Question:
Does anyone know how to control gall bladder pain?
From all indications, it looks like my gall bladder's gone bad. It started last week with pain right under my sternum and food just not tasting right and just sitting in my stomach, to a full blown attack last night, which moved the pain to my right side, just under my ribs. No matter what I eat, I have pain (even water). Heck, I have pain even when I just hiccup! I have an appointment with a gastro doctor for next Monday (they only see new patients on Mondays). What I want to know is if anyone knows of a way to control the pain/discomfort so that surgery to be postponed several months. I figured that if I have to have my gall bladder out, I might as well look into having a tummy tuck done at the same time. I called the plastic surgeon my RNY surgeon recommends, and he can't see me until 3/12 (but I was told that both surgeries can be done at the same time). I'm a real trooper and have a high tolerance for pain, but I don't think I can live with this for two more months (which is how long I'm estimating it will take to get clearance for the plastic surgery). If I just had problems with certain foods, I could avoid those foods for the time being...but this pain is constant. Any ideas? — Cyndie K. (posted on February 25, 2003)
February 25, 2003
hi there :) i dealt with a bad gallbladder for 3 years. always just thought
i had a sensitive stomach or something, with the first really bad attack, i
went to the emergeny room and they did ultra sound and found nothing, i
then ended up with the doctor from hell that basically tried to convince me
it was just a thing in my head. after changing doctors, the new one found
the problem, tried me on a stone dissolving med named actigall which was a
no go, i inevitably had it removed. it only got worse as time went on but i
tried it all until the old remedy would stop working id move on to the
next. you may not be able to wait until tt time, when my surgeon took the
galbladder out, he wondered how i had even been functioning. i tried pepto
bismol, mylanta, pepsid, you name it, they all worked a little but only for
a short time. id drink a sprite or 7 up and only eat saltines while it was
acting up. youll also want to avoid fatty, fried, spicey foods to avoid
attacks, when the pain is radiating through to your back, you could try the
heating pad. i eventually couldnt eat and lost around 20 lbs in 2 weeks,
shortly there after i ended up in the hospital with a badly infected
galbladder then it came out, that really was the best thing.try not to deal
with it too long cuz it can get pretty bad. best of luck to you :)
— carrie M.
February 25, 2003
Curezone.com has a gallbladder clean out diet that is
effective but I doubt us post-ops could handle it. I wish it only took 2
months to get ps clearance.....
— lessofme170
February 25, 2003
I had gal bladder trouble for 5 years...3 undignosed. I am still post op
so, I can only tell you what I personally did to relieve the pain which
would start under my breast and radiate in to my back. The pain is worse
than child birth because it is completely unrelenting. I tried tons of
pain meds and those did NOTHING! The best things I could find was putting
cold directly on the site of the gal bladder...you have to kind of press
down with your fingers to see if you can identify that tender little area.
I used frozen vegies and those ice packs that are kinda squishy. The other
thing that worked for me was walking. I would walk for hours at a time in
the middle of the night and most often the pain would subside with in two
hours. No walking...the pain would go on for days. I think you may change
your mind about wating for the PS. If you have a lap gal bladder
removal...the recovery time is relatively short and it's like having an
tooth ache fixed...ahh...so much better after. :o) Good luck! mk
— Michelle K.
February 27, 2003
Be careful about putting it off. I wanted to put my surgery off and my
surgeon basically said that I was asking for trouble - a bad gallbladder
can become dangerous if it gets infected or bursts. I was even already
approved to have a tummy tuck and my surgeon would not allow me to do both
surgeries at once - he did not want me to be put under anethesia for the
length of time of the two procedures. He basically felt that if either
procedure had complications it could endanger my life. So, I had my
gallbladder out a few days ago and will be having the tummy tuck in a
couple of months. I feel very good right now... who knows how I would feel
if I did have the double surgery. But, that aside - I know I couldn't have
lasted much longer with my gallbladder attacks. They were soooooo painful.
— Julie S.
February 27, 2003
I was interested in this subject as I too am sitting waiting for surgery -
although RNY - still have 3 more months till I can even get in to see the
surgeon for initial consult. I was told last week that pain I've been
having - constant burning in stomach, pain in right side under breasts, and
I too can't eat anything; was from gallstones. Yes, after an ultrasound.
Everything I eat effects my stomach in some way - of course the no-no foods
are not even in my vocabulary right now. But, even crackers or boiled
chicken - sets me off. They also told me that they saw kidney stones on my
ultrasound. So I'm waiting for insurance approval to see a urologist and
to see the surgeon sooner. But, not sure how long I can handle things.
Trying to work fulltime, actually overtime to accumulate time off for
surgery, then not eating, and getting woken up each night with an intense
burning sensation under my right ribs. I definately feel for the original
poster, I too don't want to go through two surgeries if I can do it in one!
Also, has anyone had kidney stones taken care off during RNY?
— Tina S.
February 27, 2003
I had only one gallbladder attack, but I would not wish that on anyone. It
started on a Monday afternoon and I had surgery to remove it that Friday.
My sureon had intended to do it lap, but when he got in there he found it
to be so abcessed that he opened me up so he wasn't taking the chance of it
breaking open when he actually removed it. I would not want to mess around
with it. There is a chance that it can get infected and burst, kind of
like an appendix. Even with the open surgery I was back at work 2 weeks
and 3 days later (only took the Monday because it was Labor Day).
— garw
March 20, 2003
Original poster here. Result of ultra sound showed no gallstones. Had an
endoscopy this morning and they found a huge ulcer at the stoma. I'm on
Nexium, have a follow-up appointment in a month, with another scope in 3
months. Gastro doctor said this is definately a result of the WLS. My
concern is I NEVER have heartburn or indigestion, and the one and only time
I threw up, there was nothing but foam. If I have little to no stomach
acid, how is this ulcer forming? Except for that one incident of pain, I've
had nothing but some minor discomfort. HOWEVER, I have had a backache for
months, which I contributed to my computer keyboard at work being at the
wrong height. Now I'm wondering if the ulcer's been causing the back pain.
For anyone following my story of an enlarged stoma, he didn't measure it,
but said it was pretty large, much larger than an M&M :0( My other
concern is my iron counts are low (I tried to give blood last week and was
turned down because of low iron). I take my iron pills religously. The
doctor said there may be some bleeding with the ulcer (causing the low
count), but they did a full blood work-up to check out my iron stores. I
can't take iron for a least a month, and if my stores are low, I will
become amemic.
For the past few weeks, something I read against WLS while I was doing my
research pre-op had been running through my mind. A doctor had said that
WLS just trades one set of problems for another, and I'm beginning to
believe that :0(
— Cyndie K.
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