didn't touch). I was also given a scan and never sent the results or called back.

 

In the end, the last time I passed out was at work in the toilets, I went grey and sweaty, couldn't talk, my lips were blue and I had Rigors (quivering on exhalation). My boss had to break the door down as I had passed out again in pain. This was all pretty typical of an attack. My attacks were never due to anything I ate and the stones were caused by a blockage to my gallbladder (2 pregnancies close together).

 

After the last attack I was informed by a good doctor that I my scans had shown my gallbladder was in danger of rupture. I was taken into ospital the next day and had it removed by keyhole surgery.

The relief was instant (apart from internal bruising) and I've never looked back.

 

Saying that though, if I had more warning of what the problem was I would have tried a gallbladder flush to rid me of them naturally and saved my gallbladder (if it would have been possible but I think my Doctor would have put his foot down)

 

A friend of mine has just done a liver flush (gallbladder flush) after having attacks of pain and she has been cured.

It isn't pleasant to do but it works. You first need to find out what type of stones you have though (I suspect the smaller the better for this) so take advice from your doc.

 

here is a link http://www.kitchendoctor.com/healthconditions/gallstones/gallbladder.html

 

It's a pretty standard procedure and not some whacky idea dreamt up by someone wearing mung bean sandals and hemp knickers. Some people do it as routine.

 

Do speak to your doctor before doing it though and if you do it you need to set some time aside for each treatment you do (like a day at least) where you can lay in bed calmly.

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Effective in preventing recurrence, but it is not the only treatment to remove gallstones.

If they are caught early enough (and, therefore, not too large) they can shatter the stones, using ultrasonic shock waves, into smaller pieces that can then pass out into the intestine or be dissolve with oral medication.

 

I do have two friends who have recieved this non-surgical treatment with success.

 

Although I don't have any statistics on this, I believe that the shock wave treatment is uncommon in the UK, and, as you say, will probably only work in the case of small stones. The surgeons never mentioned sw treatment to me as an option, but as I said i had large stones. As well as having the drawback of only working with small stones, it may not solve the problem permanently as new stones may develop in the gall bladder. I suspect that if stones have resulted in severe pain, then the standard treatment in the UK will be removal of the gall bladder. I think most patients will be initially worried about the prospect of losing one of their organs, but the key point is that its not a vital organ - we can live perfectly well without it.

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I have been told that if they just get rid of the stones you have a 70% chance of them recurring.

I too have passed out before, had the trouble breathing & been violently sick with a very high temperature in the past, this is when it can be a medical emergency & can in extreme cases lead to death.

I was given morphine over the days I've spent in hospital.

I have also had where I get the excrutiating pain for half an hour, it spreads to my chest, then to my shoulders, then completely disappears as quickly as it came.

I did have a scan that showed the stones.

The reason I have them is because of an autoimmune disorder I have that causes calcium deposits.

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I have been told that if they just get rid of the stones you have a 70% chance of them recurring.

I too have passed out before, had the trouble breathing & been violently sick with a very high temperature in the past, this is when it can be a medical emergency & can in extreme cases lead to death.

I was given morphine over the days I've spent in hospital.

I have also had where I get the excrutiating pain for half an hour, it spreads to my chest, then to my shoulders, then completely disappears as quickly as it came.

I did have a scan that showed the stones.

The reason I have them is because of an autoimmune disorder I have that causes calcium deposits.

It sounds so much like my attacks. It starting with a griping pain in my diaphram which then increased and felt like my stomach and diaphram were being twisted or strangled. The worst time it was constant for 6 hours with no let up of the pain. It always left me exhausted for a few hours after. I was also sick (which then made the pain worse and I usually passed out after vomiting). Also like you the pain would go in an instant. Maybe you have the small ones then as they seem to pass over the bile duct and become lodged a little bit like trying to squeeze a pea throught the eye of a needle as your body naturally tries to pass it through.

 

The feeling of instant relief is like uphoria!

 

Go to your docs and ask about the liver flush, unless your gallbladder looks in danger of rupturing or they are large stones you should be Ok.

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A friend of mine has just done a liver flush (gallbladder flush) after having attacks of pain and she has been cured.

It isn't pleasant to do but it works. You first need to find out what type of stones you have though (I suspect the smaller the better for this) so take advice from your doc.

 

here is a link http://www.kitchendoctor.com/healthconditions/gallstones/gallbladder.html

 

It's a pretty standard procedure and not some whacky idea dreamt up by someone wearing mung bean sandals and hemp knickers. Some people do it as routine.

 

.

 

Well, she may well have felt better, but I am sceptical about whether she has been 'cured'. How does she know that the stones have been 'flushed' out, without having a scan? We know that most gall stone attacks tend to last for perhaps two or three days or so, before subsiding. So we should not necessarily confuse cause and effect here. Moreover, the word 'flush' itself may have a therapeutic effect and it could have more to do with a psychosomatic reaction as anything else.

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Well, she may well have felt better, but I am sceptical about whether she has been 'cured'. How does she know that the stones have been 'flushed' out, without having a scan? We know that most gall stone attacks tend to last for perhaps two or three days or so, before subsiding. So we should not necessarily confuse cause and effect here. Moreover, the word 'flush' itself may have a therapeutic effect and it could have more to do with a psychosomatic reaction as anything else.

 

Well...... she has done several treatments now, at home. She has passed stones (they are visible) and the amount she passes has been decreasing each time. She also hjas not had an attack in 3 months and feels 200% better already.

 

I wouldn't call that a psychosomatic reaction.

 

In my case the attacks didn't last for two days at all they were always a one off, very random too.

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I have been told that if they just get rid of the stones you have a 70% chance of them recurring.

I too have passed out before, had the trouble breathing & been violently sick with a very high temperature in the past, this is when it can be a medical emergency & can in extreme cases lead to death.

I was given morphine over the days I've spent in hospital.

I have also had where I get the excrutiating pain for half an hour, it spreads to my chest, then to my shoulders, then completely disappears as quickly as it came.

I did have a scan that showed the stones.

The reason I have them is because of an autoimmune disorder I have that causes calcium deposits.

 

Your Doctor's right, the non-surgical methods work temporarily but have a very high recurrence rate. I would suspect that as your stones are due to an underlying medical condition, the chances of getting more would be even higher. I really hope you get it sorted!

 

EDIT: Oh and P.S., a 'Gallbladder flush' should never be attempted if signs of cholecystitis are present, i.e. the symptoms of the intense pain and/or nausea and vomiting

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